Nature and Causes of Inter-District Variations in Yield of Rice in West Bengal, 1970-71 to 1994-95

Ind. Jn. ofAgri. Econ. Vol. 59, No. 4, Oct.-Dec. 1999

Utpal Kumar De*

INTRODUCTION During the last few decades, substantial changes have been observed in the production and productivity of rice in West Bengal. Several studies have reported the significant contribution of new seed-fertiliser-irrigation technology (widely known as the technology of Green Revolution) to the growth of production and productivity (Dharm Narain, 1976; Mehta, 1981; Hazell, 1982; Rao et al. 1988; Bandyopadhyay, 1989; Ninan and Chandra- shekar, 1991). The growth of production and yield of rice however has not been uniform across different districts of the state. This paper seeks to examine the nature and extent of inter-district variations in the growth of yield of rice in West Bengal during 1970-71 to 1994-95 and the causes for such variations. West Bengal is one of the important agricultural states of India, that has been contributing nearly 15-16 per cent of annual rice production of the country since 1970-71. Its economy is predominantly agricultural. Around two-thirds of its population earn their livelihood from agricultural activities (Government of India, 1992). Rice occupies 70 per cent of the gross cropped area of the state and it is the main staple food of the majority of the population of the state (Table 1). From the exponential rates of growth it is observed that a major part of increase in production of rice during 1970-71 to 1994-95 was due to growth of its yield.' However,the increase in the yield of rice was not uniform across different districts of West Bengal. Thus from planning perspective it is essential to know the regional character of the productivity growth over time and also the basic reasons for the regional variations in productivity so that the appropriate policies can be formulated.

TABLE 1. AREA AND PROPORTION OF AREA UNDER RICE TO GROSS CROPPED AREA DURING SOME SELECTED YEARS ('000 ha)

Period 1970-73 1977-80 1984-87 1991-94 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Rice 5,005.47 5,031.60 5,217.73 5,763.13 (72.7) (70.22) (72.29) (74.85) Gross cropped area 6,867.40 7,152.07 7,235.53 7,681.67

Source: Government of West Bengal,StatisticalAbstract ofWestBengal,Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics, Calcutta (various issues). Notes:(i) Figures in parentheses denote percentages to gross cropped area. (ii) As data on gross cropped area are not consistently available for all the years, here it is calculated by adding the area under major crops grown in West Bengal.

* Lecturer, Department of Analytical and Applied Economics, Tripura University, Agartala, Tripura-799 004. NATURE AND CAUSES OF INTER-DISTRICT VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL 555

DATA AND METHODOLOGY

Choice ofPeriod

The analysis is undertaken for the period 1970-71 to 1994-95. Though the Green Rev- olution has been initiated after the mid-sixties in Punjab and Haryana, the wave came to West Bengal in the early seventies. Since the data on all aspects of the study were not available beyond 1994-95, the study is limited to this period. For the purpose of analysis, the whole period is broadly divided into two almost equal sub-periods, namely, 1970-71 to 1981-82 and 1982-83 to 1994-95 because there has been a lot of change in the field of irrigation especially of groundwater irrigation in West Bengal after 1980 that has significantly contributed to the increase in the yield of rice. Thereafter, the sub-periods 1970-71 to 1978-79 and 1979-80 to 1994-95 are considered to compare the changes before and after the introduction ofland reform measures rigorously(by the then new Left-Front Government of West Bengal). Moreover, a close look at the data revealed that there was a remarkable shift in the production and productivity of rice after the mid-eighties. So the changes during 1986-87 to 1994-95 are also considered and compared with those of the first nine-year sub-period (1970-71 to 1978-79).

