“Agricultural Development in Assam: Constraints and Policy Options”

Citation: Ganesh-Kumar, A. 2002. “Agricultural Development in Assam: Constraints and Policy Options”. In K. S. Parikh (Ed.) Assam Development Report, Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi.

Abstract: Agriculture in Assam exhibits most of the characteristics of underdeveloped / backward agriculture, namely, a high dependence on agriculture for livelihood, widespread practice of traditional farming techniques and correspondingly low usage of modern farm inputs, low levels and low growth in productivity and incomes in the sector, wide spread prevalence of subsistence cultivation, poor / inadequate agricultural infrastructure, and so on. Even though the State is richly endowed in natural resources development of agriculture in Assam has been slow over the decades, and the state is not just lagging behind most others in the country but is unable to meet its own requirements in many agricultural commodities. This chapter, examines the progress of agriculture in Assam, the constraints it faces and possible policy actions that can be taken to remove / reduce those constraints to agricultural growth in the State.

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