Trends in growth of agriculture in Himachal Pradesh

The entire population of Himachal Pradesh, more or less, depends directly upon the agriculture. The major portion of the revenue earning in the state's economy is carried out by cash crops. Agriculture is a very crucial part of the state's economy as it is the chief occupation of people. Highvalue crops like vegetables can potentially increase farmers income as demand for high-value food products is increasing more quickly than that of the cereal crops. The present study deals with growth performance of major cereals, pulses and vegetable crops examined in Himachal Pradesh. Growth was analyzed in terms of compound annual growth rate in area, production and productivity of these, which was carried out at State as well as at the district level for the period 1995–96 to 2015–16 in case of vegetable crops and 1989–90 to 2011–12 in case of cereals and pulses crops. The study has revealed that the growth performance of vegetable crops is increasing in the State as compared to the cereals and pulses.