Flood threat on paddy and wheat farming in the Indian States

The present study was undertaken to examine the incidence of flood threat on paddy and wheat farming across 14 flood plain states of India using secondary panel data compiled from various published sources covering the period 1990–91 to 2016–17. Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) estimation technique was applied for jointly determining the association of flood-affected area with output of paddy and wheat alongside association of annual average rainfall, irrigation infrastructure with spread of flood across the states. Though expansion of area under cultivation of paddy and wheat helped in attaining higher level of output; however, spread of area affected by flood reduced the output of both crops across the sampled states during the reference period. Severe rainfall and exceptional irrigation was found to be a contributory factor towards increased flood water level in the study area.