Inter-district variation and convergence in agricultural productivity in India

Abstract

Using district-level data for the 1971-2010 period, we examine the convergence in agricultural productivity. We find significant spatial variation in agricultural productivity and growth in the past four decades at different levels of spatial aggregation, and we find evidence of both absolute and conditional convergence. The state-wise convergence suggests that the districts of most states are converging towards the steady-state. At the regional level there is strong convergence for all the four regions. Conditional convergence suggests that districts with better initial conditions are growing at a higher rate.

Revisiting the Status of Agricultural Productivity in Odisha

“…As an outcome of the study, four coastal districts, including Balasore, Cuttack, As a result, the inadequate irrigation is identified as the most important cause of low agricultural output, the need for irrigation facility expansion through public investment and irrigation water management decentralization should be encouraged. Between 1971 and 2010, the national and regional average agricultural productivity grew over the last four decades, but the national level productivity growth rate has been steadily declining due to regional variance (Murtaza and Masood, 2020). Patra investigated Odisha's agricultural status, including paddy and total food grain productivity across districts, as well as inter-district variances in agricultural performance (Patra, 2014).…”