Project title:  Spatial and Temporal Changes in Productivity and Economics of Indian

                       Agriculture

Project leader: Dr. Sant Kumar

Project team:       -

Background:

The analysis of growth performance of agriculture sector, that has experienced a slowdown after mid-1990s, is crucial to address and avoid serious consequences of changing viability of Indian agriculture on rural livelihood. The changing cost-price relationship, rural indebtedness, and declining factor productivity are making the sector less profitable that deserves policy focus.  

Objectives:

1.    Measure the profitability in production by crop (groups) across states and at all-India

2.    Study the production performance of crop (groups) across states and national level

3.   Identify the sources of output growth in crop production and determinants thereof.

Study area:

All major states

Crop coverage:

Cereals (rice, wheat, maize); Pulses (gram, tur); Oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, soybean and sunflower); Commercial crop (sugarcane)

Methodology :

1. Crop budgeting to study cost and returns structures of crops

2. Estimation of total factor productivity to measure trends in productivity growth

3. Estimation of growth rates (ACGR) for crop performance

Key findings:

1. Decline in net returns from rice production due to increasing cost of cultivation over years

2. Increased cost was due to both input use and prices, but not for all inputs at same pace

3. Net returns from rice during TE 1974-05, increased in AP & PB and declined for MP& WB

4. Steep decline in labour use affected cost of production and entire population dependent on it

5. There is a decline in growth of fertilizer use and increased growth of its prices during post-reform period

Funding agency: NCAP