Sikkim spent more than Rs 7,000 per hectare but Rajasthan spent less than Rs 330 per hectare on average between 2001-10


May 28, 2011,

Agriculture has to feed 1.2 billion Indians. But while the economy grew 7.4% in 2009-10, agriculture grew by just 0.2%. The production of foodgrains grew 1.96% per annum from 2001-10 while the area to produce food-grains has just increased by 0.3%. Meanwhile the population has increased over 17% over the period 2001-11. How can we increase farm productivity?

Public spending which varies across states, has to increase. States like Delhi and Sikkim spent more than Rs 7,000 per hectare but Rajasthan spent less than Rs 330 per hectare on average between 2001-10. Many farmers in India don't have access to enough capital to buy seeds & fertilisers. Land holdings are also small, restricting production. Without more public spending yields can't go up.

More foodgrains have to be produced for every hectare to feed our people. Gujarat and Chhattisgarh have improved their productivity by more than 90% and 70% respectively but are still behind Punjab and Haryana. In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, productivity fell in 2009-10 compared to 2001. Higher productivity can also help farmers gain from higher food prices. In UP, Rajasthan, Orissa, and Himachal Pradesh more than half of the workforce is engaged in agriculture but at very low labour productivity, defined as agricultural GDP divided by total agricultural workforce. This shows how much states can leverage their agricultural workforce for development.

source ET