Assessment of spatial pattern and distribution of major crops in Assam, India

Abstract

Various indicators such as production, yield, mechanisation of farms, workforce engaged in farming are generally used for the evaluation of the status of the agricultural sector in a region. Of these, the cropping pattern is one such indicator that signifies how developed the farming system of a region is. To assess the cropping pattern, a number of statistical indices are available-cropping intensity, crop combination, crop concentration, and crop diversification. This research seeks to evaluate the cropping pattern in Assam, India and examines the status of its agricultural sector. It was found that the cropping intensity increased at a gradual rate of 3% per decade. A total of nine statistical indices were used to estimate crop diversification. These indices were compared amongst themselves to determine the most optimal method for the study area. It was found that the ogive and entropy methods were best suited to Assam in an evaluation of its crop diversification. Further, these crop diversification values were ranked and thereafter, a composite score (Kendall's method) was derived. The composite score indicated that much of western and northern Assam had a high degree of crop diversification.