Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of crop diversification in increasing the income of farm households. In addition, this study introduces the impact of natural disasters in the analysis to determine how diversification helps mitigate the negative effect of disasters on farm income. More importantly, the study also analyses the effect of diversification on farm income by farm class to see where the benefits of diversification are concentrated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a linear model, in which agricultural income is expressed as a function of diversification, natural disasters and several control variables. Diversification is measured using the Simpson index of diversification. The linear model is enhanced with the inclusion of an interaction term of natural disasters with the diversification index to shed light on the role of diversification in negating their harmful effect on agricultural income. Finally, to analyze the impact of institutional variables on farm income, the interactions of diversification with irrigation, insurance, usage of technical information and formal training are incorporated in the linear model.

Findings

The study highlights the importance of demographic, farm and institutional variables in raising farm income. The study suggests that an increase in education level, irrigation, usage of technical information and possession of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) have a positive impact on agricultural income. The study reveals that crop diversification has a positive impact on farm income and the benefits of diversification are conditioned by institutional factors. Thus, there is a need for policy intervention to ensure increased irrigation facilities along with extension services to provide information to the farm households. It has been found that small farmers gain more from crop diversification than larger farmers. Furthermore, the results show that natural disasters negatively impact farm income, but their impact can be mitigated by higher levels of diversification.

Originality/value

The results of the study are based on the recent unit-level data from the 77th Round of the National Sample Survey Office survey. The survey covers a large number of farm households and reports information for the year 2018–2019.

中文翻译：

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作物多样性和农场收入：来自大规模全国调查的证据

目的

本研究旨在评估作物多样化在增加农户收入方面的有效性。此外，本研究在分析中引入了自然灾害的影响，以确定多样化如何帮助减轻灾害对农业收入的负面影响。更重要的是，该研究还按农场类别分析了多样化对农场收入的影响，以了解多样化的好处集中在哪里。

设计/方法/途径

本研究使用线性模型，其中农业收入表示为多样化、自然灾害和几个控制变量的函数。多元化使用辛普森多元化指数来衡量。通过纳入自然灾害与多样化指数的相互作用项，线性模型得到增强，以阐明多样化在抵消其对农业收入的有害影响方面的作用。最后，为了分析制度变量对农场收入的影响，将多样化与灌溉、保险、技术信息的使用和正规培训的相互作用纳入线性模型。

发现

该研究强调了人口、农场和制度变量在提高农场收入方面的重要性。该研究表明，教育水平的提高、灌溉、技术信息的使用和拥有 Kisan 信用卡 (KCC) 对农业收入有积极影响。该研究表明，作物多样化对农场收入有积极影响，而多样化的好处受制于制度因素。因此，需要政策干预以确保增加灌溉设施以及推广服务以向农户提供信息。已经发现，与大农户相比，小农户从作物多样化中获益更多。此外，结果表明，自然灾害对农业收入产生负面影响，

原创性/价值

研究结果基于全国抽样调查办公室第77轮调查的近期单位层面数据。该调查涵盖了大量农户，并报告了 2018-2019 年的信息。