An Economic Analysis of Agriculture Sector in Gujarat

INTRODUCTION

Gujarat agriculture sector still remains critical as it provides employment to about 52 % (as per 2011census). Moreover this sector is entitled to supply required food, fodder and raw materials for growing population. Notwithstanding the fact that the pioneering work by agriculture scientists, government and the efforts of farmers had helped achieve a breakthrough in the agriculture sector. High agricultural production and productivity achieved in some crops has helped in attaining growth. The food safety net for each and every of the over a billion citizens-a number that is growing- requires enhanced agricultural production and productivity in the form of a Second Green Revolution.

Total Geographical Area: 196 lakh ha and 66% with < 750 mm rainfall Gujarat comprises 24.94% of arid and 33.66% of semi-arid areas of the country. Net Area Sown: 103 lakh ha (52%) Gross Cropped Area: 139 lakh hectares (71%). Gross Irrigated area: 44.71% Net Irrigated area: 43.24% Operational land holders: 48.86 lakh Average land holding: 2.03 ha Land holding: < 1 ha (18.1 lakh) 1-2 ha (14.3 lakh) 2 to 5 ha (10.8 lakh) 5 to 10 ha (5.1 lakh) >10 ha (49,000) Cropping intensity : 118% 70% of GCA under non-food crops. Increase in total cropped area in last the 15 years: 2.5 million ha (i.e. 1 million ha by conversion of fallow lands and 1.5 million ha in double cropping). Water harvesting on top priority witn 1.75 lakh check dams & 2.25 lakh bori-bunds in the last decade. Micro-irrigation (2016-17):12.2 lakh ha| Drip: 6.5 lakh ha Sprinkler: 5.7 lakh ha Net irrigated area to increase to 64% in the next five years due to Sardar Sarovar Narmada Ltd.

This study is to analyze the agriculture Production in Gujarat. The Present Study is based on secondary sources. Secondary data is collected from various reports of Government of India, RBI reports, Directors of economics and statistics Gujarat reports, Ministry of Agriculture reports, books, articles, and Economic Survey of India.

During the period 2011-12 to 2016-17, the GSDP for agriculture sector including animal Husbandry increased from Rs. 98015 Crore to Rs.106037 crores. This shows a positive performance in overall agriculture production in Gujarat. The production of food grains during 2017-18 is estimated at 66.88 lakh tones compared to 92.57 lakh tonnes in 2011-12 this is due to the reason that During first week of September, 2012, all districts of the state received very good rainfall which will help in improving crop prospects for rabi season.

3.3 per cent in the 1990s to 11.1 per cent during the decade 2001-2002 to 2011-2017. In fact, the production of cotton, wheat, fruit crops and milk have played a vital role in sustaining the agricultural growth in the State economy. During the period of 2001-2010 high agriculture growth has been credited to better investment in irrigation, dedicated power supply availability, Adoption of embedded technology and by and large management of groundwater, and about 15 lakh ha of arid land was converted to cultivable land. This initiation boosted the crop output. Finally the promise of reasonable central- MSP- spurred sowing of large acreage under major cash crops such as Bt-Cotton etc-(ASSOCHAM-2011) Although, the farmers of Gujarat have shown a move towards cash crops, fruits and vegetables and oil seeds, it is a matter of pride that the total production of food grains crossed 100 lakh MT for the first time in the history of the State in 2010-2011. However in the year 2017-18 it dropped to 6688 thousand tonnes. Agriculture continues to contribute 15 per cent of Gujarat‘s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and provides employment to almost 51.58 per cent of our workforce. According to CARE Ratings the State contributes more than 7 per cent to India‘s GDP; in particular, it for 13 per cent of manufactured and 11 per cent of primary sector output (mainly agriculture) of the country. During the 11th five year plan period (2007-12) the average agriculture growth rate of Gujarat was 5.49 percent per annum as compared to all India average growth rate of 4.06 percent per annum. As against 26.64 percent growth in 2014-15 and 0.01 percent growth in 2015-16, Gujarat has registered -1.39 percent growths in 2016-17 presently.

CROP PRODUCTION

Crop production will become more difficult with climate change, resource scarcity (e.g. land, water, energy, and nutrients) and environmental degradation (e.g. declining soil quality and surface water). To pursue the fastest and most practical route to improved yield, the near-term strategy is application and extension of existing agricultural technologies. Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural outputs to agricultural inputs so it is called efficiency of farm. The productivity of a region‘s farms is important for food sufficiency, growth prospects, income distribution, etc. An increase in a region‘s agricultural productivity implies a more efficient utilization of scarce resources, which leads to higher incomes from low cost. As farms become more prolific, the wages earned by workers in agriculture also increases and at the same time, food supplies become more stable. After-2000s period can be considered a watershed after which output has recorded tremendous increase, making Gujarat the foremost state in India in terms of growth in value of agricultural output. The strong performance of Gujarat agriculture is also reflected in terms of increased crop yields in groundnut, wheat and rice( doubling formers income by 2020 Gujarat Report). Average production of food grain is highest (6220.6 thousand tons) and it is followed by cotton (4327.8 thousand tons) in the state. Average production of the oil seeds 3097.31 thousand tons) and Average production of the oil seeds 1958.1 thousand tons and it is followed by wheat 1885.9 & rice (1032.6 thousand tons respectively) in the Gujarat state. Cotton and Wheat have grown at CAGR 13.01% and 9.4% respectively. While rice, pulses, Food grain and oilseeds have grown at CAGR at 9.19%, 2.8%, 6.9% and 6.8% respectively in the state.

CONCLUSION

From the above evidence we can conclude that overall performance of the Gujarat agriculture growth and production has shown the significant change in the last three decades. It reveals that the agriculture major crops has increase over the period of time. An average of 6220.0 million tonnes of food grain is produced annually which is higher than production of rice, Wheat, Coarse cereals, Pulses and oilseeds taken individually. However, it is less than annually average production of all Cotton (4327.8 million tonnes). Nonetheless, the variation in annual production of all food grains is significant standard Deviation value obtained of cotton, Food grain, oilseeds and wheat have increased comparatively over the last few years. The choice before the state is clear to invest more in agriculture and allied sectors with the right strategies, policies, and interventions. This is also a 'necessary' condition for 'inclusive growth' and for ensuring that the benefits of growth reach a larger number of people.

1) Socio-economic review of Gujarat 2010-11 2) Socio-economic review of Gujarat 2013-14 3) Socio-economic review of Gujarat 2015-16 4) Socio-economic review of Gujarat 2017-18 5) www.ibef.org.January 2017 (Gujarat the growth engine of India) 6) Strategies for doubling farmers income in Gujarat by 2022, report of the state level co-ordination committee to develop strategies and road map to double the farmer‘s income by 2022, December 2017. 7) Bansi Patel (2015).An Economic Analysis of Trends in Agriculture Growth and Production in Gujarat.

Assistant Professor, Department of Business Economics, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda