Growth and Structural Transformation of Agriculture in Bihar

The economy of Bihar is dominated by agriculture, which contributes over a quarter of the state’s income and accounts for employment of about 70 per cent of the rural workforce. Hence, robust growth of the agriculture sector holds the key to the economic and social development of the state. Keeping this in view, the Government of Bihar has launched many initiatives for improving productivity growth in the crop and livestock sectors. These include the development of irrigation, strengthening the input supply and extension programmes, and introduction of market reforms and farm mechanisation, among others. These initiatives are being implemented under different phases of the agriculture roadmaps, laid down by the Government of Bihar. These roadmaps focus on the holistic development of agriculture with an emphasis on increasing productivity growth and improving farmers’ income.   In this context, this policy brief attempts to identify the sources of Crop Output Growth in Bihar in the last decade and a half. This is must to identify the scope for Policy Interventions.