Changes in cropping pattern in shahjahanpur district-Uttar Pradesh

Agriculture plays a vital role in the economic development of the country where about 70 percent of the population is directly or indirectly depends on agricultural activities. The agriculture sector is still the major source of livelihood for the population of Shahjahanpur district. With the advancement of new agricultural strategy, there has been a complementary relationship between the commercialization and cropping pattern of the state. The present study aims that understanding the dynamics of agricultural development by utilizing the secondary sources of data which is collected from various government publications. The area under different crops has been analyzed and interpreted through tabulation and simple percentage method. The aim of this paper is to find out the changes in the cropping pattern in Shahjahanpur district. The initial analysis of the data reflects that the farmers are gradually diversifying their farms and intended to shift towards cash crops for the sake of higher returns. The area under commercial crops in the district has been increasing at a higher rate as compared to other food crops.