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Indian Journal of Plant and Soil

Volume  2, Issue 2, July - December 2015, Pages 107-118
 

Review Article

Agriculture in Bihar: The Latent Sector of Development

Barna Ganguli

Assistant Professor, Centre for Economic Policy and Public Finance (CEPPF), Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna, Bihar.

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Abstract

 Bihar is the third most populous state in India with majority of its population depending on agriculture. Thus, agriculture yet forms the backbone of development. An average Indian still spends almost half of his/her total expenditure on food and roughly half of India’s work force is still engaged in agriculture for its livelihood. Being both a source of livelihood and food security for a vast majority of low income, poor and vulnerable sections of society, its performance assumes greater significance in view of the proposed National Food Security Bill and the ongoing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. The experience from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) indicates that a one percent growth in agriculture is at least two to three times more effective in reducing poverty than the same growth emanating from nonagriculture sectors. Thus with proper thrust on technologies, institutional direction, farm level support services, all delivery mechanisms, improved farm infrastructure including rural connectivity, Bihar could be developed as a granary of India. It can also be developed as the major hub of fruits, vegetables, and fisheries for both national and global markets. The entire economic growth processes in Bihar depends on the dynamics of agriculture. There are successful experiments in different parts of the country, which if adopted, can provide an answer to various problems which Bihar is facing in its race to higher productivity levels. Bihar can then surely catch up with the present productivity levels of rice and wheat in Punjab and other cherished goals in maize, pulses, oilseeds, horticulture and livestock production in the next few year Plans. The paper tries to prove that if agriculture is developed systematically then agriculture can be one of the major profit earning sectors for Bihar.


Corresponding Author : Barna Ganguli