Factors affecting growth of agriculture in Punjab
- Agricultural Situation in India
- 79(1), Apr, 2022: p.20-27
The present study was conducted to examine the growth pattern of agriculture in the state of Punjab for the period 2000-01 to 2019-20. District-wise compound annual growth rate of area, production and productivity of major crops and the variables such as fertilizers, electricity consumption, net irrigation area, cropping intensity, milk production, etc. were worked out to examine the growth pattern of agriculture. There has been significant growth in area, production and productivity of wheat and paddy in Punjab. However, the area under cotton and maize crops reported a significant decline in all the major cotton and maize growing districts of the state. With overtime development of mechanization along with expansion of irrigation facilities, there has been a significant growth in cropping intensity and fertilizers use in Punjab. The regression analysis revealed that four factors; namely net sown area, fertilizers, pesticides and food grain production have significant contribution towards agricultural growth in Punjab. It is very difficult to enhance the net sown area of the state, but the crop productivity could be improved by adjusting the input use pattern. Availability of improved seed varieties among farmers is the key factor for better productivity from crops. There is a need of uniform distribution policy for seed allocation to reach the improved seed among farmers. The government must also ensure the timely supply of essential inputs such as seed, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. to the farmers at subsidized rate. The districts with negative growth of area, production and productivity of all important crops need to be critically evaluated. – Reproduced