Model to Generate Crop Combinations for Tribal Farmers in Palghar, Maharashtra, India

Maximum tribal farmers in Palghar district, Maharashtra migrate to nearby cities after Kharif cultivation in search of employment because water and land resources become crucial constraints for them during Rabi season. These resources can be managed optimally to make agriculture as a profitable source of livelihood for these farmers. A participatory field study is conducted for this research in selected villages to identify trends of Rabi crops, farmer’s current agricultural practices, their constraints and markets for produce. A linear programming model is developed, which generates alternatives of cropping pattern combinations from a list of selected horticultural crops considering the objectives of local farmers and constraints of available resources. Three cases of cropping pattern (2, 3, 4 crops per season) with two cases of irrigation methods each (furrow and drip system) are created to understand the change in crop selection, cropped area and economics. Drip irrigation system turns out to be more profitable than furrow irrigation system in all the cropping patterns while two crop pattern gives the most profit.