Growth Performance of Major Rainfed Crops in India

This paper attempts to examine the performance of major rainfed crops in India during the last decade. The growth rates in area, production and yield were computed by fitting an exponential time trend equation for the period 1998–99 to 2008–09. The relative contribution of area and yield to the change in production (between TE 1998–99 and TE 2008–09) was examined by decomposing the total change in production into area effect, yield effect and interaction effect. Productivity of coarse cereals has significantly increased (30%) during the decade followed by oilseeds (13%). Growth in productivity of pulses (3%) is a bit stagnant in comparison to coarse cereals and oilseeds. Nevertheless the productivity of food grains excluding rice and wheat (coarse cereals + pulses) has recorded a rise of 20% during the decade, where as growth in productivity of wheat is as low as 9% and rice has shown 14% increase in its productivity. Coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds together recorded 18% rise in productivity.