Performance of Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh-A District-level Analysis

The growth of agriculture is prerequisite for overall development of Indian economy. It contributes significantly to the export earnings and affects the performance of other sectors of the economy through forward and backward linkages. The present paper analyses district and regional level disparity in agriculture development in Uttar Pradesh on a number of agricultural parameters. It uses UNDP methodology (subsequently used by a number of others) to standardize various indicators for agricultural attainment in the state of Uttar Pradesh using 13 agricultural development indicators. A composite index has been constructed at the district level and also regional level for two cross-section years 1990-91 and 2008-09. The relative variations and changes in ranks of different districts have been computed during the period under consideration. Evidence shows existence of high and persistent inter-state disparity in agriculture in the state over the years. The transformation of some districts from the level of relatively underperformer to the rank of better performer and vice versa has been witnessed and explained. The findings encourage the authors to conclude that a more determined effort on the part of the policy makers is needed if the development policy has to be made truly inclusive.