<P> Australia produces significant amounts of lentils . It was estimated in 2010 that Australia would produce approximately 143,000 tons of lentils . Most of Australia's lentil harvest is exported to the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East . </P> <P> Italy's Cassa per il Mezzogiorno in 1950 led to the government implementing incentives to grow cash crops such as tomatoes, tobacco and citrus fruits . As a result, they created an over abundance of these crops causing an over saturation of these crops on the global market . This caused these crops to depreciate in value </P> <P> Cash cropping in the United States rose to prominence after the baby boomer generation and the end of World War II . It was seen as a way to feed the large population boom and continues to be the main factor in having an affordable food supply in the United States . According to the 1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture, 90% of the farms in the United States are still owned by families, with an additional 6% owned by a partnership . Cash crop farmers have utilized precision agricultural technologies combined with time - tested practices to produce affordable food . Based upon United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics for 2010, states with the highest fruit production quantities are California, Florida and Washington . </P> <P> Coconut is a cash crop of Vietnam . </P>

What led to poppies becoming an important cash crop in south asia