(a) whether the agriculture production rate is very low in Eastern and North-Eastern States as
compared to other States despite abundant reserves of ground water there;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor;
(c) the present status of agricultural growth rate in the Eastern and North-Eastern Region;
and
(d) the steps taken to increase the agriculture growth rate in Eastern and North-Eastern
Region?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI HUKUMDEO NARAYAN YADAV)
(a) & (b): The State-wise normal production rates (average yield based on figures of 1998-
99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01) of foodgrains, oilseeds and sugarcane are given in the Annexure. It
may be seen from this Annexure that while the production rates in Assam, Jharkhand,
Meghalaya, Orissa and Sikkim are lower than the national average, in respect of other Eastern
and North – Eastern States these are higher than the national average for some crops but lower
for others.
The production rate varies a great deal from region to region because it depends on a
number of factors such as condition of soil, facilities of irrigation, duration of the crop (gestation
period between sowing and harvesting), farm size, quality of seeds, timely application of quality
inputs, managerial skills of farmers and availability of credit, etc.
(c): The production of principal agricultural crops in Eastern and North – Eastern regions of
the country shows a long – term upward trend, albeit with aberrations due to variations in agro
climatic conditions.
(d): The Government have launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on `On – Farm Water
Management for increasing crop production in Eastern India` for the year 2001-02 and for the
Tenth Five Year Plan. The scheme is being implemented in the States of Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, West Bengal as also in
Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Further, in order to improve production and productivity of agricultural
commodities in the country, including Eastern and North – Eastern States, the Government have
launched various other initiatives such as emphasis on developing and promoting new
technologies, measures for increasing availability of agricultural credit, Market information
Network, National Agriculture Insurance Scheme etc. Besides, the Government also encourage
farmers to increase production through price policy which includes implementation of Minimum
Support Price, procurement by public agencies etc. Apart from these, the Government have also
switched over from the conventional schematic approach to macro-management mode from
November, 2000 for providing assistance to the States so as to give flexibility to States to
address specific problems faced by them depending on local requirements.