Achieving a high rate of economic growth continues to be the main concern of policy makers in developing world. It is because a high growth is the only solution to be the chronic problem of poverty and unemployment in these countries. In India also, the Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan prepared by the Planning Commission suggested a road map for 9.0 per cent per annum growth for the economy as a whole, and an agricultural growth target of 4.0 per cent per annum during the plan period. Agriculture is not only an important driver of macro-economic performance; it is an essential element of the strategy to make growth more inclusive. With around two-third of the rural population directly or indirectly dependant on agriculture for livelihood support, agriculture continues to play a dominant role in the Indian economy. Improving the production capacity of agriculture sector in developing country like India through total factor productivity is a significant policy goal, where agriculture represents an important sector in Indian economy. The agricultural productivity is both a necessary and sufficient condition for agriculture development in India and has remained a serious concern for intense research since independence. Productivity and technological change in agriculture sector is the most important dimension of the Indian economy in the current scenario.
It is in this context that present book entitled “Agricultural Productivity in India: State Level Trends and Determinants” has estimated emerging trends of productivity in agricultural sector both at aggregate and state levels by using time series data and also identify the major determinants of agricultural productivity at disaggregated level in India. Moreover, the implication of agricultural productivity growth for future agricultural development has also been discussed in this book. The present book is unique in the sense as it focuses on productivity and technological change in agriculture sector at state level and its implications for food security. I hope this book will be widely used by academicians, policy makers and researchers for developing strategies in the context of sustainable agricultural development in India through the enhancement of agricultural productivity.
