Sowing in uncertainty: Cultivation changing in Karnataka

As weather patterns grow erratic and field crop yields falter, Karnataka’s farmers are reshaping their landscapes, moving away from conventional agriculture in search of stability and sustainability

Gadag/Haveri/Dharwad: Vast swathes of cereals and pulses are interspersed with cashew plantation blocks in the arid lands of Hulkoti in Gadag district. The cash crop, hitherto limited to Malnad and coastal districts, has become the new favourite of farmers in the region. 

Basavaraj Halli, a farmer in Shagoti village near Hulkoti, planted cashew as an intercrop with Alphonso mango on three acres in 2017. Last year, he cut down the mango trees, which he found vulnerable to changes in weather. 

The cashew crop’s ability to adapt to a range of climatic conditions, its staggered yield, lesser labour dependency, and remunerative pricing are some reasons why many farmers have opted for the crop in this agroclimatic zone. The long shelf life of the nut and the establishment of a processing centre have added momentum to the shift in this region. 

A decade after this horticultural crop was introduced to the district, over 500 farmers have undertaken its cultivation in around 1,500 acres of land. The crop has replaced groundnut and mango, according to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hulkoti. According to the Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change, Gadag is among the six districts highly susceptible to climate change. 

“In the district, over 20% of farmers have opted for an alternate land use system incorporating horticulture with field crops in red soil. The shift is about 5% in black soil as we are yet to figure out crops that can bring consistent income as climate change becomes more prominent,” says L G Hiregouder, advisor, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hulkoti.

Driven by extreme weather events, uncertain market trends and workforce shortages, farmers are increasingly resorting to new crops and farming practices, altering the state’s agricultural landscape. The shift is obvious: Between 2019 and 2024, the area under agricultural crops reduced by five lakh hectares. The area under horticulture crops increased by more than four lakh hectares between 2018 and 2023. 

The cultivation of every agricultural crop except maize, sugarcane and ragi has shrunk drastically. Covering about 20 lakh hectares, maize contributes to around 20% of the area under agricultural crops in the state. 

While agricultural crops continue to dominate, the shift towards horticultural crops is ramping up and experts believe that in the context of stagnating incomes in rural households, more farmers are bound to make the shift. However, they stress that without a focus on crop diversity, this transition may fail to achieve sustainability and food security in the long run. 

The expansion of area under horticulture crops is driven by monocropping and plantation crops. Arecanut has made its mark in over 20 districts covering an area of around seven lakh hectares in the state — a jump of nearly five lakh hectares in less than a decade.

“Expansion of arecanut is purely market-driven,” says V S Hittalmani, former additional director of horticulture. “Farming is a dynamic field, and changes do happen in the cropping pattern over time. But the rate and scale at which it is happening now are concerning,” he adds. The water-guzzling crop is most commonly cultivated in irrigated regions.

Ease of cultivation and remunerative prices are key causes for the astronomical growth of arecanut in the state. Maize, a dominant agricultural crop, has also become a popular choice. These two crops have wiped out local cropping patterns in many districts. In Tumakuru district, for example, groundnut and ragi have made way for arecanut.

Cropping patterns fluctuate with varying weather conditions — including droughts and monsoons. However, there has been a decline in oilseed production, particularly sunflower and this is a worrying trend, says G T Puthra, director, Department of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka. 

While the transition is in the offing, Thimmegowda M N, head of the Agrometeorology Department at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, says that cultivation methodologies should incorporate horticulture and agricultural crops. “Horticulture crops are also susceptible to climate change. We have the example of mango. It is losing ground in its traditional areas due to low yield and climate-induced problems,” he says. “In the long term, moving away from food crops might affect our food security,” he adds.

Arecanut is also vulnerable as temperatures rise, Thimmegowda says. In fact, in Dakshina Kannada, where areca is a primary crop, the horticulture department, in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India, recently conducted a feasibility survey for coffee in high-altitude areas. “Though there is no immediate threat, as areca is remunerative, we want to have a couple of alternatives. Cocoa and pepper, which are already grown as intercrops, are other prospective options,” says D Manjunath, deputy director of horticulture, Dakshina Kannada.

Early trends of yield reduction, coupled with yellow leaf and leaf spot diseases, have compelled growers in Dakshina Kannada to contemplate alternative land use. The shift is already underway in Chikkamagaluru, another traditional arecanut belt, where there was a significant drop in production last year due to excess rainfall and diseases.

Smallholders’ challenges

A majority of farmers who are shifting to horticulture crops have medium and large landholdings. “Horticulture crops require initial investment and have a gestation period of two to five years. We cannot afford that,” says Bibi Jan, a farmer from Kundagol taluk in Dharwad district. Her family grows millets, pulses and vegetables in two acres of land. They also lease a few acres of land to grow these crops.

Her way of adapting to extreme weather conditions is to wait and watch. She waits for the monsoon to set in before choosing what to grow. In a drought year, her choice of crops differs. Other factors that inform her decision are the market and labour. Articulating this uncertainty, she provides the example of brown top millet, which fetched them Rs 6,500 per quintal last year. This year, the price has dropped to below Rs 4,000 per quintal.

