Maharashtra farm sector to see lower growth rate

Maharashtra, which has a dubious record of witnessing the highest number of farmers suicides among all the states in the country, is going to see a sharp fall in the growth rate of farm sector during the 2007-08 financial year.

As per the forecast of the economic survey of the state, agricultural sector is going to grow at 5.8 per cent, a decline of 3.2 per cent over the last fiscal.

During the last two years of the Tenth Five Year Plan (TFYP), the state's agricultural sector grew 8.8 and 9 per cent respectively, taking its overall average of agricultural growth during TFYP to 4.8 per cent. However, the first year of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (EFYP) is going to see a sharp decline, from 9 per cent in 2006-07 to 5.8 per cent in the growth rate, despite having a good monsoon.

The major area of concern for the state is cotton as nearly 22 per cent of the cultivable land is under cotton production. The area under cotton cultivation is steadily increasing between 2 per cent and 5 per cent every year.

Despite this, productivity of cotton in the state remains low. Cotton production is at 187 kg per hectare, whereas it is 731 kg and 604 kg per hectare respectively in Punjab and Gujarat. Lower profitability due to high input cost and lower production has been one of the major reasons behind farmers suicides from cotton growing regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada.

The prospects for the state's other major cash crop, sugarcane, too is not very bright. The state's sugarcane production is expected to touch 804 lakh tonne, an increase of nearly 22 per cent.

However, sugar cooperatives in the state are finding it difficult to pay statutory minimum price (SMP) to farmers on account of the glut in the international market.

However, the state is expected to have some solace in terms of significant jump in the production of food grains and oil seeds. The production of food grains is expected to increase from 127.77 lakh tonne to 152.85 lakh tonne. Production of oil seeds too increased from 35.63 lakh tonne to 47.08 lakh tonne, an increase of 32 per cent.

The economic survey points out that irrigation is a major problem area as far as farming activity in Maharashtra is concern. The average area under irrigation is just 17 per cent in Maharashtra, which is much below the national average of 39 per cent.

Despite huge spendings in the Five Year Plan periods, the achievement in the creation of additional irrigation potential is not satisfactory.

Also, there is a wide gap in irrigation potential created and its actual use. Therefore, it is essential to closely monitor projectwise progress of works and usage of irrigation potential created, the report says.