Production Responses of Commercial Crops

Agriculture continues to be the backbone of the Indian economy and despite concerted industrialization in the last five decades agriculture continues to occupy a place of pride. As is the case with India, agriculture continues to be one of the major sectors of development in Andhra Pradesh. Growth in production of the crops, however, has not been uniform or steady. There have been year-to-year fluctuations in both area and production. Fluctuations in area of crops are caused by variations in prices, whether conditions, availability of irrigation facilities, etc. Further, commercial crops grown under rain fed conditions are high-risk crops. That being the case, the farmers are naturally reluctant to increase their investment on such crops. As such prices are expected to induce the farmers to change the area under different crops to a great extent. Hence, it is essential to assess the production responses to price changes.