Methodology

For the purpose of analysis the data on yield have been collected from various issues of Economic Review and Statistical Abstract of West Bengal. Then triennia average yield of rice for selected years (1970-73, 1977-80, 1984:87 and 1992-95)is calculated at the district level and from these, the absolute change in yield of rice during 1970-71 to 1994-95 is calculated by simple growth rate. Inter-district disparity in yield is explained by coefficient of variation. Thereafter, exponential rate of growth of yield has been estimated by fitting regression of the type Ln Y,= + p„ for the entire period and for all sub-periods, where Y, represents yield of rice in t-th year, t the time in year and a, 3 are the two parameters. p represents the annual exponential rate of growth of yield of rice. Having examined the growth of yield, the nature of influence of some basic factors on the growth of yield is analysed. Responsiveness of yield to the variation in quantity of rainfall, irrigation and chemical fertiliser is estimated by regressing Y,on them for Burdwan district, which is one of the important rice producing districts of West Bengal. Equation of the form LnY,= p„+ f3,LnR + f32LnI+ f33LnC has been fitted, where R, I and C represent respectively rainfall (in millimetres),intensity of irrigation by government canals, measured by the ratio of area under government canals and gross cropped area (GCA) and use of chemical fertiliser per hectare of gross cropped area. Cobb-Douglas type of production function is used for estimation. Farmers in each agro-climatic region has some common characteristics of using irrigation and fertilisers in some proportion to land which has changed over time due to the changing conditions of cultivation. Use of high-yielding variety(HYV) seeds is not taken into consideration due to lack of complete series of data. Quantity of irrigation and fertiliser requirement change due to differences in soil character, varieties of rice, etc., but they are also ignored due to non-availability of data and to avoid complexity of analysis. Use of modern agri-implements also has a role in the changing yield of rice, which is not taken into account due to lack of complete set of data. 556 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

However, there might be some relationship between use of chemical fertiliser and irrigation or rainfall, which causes multicollinearity. Linear relationship between any two explanatory variables is shown in terms of a two-way correlation table given below.

Two-way Correlation Matrix Variable LnI LiiC LnI 0.0135 0.3118 LnC ' ' 1 0.248 The t statistics of correlation between LnI and LnC and between Lnk and LnC are 1.227 and 1.5, none of which is significant at the 5 per cent level. ' Having identified the importance of .different factors on the growth of yield of rice, inter district disparity in the growth of those factors is discussed to explain the reasons for districtwise variation in yield growth.. For this purpose, changes in the proportion of area under irrigation and use of chemical fertiliser per unit of GCA have been considered for all the districts. In the time-series analysis of impact of the growth of irrigation on the increase in yield of rice in Burdwan, only area under government canals has been considered. However, during the last two decades the capacity of groundwater sources has increased remarkably (see Appendix). They were not included because of non-availability of complete series of data for them.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION There is an overall increase in the yield of rice, at the rate of68.77 'per cent in West‘Bengal during 1970-73 to 1992-95. Table 2shows that the rate of growth was higher during 1984-87

TABLE 2. TRIENNIA AVERAGE YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL AT DISTRICT LEVEL Triennia average of yield (kg/hectare) Simple growth rate (per cent)

