2005 Articles

Agricultural Performance in Uttar Pradesh: A Historical Account

Bajpai, Nirupam; Volavka, Nicole

In this paper, we attempt to identify and analyze the issues and problems associated with the agriculture sector of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). We begin with the pre-Green Revolution period, from the early 1960s and examine the growth of agricultural outputs springing from the Green Revolution in U.P. and those in relation to Punjab and Haryana, India’s most successful states as far as the agriculture sector is concerned. Additionally, we study of the growth of agricultural inputs in U.P overtime to
consider intrastate variations in patterns of agricultural development between western and eastern U.P. In order for U.P. to be able to attain and sustain higher levels of growth in its agriculture and allied sectors, the following areas will require much higher public investments and the state government’s attention: increased focus on irrigation; increased expenditure in agricultural research and development; capacity expansion in U.P.’s agricultural
universities; diversification of crops; revamping of the agricultural extension system to assist farmers in adopting new technologies; building up rural infrastructure, and promotion of agro-based industries.