Rice Production in India: Trends and Determinants

The study has assessed state-wise contribution of area and productivity and their interaction to growth in production of rice. The average annual growth rates in area, production and productivity of rice have been worked out in major states and the factors responsible for the growth in productivity have been determined. The patterns in adoption of high-yielding rice varieties have been examined at the national level. The study is based on the time series data collected from different secondary sources for the period 1980–2010. The study has revealed that both production and productivity of rice in India increased at the annual compound growth rate of nearly 2 per cent. The yield effect was the highest in comparison to area and interaction effect in rice production. The percentage area under high-yielding varieties and the rainfall during crop season had influenced the rice productivity significantly. The study has highlighted the need for concerted efforts on enhancing productivity levels by infusing technological innovations, more investments in research & development, and technology dissemination, development of rice varieties for states/regions like Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh where productivity is quite low and improving irrigation infrastructure and water management for increasing productivity of rice in the country.