While food crops sustain life, cash crops sustain the economy. These are the crops primarily grown for commercial purposes—sold in the market rather than consumed directly by the farmer. Their contribution to India’s agricultural GDP is significantly high despite occupying a smaller share of cultivated land.
Cash crops are grown for sale and industrial use rather than for direct consumption. Examples include cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and oilseeds.
Though they occupy only about 15% of the total cropped area, they contribute to over 40% of the total agricultural output by value—demonstrating their high economic return per hectare.
These crops are vital to India’s exports, raw material supply for industries (like textiles, sugar, and oil), and livelihood for millions of farmers engaged in commercial farming.
The production and prices of cash crops are often influenced by global market trends, government policies, and industrial demand.
They also play a key role in crop diversification and rural employment generation, especially in regions with agro-climatic advantages.
In the upcoming sections, we will explore these cash crops in detail—understanding their agro-climatic requirements, leading producing states, economic significance, and the policy frameworks that govern them.
State wise production list 2022-23 for major Cash Crops.
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