The Changing Pattern and Sources of Agricultural Growth in India

1. INTRODUCTION The Indian economy has moved decisively to a higher path of growth in recent years, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The rate of economic growth measured in real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) (1999-2000 prices) averaged less than 5% per year during the 1980s and 1990s, increasing to more than 7% per year during the period 2003-07 (Planning Commission 2008). The economy is now poised to sustain these more rapid rates of expansion, with the potential to bring signifi cant improvements to the lives of millions of the country's poor. In contrast, the country's agricultural economy has performed erratically during the past several decades. Indian agricultural output, especially that of rice and wheat in irrigated areas, recorded a quantum jump in growth during the 1970s and 1980s in response to the widespread adoption of new seed-and fertilizer-based technologies. This was accompanied by substantial growth in rural infrastructure, mainly through public investments. The growth stimulus spread into rain-fed agricultural production beginning in the 1980s with the rapid adoption of high-yielding varieties of coarse cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and cotton. Rising yield growth and cropping intensities greatly contributed to buoyant agricultural growth, despite frequent instability due to weather events. The livestock sector, the second-largest component of India's agricultural GDP, also