Regional disparity in agricultural development in Orissa in the pre and post-reform period

Abstract

A careful analysis of the computed Agricultural Development Indices for different districts of Orissa reveals that the four coastal districts (Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Ganjam) and two districts of central table land area (Sambalpur and Bolangir) are agriculturally more advanced than other districts in the three reference years over three decades (1980-81 to 1998-99). All the above districts have exchanged the first six ranks among themselves during the reference years. The agricultural success of four coastal districts is due to well-developed irrigation facilities and vast tracts of plain and fertile land comprising alluvial soil. Districts of the northern plateau zone, namely Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundergarh, and Koraput of eastern ghat area are found to be the most backward districts as they have secured the lowest ranks during the reference years. A significant proportion of gross cropped area in these districts is under rainfed agriculture and, thus, drought prone. Phulbani is the only district having sliding or worsening agricultural development index over the reference time period. Regression analysis of the factors accounting for regional disparity unveils that irrigation is the most important determinant of agricultural productivity in a region. There is a need to extend irrigation facility to hitherto unirrigated areas. Therefore, public investments in irrigation infrastructure in underdeveloped rural regions need to be stepped up. During the post-reform period, regional disparity has declined due to emphasis laid on accelerating the growth of backward areas through various special area development programmes.