Foodgrain production performance in Bihar: A temporal analysis

ABHAY KUMAR; R K P SINGH; N CHANDRA; R C BHARATI; UJJWAL KUMAR; J S MISHRA

doi:10.56093/ijas.v88i8.82551

Authors

ABHAY KUMAR Principal Scientist (Agricultural Statistics), State Farmers Commission, Bihar and Former Professor, DRPCAU, Pusa (Samastipur), Bihar
R K P SINGH Former Advisor, State Farmers Commission, Bihar and Former Professor, DRPCAU, Pusa (Samastipur), Bihar
N CHANDRA Principal Scientist (Agricultural Economics), ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar 800 014
R C BHARATI Principal Scientist (Agricultural Statistics), ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar 800 014
UJJWAL KUMAR Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension) and Head, Division of Socio-economics and Extension, ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar 800 014
J S MISHRA Principal Scientist and Head Division of Crop Research, ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar 800 014

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v88i8.82551

Keywords:

Bihar, Foodgrain, Instability, Production, Productivity

Abstract

The paper presents the growth in foodgrain production in different agro-climatic zones of Bihar during the last 30 years (1984 to 2014). There has been growth in production of foodgrains during the period under study, however, maize and wheat recorded the steady growth during the period. Pulses production got setback in all the agro-climatic zones, particularly during 1984-94. Agro-climatic zone II had an edge over other three agro-climatic zones with respect to increase in foodgrain production mainly due to lower foodgrain production during the base year (TE 1984). Foodgrain production got a boost during 2004-14. Instability in production of all foodgrains was high, but higher instability
in production was observed in rice and lower in wheat.The instability in foodgrain production was mainly due to frequent floods in north Bihar and droughts in south Bihar. Also, the growth and instability had positive relationship across all the zones. However, the sustainable increase in foodgrain production was made possible due to improved farmersâ€™ access to inputs and technology. All the three critical inputs (irrigation, fertilizers and HYV seeds) played a significant role in increasing foodgrain production in Bihar.

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