7. Dynamics of On-Farm Land Use Changes in Terms of Inter-Specific Crop Diversity: A Case Study of Panipat District of Haryana State, India

Crop diversity forms a significant component of the Agro-biodiversity. This is believed to be the result of thousands of years of farmer’s selection, experimentation and propagation of desirable traits of desirable species in innumerable ways for their subsistence and cultural purposes. But the selection results in detrimental on-farm land use changes that directly contribute to crop diversity loss. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the existing reality of the on-farm land use changes around the inter-specific crop diversity. The Herfindahl–Hirschman and Simpson index have been used to quantify the concentration of crop type and richness and evenness in crops on the farms. The findings indicated the shift from multiple cropping to monoculture system i.e. Rice Wheat Cropping System (RWCS). Other crops (cash crops, fodder crops, vegetables and pulses) are no more farmers’ attraction. This has now become the backbone of farming in the Panipat district. It is ultimately led to inter-specific crop diversity loss. It makes the national authority to think about the issues of sustainability. Many national organizations are working towards safeguarding the crop species and cause farmers to diversify towards other species.