Constant price fluctuations have made it difficult for farmers to achieve income security. A scientist pointed out that government policies are key to sustaining food crops, specifically pulses and oilseeds. While the minimum support price provision helps secure stable revenue, delays in setting up procurement centres pose a challenge to farmers. He gives the example of safflower procurement in north Karnataka districts this year. “By the time procurement centres were opened, farmers had sold the produce in the open market,” he says.

Localised shift

Ease of cultivation has also led to significant localised shifts in cropping patterns. Take the case of Bidar, called the pulse bowl of the state. Soybean has replaced greengram and blackgram as farmers find it easier to grow compared to the traditional crops. Likewise, cotton and spreading groundnut, which are not suitable for mechanisation, have lost favour in Gadag. 

Similarly, ragi has gained ground given its compatibility with mechanisation. “Combine harvesters have made ragi harvesting quick and easy for farmers. Due to acute labour shortage, they prefer crops that are suited for mechanisation,” an officer of the agricultural department says. A growing number of farmers are opting for crops that suit mechanisation to address the labour shortages.

“Horticulture crops make us more self-reliant,” says Koppal-based farmer Anandateertha Pyati. He shares his experience of growing millets along with tamarind on his four-acre farm. “I tried to grow millets and pulses for three seasons only to suffer losses. My application for crop insurance did not elicit any response. Finally, I gave up millet cultivation,” he says.

It is no surprise that farmers are making the shift to horticulture. The area under horticulture cultivation has doubled in Koppal over the last decade, from 22,000 hectares in 2016 to 55,000 hectares today. 

The horticulture department in Koppal has actively promoted the Kesar mango variety, which is suitable for the agroclimatic zone, by providing necessary information and market linkages. Thus Kesar mango has emerged as the most popular crop, with farmers even exporting it. 

Dip in productivity

The shift to horticulture crops, however, may only provide temporary reprieve to farmers. Increasing cost of cultivation and decreasing productivity have only exacerbated the vulnerability of both agricultural and horticultural crops. This has meant that farmers are increasingly at odds with what to cultivate. 

In the last five years, ragi has seen a significant drop in yield, from 18 quintals per hectare to 12 quintals per hectare, whereas maize has seen a reduction from 33 quintals to 28 quintals per hectare. Alternate bearing and low yield have meant that the state has seen a drop in mango production as well in recent years.

A 2021 study by the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute and the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, observed that some crops were losing productivity while others were gaining productivity in different districts due to climate change. The net productivity changes indicate that groundnut, rice and wheat will lose productivity by 2035. Cotton, maize, chickpea and sugarcane may gain productivity. Researchers used a crop simulation model that assessed the effects of weather, soil content, agronomic management, pests, diseases, yield, water availability and greenhouse gas emissions.  

“The input cost for maize, mostly for chemical fertilisers and herbicides, is so high that we are in perpetual loss with the current yield. The entire crop cycle is run on loans,” says Mahadevappa, a Dharwad-based farmer. “But we are left with no other option,” he adds.

In the neighbouring Gadag district, farmer Annapurna echoes this sentiment. “If we think about profit, we will not be able to grow any crop. From land preparation to marketing, nothing is in our hands. We are always at the receiving end. Our livelihood is dependent on so many natural and human factors,” she says. 

Content with the returns she got from chilli cultivation this year, she says good profits are sheer luck. “Thanks to a conducive environment and good market prices, the income I got from chilli grown on an acre of land is equivalent to a field crop grown on 10 acres,” she says.

Her brother, Basavaraj, sees a reduction in livestock as the major reason for the drastic changes in cropping patterns. “Earlier, we would factor in fodder requirements while growing a crop. Not anymore. There is a 75% drop in the number of cattle in our Shagoti village. Now, inflated costs have forced us to focus singularly on income generation, not on our food or the ecosystem,” he says. He links how the food consumption patterns have changed with cropping patterns, leading to many health problems in people. 

There have been successful models of crop diversification among farmers. Take Nannesab Divannavar in Hirebendigeri in Haveri district, for instance. He anticipated the need to combine agriculture and horticulture crops in 2006. Now, the four-acre farm has a good mix of fruit, food, and vegetable crops. Diversity is key to ensuring sustainability, he believes. This year, fluctuations in rainfall patterns have resulted in the reduction of mango production by two-thirds.  “Other crops help me sail through,” he says.

Exotic fruits

This significant shift at various levels across the state is marked by some innovative and enthusiastic farmers diversifying into exotic and indigenous crops. According to the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bengaluru, there has been a 25% increase in the cultivation area of 12 fruits — mainly avocado, dragon fruit, jackfruit, tamarind, jamun, passion fruit, rambutan, and mangosteen — in the last five years. They are now grown as secondary crops, and the popularity is driven by market demand, their ability to survive extreme weather events, and relatively less maintenance.

Arun S, director of the Karnataka Exotic Fruits Farmers' Association, says that dragon fruit is cultivated by nearly 600 farmers in more than 1,800 acres. The fruit has replaced the pomegranate in many areas. Data from the department of horticulture shows that dragon fruit, avocado, and litchi covered an area of 644 hectares in 2023.

As farmers are experimenting with crops—both local and novel — to sustain their livelihoods and attain income security in times of climate change, they wait for support in terms of policy to make farming viable and remunerative.