District/year 1970-73 1977-80 1984-87 1992-95 1970-73 1977-80 , 1984-87 1970-73 to , to to to 1977-80 1984-87 1992-95 1992-95 (1) - (2) (3) (4) • (5) (6) ' • (7) (8) (9) Burdwan 1523 (2) 1963 (1) '2032 (1) 2698 (1) 28.90 3.51 32.7.8 77.15 Birbhum 1518 (3) 1749 (2) 1825 (4) 2282 . (4) 15.20 4.35 25.04 • 50.33 Bankura .1324 (5) 1345 (6) 1697 (6) 2205 (6) 1.59 , 26.17 29.94 66.54 Midnapore 1200 (6) 1226 (8) 1563 (9) 2044 (9) 2i7 27.49 30.77 70.33 Howrah 1325 (4) 1209 (9) 1797 (5) 1904(11) -8.75 48.64 5.95 43.70 Hooghly 1629 (1) 1642 (3) 2029 (2) 2455 (3) 0.80 23.57 20.99 50.71 24-Parganas 1069(12) 1407 (5) 1433(11) 2019(10) 31.60 1.85 .40.89 88.87 Nadia 989(15) 1326 (7) 1951 (3) 2475 (2) 34.07 47.13 26.86 :150.25 Murshidabad 1110 (9) 1537 (4) 1565 (8) 2261 (5) 38.50 1.82 44.47 103.69 West Dinajpur 1037 (14) 973(13) 1241 (12) 1787 (7) -6.17 27.54 44.00 72.32 Malda 1081 (11) 1134(10) 1616 (7) 2083 (8) 4.90 42.50 28.90 92.69 Jalpaiguri 1168 (7) 907(14) 971 (15) 1235 (15) -22.30 . 7.06 . 27.19 5.74' Darjeeling 1097(10) 1051 (11) 1217(13) , 1482(13) , -4.19 15.79 21.77 35.10 Cooch-Behar 1051 (13) 828 (15) 1078 (14) 1302(14) -21.22 30.19 20.78 23.88 Purulia . .1138, (8) 1029(12) 1505(10) 1559(12) -9.58 46.26 3.59 36.99 West Bengal 1223 1328 .1568 2064 8.58 18.07 31.63 68.77 Coefficient• of variation 15.93 24.44 20.57 21.38 Source: Government of West Bengal, Statistical Abstract of West Bengal and Economic Review of West Bengal, Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics, Calcutta (various isues). Note: Figures in parentheses represent rankings of the corresponding districts. NATURE AND CAUSES OF INTER-DISTRICT VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL 557

to 1992-95 than in 1970-73 to 1984-87. It is also observed that Burdwan and Hooghly were always among the top three positions in terms of yield of rice, whereas Darjeeling and Cooch-Behar were among the bottom three districts throughout the entire period. The growth rate was the highest in the district of Nadia. Murshidabad, West Dinajpur and Malda have also improved their relative positions. The coefficient of variation has increased from 15.93 per cent in 1970-73 to 24.44 per cent in 1977-80 and then decreased to 21.38 per cent in 1992-95. Table 3 reveals that the exponential rate of growth of yield of rice during 1970-71 to 1994-95 was 2.68 per cent-(highly significant). The growth rate was a mere 1.37 and 0.59 per cent (both were insignificant) during 1970-71 to 1978-79 and 1970-71 to 1981-82 respectively. The rate went upto 4.29 and 4.58 per cent respectively during 1979-80 to 1994-95 and 1982-83 to 1994-95. But during 1986-87 to 1994-95 it was 3.30 per cent per annum, i.e., a slight deceleration in the rate of growth was noticed.

TABLE 3. EXPONENTIAL RATE OF GROWTH OF YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL

1970-71- 1979-80- , 1970-71- 1982-83- 1986-87- 1970-71- Period 1978-79 1994-95 1981-82 1994-95 1994-95 1994-95 (1) (2) (3) • (4) (5) (6) (7) Burdwan .0376* .039* .0156** .04* .0254* .0272* (.013) (.005) (.0104) (.005) (.0057) (.0029) Birbhum .0128 ' .0376* .0063 .0437* S.0134 .023* (.021) (.008) (.0121) (.0114) (.009) (.004) Bankura - .0087 .051* -.0033 .0512* .0299* . .028* (.016) (.008) (.012) .(.0109) (.006) (.0048) Midnapore .0098 ' .0479*' -.0004 .0493* .0281* - .028* (.0104) (.008) (.009) (.0112) (.014) , (.004) Howrah -.0283 .0295* -.0039 .0218* .0069 .0267.* (.024) (.008) (.017) (.0097) (.0155). (.005) Hooghly .0024 .0303* .0066 .0346* .032* .021* (.017) (.005) (.107) (.0055) 5 (.0057) (.003) 24-Parganas .0495* .0454* .0179 .0489* .0402* .028* (.0146) (.008) (.0136) (.01) (.0146) (.004) Nadia .0327* .0511* - .0383* .0529* :0378* .0469* (.0135) (.006) (.0076) (.009) (.0101) (.003) Murshidabad .0407* .0466* .0281* .061* • .0507* .032* (.019) , (.008) (.0111) (.0099) ,(.0134) (.004) West.Dinajpur -.011 .051* -.0082 .055* .0539* .028* (.015) (.0052) (.009) (.0066) (.0137) (.004) Malda .0044 .0395* .172* .04* .0477* .0338* (.0116) (.005) (.0087) (.0063) (.0109) (.003) - Jalpaiguri -.0284** .025* -.0196* .0319* .0332* .006 (.0158) (.008) (.011) ' (.0099) (.0177) (.004) Darjeeling -.002 .0219* -.0023 .0276* , .0506* .0089* (.0127) (.007) (.0089) (.0103) (.0142) (.004) Cooch-Behar -.0303 .0313* -.0143 .0287* .0234* .0173* (.0128) (.005) (.0107) (.0056) (.0083) *(.004) Purulia .1037 .0396* .0523 .0327 .0118 .035*. (.076) (.013) (.0455) (.0165) (.0108) (.011) West Bengal .0137 .0429* .0059 .0458* .033* .0268* (.011) i (.006) (.0078) (.007) , (.0065) (.0032) Coefficient of variation 268.8 ' 24.06 220.24 27.07 44.05 . 37.63 Note: * and ** Significant at 5 per cent and 10 per cent level by two-tailed test respectively. N.A. Not available. Figures in parentheses are standard errors. 558 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Differences in the growth rate of different sub-periods were due to differences in the growth of different factors especially irrigation. In the sub-periods 1970-71 to 1978-79 and 1970-71 to 1981-82 growth rates were very low because of high weather dependence(when irrigation structure was at primary level) and the main rice season was highly affected by flood and drought in 1978 and 1980. Later on, irrigation development gradually has smoothened the production of rice. The coefficient of variation reveals that during the post-mid-eighties periods increase in the yield of rice was associated with the decline in inter-district disparity in the growth rate, because the laggard districts maintained increasing rate of growth while the erstwhile advanced districts recorded a deceleration in the rate of growth after 1985-86. Inter-district variation in the exponential rate of growth was noticeable. It was the highest in the district of Nadia(4.69 per cent per annum)throughout the entire iieriod and the lowest in Jalpaiguri (0.60 per cent per annum). During 1970-71 to 1978-79 the rate was very high in Purulia but insignificant due to very high standard error. It was highly significant in 24-Parganas, Burdwan, Nadia and Murshidabad and insignificantly negative in Howrah, and in all the northern districts except Malda. It may be noted that average annual yield growth in West Bengal during 1970-71 to 1981-82 was lower than that of 1970-71 to 1978-79. It was due to the devastating flood and drought that rocked the production of rice, mainly in the aman season(aman is the major component of rice)in the major rice producing districts. However, the growth rate of yield has gained momentum thereafter. During 1982-83 to 1994-95 the rate of growth was the highest in Murshidabad (6.10 per cent) and the lowest in Darjeeling (2.76 per cent). But during the post-mid-eighties the rate was the highest in West Dinajpur (5.39 per cent) and the lowest in Howrah (0.69 per cent). Here also the changing coefficient of variation reveals the same result as was observed from that of triennia average yield in Table 2. Estimated regressions of yield (Y)on R, I and C are as follows: Ln Y,= 6.7 - 0.001 Ln R + 0.539 Ln I** + 0.32 Ln C* , R2 = 0.77 (0.092) (0.33) (0.04) Excluding rainfall as its coefficient is insignificant: Ln Y,= 6.69 + 0.539 Ln I** + 0.32 Ln C* , R2 = 0.769 (0.327) (0.037) * and ** Significant at 5 and 10 per cent level respectively.

