Inappropriate cash crop policy

Although it is generally agreed that diversifying the crops produced by a community is necessary in order to maintain steady annual income, most rural communities raise only a few, or often a single, cash crop. This is generally because its easy marketability and stable price continue to provide the villagers with a basic income. There is deep apprehension of the risks involved in starting new crops when no-one is sure they can be grown or marketed, despite the fact that sometimes the cost of marketing what is produced at present virtually wipes out any profit, keeping family income at a subsistence level.