Growth and Instability in Gujarat Agriculture

The agricultural development strategy followed in India during various Five Year Plans laid emphasis on achieving growth and stability in agricultural production and equity in distribution of grains from increased production through adoption of improved technology. Experiences show that output growth has not been very satisfactory and it has often resulted in wide fluctuation. The present paper summarizes the findings of the study based on the performances of growth and instability in Gujarat Agriculture. For analysis, the whole set of data have been divided into three sub groups keeping the peak production year in view. Later compound growth rate, coefficient of variation, decomposition and regression analysis were used to work out various coefficients. The study reveals that inspite of considerable technological changes, the growth rate of output of number of crops is still dependent upon the growth in area. Further it can be seen that the increased fluctuation in output of many commodities during sixties is further aggravated during the seventies. Though in the sixties decline in area fluctuation was experienced, during the seventies this fluctuation has widened. Fluctuation in productivity experienced in the sixties also doesn’t show any declining tendency.