The results reveal that the coefficient of rainfall is not significant while chemical fertiliser and irrigation have been found to be very important for the growth of yield. From the cross-section study of fifteen agricultural districts during 1988,2 the estimated regressions of yield of different districts on the rate of consumption of chemical fertiliser and irrigation potential by all sources in that year per unit of gross cropped area, are given below. Ln Y,= 5.27 + 0.1935 Ln C* + 0.351 Ln C* , R2 = 0.851 (0.0814) (0.0501) The results also reveal the great impact of chemical fertiliser and level of irrigation on the level of yield and so the inter-district variation in yield level in that year was significantly due to the differences in per acre consumption of chemical fertiliser and area under potential irrigation (see Appendix). It may be noted that 85 per cent of the inter-district differences in yield during 1988 is explained by the variation in per hectare consumption of chemical fertiliser and level of irrigation. NATURE AND CAUSES OF INTER-DISTRICT VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL 559

CONCLUSIONS From the overall analysis it is clear that yield of rice in West Bengal has increased manifold during 1970-71 to 1994-95. The increase was mainly due to the development in the field of irrigation and increasing application of fertilisers. Districtwise pattern of yield growth not only varicd but was divergent. Initially many districts were highly dependent on rainfall and so growth in yield was uncertain. Moreover, the districts having a quite easy access to irrigation sources have experienced fairly high rates of growth in yield. It was possible for them to utilise HYV seeds and use chemical fertiliser more intensively. In those districts it was also possible for the private people or middle and lower middle class farmers to establish groundwater irrigation pumpsets like shallow tubewells, submersible pumps, etc. In the districts like Purulia, Bankura such types of units were very costly and so it was very difficult for the private people to set up those units on their own. In these districts; major and minor irrigation projects had started to yield results on a large scale after a long period of time. Hence, the growth rate became quite high in the later periods. In the erstwhile developed districts a slight deceleration in the growth rate was observed after the mid- eighties because of depletion of groundwater sources of irrigation. Another breakthrough in technology is required for further expansion of irrigation in these districts. Though the erstwhile backward districts experienced higher growth rate in the later years, still there • exists inter-district disparity in the level and rate of growth. The divergence can however be minimised as far as possible by utilising all potential sources of irrigation in best possible ways and with the help of appropriate technology applicable to specific regions. Choice of alternative varieties best suitable to the specific agro-climatic and soil conditions can help to achieve a rapid increase in yield in all situations.

Received April 1999. Revision accepted November 1999.

APPENDIX Development in the field of irrigation in West Bengal has made a significant contribution to the growth of yield of rice. The proportion of net and gross cropped area covered by potential sources ofgroundwater and river water flow is presented in Tables 4 and 5. Triennia average of data collected from the Directorate of Irrigation and Waterways of Government of West Bengal and various issues of Statistical Abstract provide us important piece of information regarding the progress of irrigation system in the state and also at the district leve1.3 It may be seen from the data presented in Tables 4 and 5, there was a drastic change in the net sown area irrigated and gross cropped area irrigated in West Bengal during 1973-88. Table 4 reveals that the proportion of net sown area irrigated by all sources in Burdwan has always been the highest since 1970-73, followed by Hooghly, Birbhum and Bankura. The share of groundwater has increased by more than three times during the said period. Burdwan, Hooghly and Birbhum have been the three major districts receiving irrigation on more than 50 per cent of their net sown area whereas Purulia and Cooch-Behar have been the worst sufferers in this respect in 1979. In 1988, around 90, 77 and 73 per cent of net sown area were under all these sources of irrigation in Burdwan, Hooghly and Birbhum respectively. The corresponding proportions in Purulia and Cooch-Behar were 11.74 and 13.4 per cent. In 1988, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling were at the lowest rung of area coverage 560 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

