Agricultural Growth and Crop Diversification in Western Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh

This paper explores the levels of crop diversification and growth of major agricultural crops in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The district wise analysis considers major crops viz. maize, paddy, wheat, barley, pulses, apple, 'other fruits', potato and 'other vegetable' and oilseeds for the calculation of Herfindahl-Hirschman's Index (HHI) using past 44 years of data. The results show that Shimla district can be categorized in moderately diversified district of the state and it is followed by Kullu and Sirmour districts. Similarly, least diversified districtis Hamirpur followed by Una and Bilaspur districts. Vegetables, spices, apple, and 'other fruits' turned out to be emerging crops in the state. The emphasis in the state is on diversification with high value crops and as a result acreage under cereals like wheat, barley and 'other cereals' is not seen to be growing at the same rate as the high value crops. The study suggests the need to look at the increasing crop diversification in a way that would equally benefit the marginal and small farmers as well. Here, marketing of the produce, particularly the highly perishable fruits and vegetables needs to be considered in a more practical way.