TABLE 4. PERCENTAGE OF NET CROPPED AREA UNDER IRRIGATION IN WEST BENGAL (DISTRICTWISE) Groundwater Canal irrigation Total District (1) 1973 .1981 .1988 1973 .1981. 1988 1973 •1981 1988 .(2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7). (8) (9) (10) Burdwan 7.97 13.41 25.93 57.41 52.48 63.61 63.38 (1) 65.89 , (1) 89.54 (1) Birbhum 3.45 5.13 ,13.40 50.83 49.97 59.57 .54.27 (3) 55.10 (3) 72.97 (3) 13ankura 2.59 5.28 12.50 31.69 42.29 43.02 34.29 (4) 47.57 (4)' 55.51 (5) Midnapore '3.46 6.11 17.08 14.03. 18.79 ' 21.86 17.50 (6) 24.90 (7) 38.94 (7) Howrah 9.53 11.79 14.33 3.74- . 4.13 5.31 13,.27.(8), 15.92 (9) 19.63 (10) 46.16 35.25 37.70 61.98 (2) 65.25 (2) 77.20 (2) Hooghly 15.82 30.00 39.50 ,_ 24-Parganas 4.92 13.03 26.79 4.92 (11) ' 13.03(10) 26.79 (9) Nadia ' 16..73 36.22 60.55 - 16:73 (7) 36.22 (5)' 60.55 (4) Murshidabad 10.64 22.44 39.57, , 12.01 11.71 -12.05 23.55 (5) - 34.15 (6) 51.62 (6) West Dinajpur 6.02 9.30 16.28, 0.38 - 6.40 (10) 9.30 (11) 16.28 (11) Malda. 11.35 17.44 27.62 . - - - 11.35 (9) 17.44 (8) 27.62 (8) Jalpaiguri 0.91 1.72 6.79 3.28 . 2.07 1.93 4.19'(13) 3.79 (15) 8.72(14) Darjeeling . . 0:19 1.98 2.32 4.47 5.92 .5.70 4.66 (12) 7.85 (12) 8.02 (5) Cooch-Behar 2.35 6.27 13:16. , 0.04 0.11 0.23 2.39 (14) 6.38 (14) 13.39 (12) Purulia ' , 0.16 1.60 2.68 ' 1.09 4.83 9.06 1.24 (15). 6.43 (13) 1174(13) West Bengal 6.12 11.97 21.97' ' 15.86'. • 16.45 18.82 21.98 ' . 28.42 40.79 ' Sources:(i) Government of West Bengal, Directorate of Irrigation and Waterways, Calcutta.(ii) Government of West Bengal(1982), A Report on Ground Water Structures in the State of West Bengal, State Water Investigation Directorate, Calcutta, November..(iii) Government of West Bengal (1988), Report on Census qf Minor Irrigation Schemes in West Bengal, Calcutta. Notes:(i) Data for 1973 do .not include area under open dug-wells and filter-points. (ii) Data include both private and public irrigation systems, (iii) In the calculation of potential Capacity, deep tubewells, shallow tubeWells and submersible pumps are considered to provide maximum irrigation in all the three seasons while river pumps in two full seasons and filter-points, open dug-wells, canals to irrigate only in one season of the year. (iv) Area under canal water includes area covered by Government canals(under major and minor schemes)only. (v) Capacity of river lift irrigation in1981-82 is calculated from the data of 1979-80 as the data for 1981-82 were not avaialble. • (vi) Figures in parentheses represent rankings. (vii)(-) means the value is negligible.

TABLE 5. PERCENTAGE OF GROSS CROPPED AREA UNDER IRRIGATION IN WEST BENGAL(DISTRICTWISE) Groundwater Canal irrigation Total Distriet ' (1) 1973 1981 1988 1973, 1981, '1988 1973 1981 1988 (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) , (9) (10) - Burdwan 17.49 30.72 52.46 44.90 42.41 44.32 62.39. (1) 73.13 (2) 96.78 (1) Birbhiam 7.41 11.34 27.15 '39.24 '40.35 42.13 46.65 (3) 51.69 (4) 69.28 (5) Bankura 6.06 11.93 28.16. 27.22 '36.97 37.27 33.28 (4) 48.90 (5) 65.43 (6) Midnapore 810 14.24 37.56 12.01 16.26 17.84 ,20.11 (8) , 30.51 (10) 55.40 (8) Howrah , 22.55 127.23 26.50 3.16 ' 3.41 3.62 25.71 (7) 30.64 (9)' 30.12(11) Hooghly - 29.84 58.80 69.41 31.70 • 24.31 23.20 61.57 (2) 83.11 (1) 92.61 (3)' 24-Parganas 12.87 32.88 60.82 .- 12.97(10) 32.88 (7) ,- 60.82 (7) Nadia 30.85 66.05 95.00 - - - 30.85 (5) 66.05 (3) 95.00 (2) Murshidabad 18.56 39.31 69.14 8.14 7.52 7.23 26.70 (6) 46.83 (6) 76.37 (4) West Dinajpur 11.41 15.79 '32.01 0.28 - . , - 11.69(11) 15.79 (11) • ,32.01 (10) Malda 18.84 30.66 47.75 _ _ - 18.84 (9) 30.66 (8) 47.75 (9), Jalpaiguri 2.59 4.24 12.62 3.21 1.87 1.39 5.80(12) 6.11 (14) . 14.01 (15) Darjeeling 0.29 2.29 8.31 " 2.63 2.84 7.72 2.92(14) 5.13 ,(15) i 16.03(13) Cooch-Behar 4.88 10.69 21.94 0.03 0.08 0.13 4.91 (13) 10.77 (12) 22.07 (12) Purulia ' 0.31 2.52 4.23 1.06 5.18 9.88 1.37(15) 7.70 (13) 14.11 (14) West Bengal 13.17 25.83 45.28 12.37 12.94 13.67 25.54 38.77 58.95 ,

Sources and Notes: Same as in Table 4. NATURE AND CAUSES OF INTER-DISTRICT VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL 561

by irrigation sources. Substantial achievements have taken place in the district of Nadia, which has improved its ranking from seven to four. 24-Parganas has also increased the net sown area under irrigation significantly though there was no significant change in its relative ranking. - There has hardly been any significant development of the area irrigated by government canals in West Bengal, which showed a marginal increase from around 11 per cent to only 13.6 per cent of gross cropped area through 1970-73 to 1991-94 as is evident from Table 6. The potential capacity of irrigation has increased mainly due to the progress of groundwater irrigation, which is more assured than the canal irrigation in many cases. The progress in the field of groundwater irrigation was remarkable after 1970, which is made possible by shallow tubewells (STW), deep tubewells (DTW), submersible pumps, etc. Accelerating spread of area under minor irrigation schemes, sponsored by the government and under private ownership has brought a momentous change in the agrarian scenario in those districts. Notable growth of groundwater irrigation structure has taken place at differential rates in the different districts of West Bengal. An inter-district comparison reveals that Burdwan and Hooghly are the two leading districts in terms of proportion of net and gross cropped area irrigated by government canals and groundwater sources. In terms of gross cropped area irrigated, Nadia occupied the third position after Burdwan and Hooghly. Though government canals and groundwater sources were started later in the districts of Bankura and Purulia, these districts have progressed much faster after 1981 in the race of catching up.

TABLE 6. DISTRIBUTION OF GROSS CROPPED AREA IRRIGATED BY GOVERNMENT CANALS IN WEST BENGAL(DISTRICTWISE)

(per cent) District 1970-73 1977-80 1984-87 1991-94 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Burdwan 46.99 (1) 49.36 (1) 45.51 (1) 43.81 (1) Birbhum 37.00 (2) , 40.36 (2) 42.43 (2) 40.92 (2) B ankura 19.60 (4) 35.14 (3) 41.10 (3) 39.55 (3) Midnapore 10.59 (5) 14.60 (5) 15.78 (5) 15.17 (5) Howrah 3.57 (7) -3.04 (9) 4.20 (8) 3.18 (8) Hooghly 27.40 (3) 27.33 (4) 27.26 (4) 22.19 (4) 24-Parganas 2.82 (9) Nadia Murshidabad 7.92 (6) 8.67 (6) 8.26 (6) 7.59 (6) West Dinajpur Malda Jalpaiguri 2.95 (8) 2.29 (10) 1.74 (10) 1.39 (10) Darjeeling 2.77 (9) 3.55 (8) 2.48 (9) 0.584(11) Cooch-Behar 0.056(11) 0.095(11) 0.125(12) Purulia 0.786(10) 4.39 (7) 7.22 (7) 6.69 (7) West Bengal 11.335 13.39 13.83 13.57

Sources:(i) Government of West Bengal, Department of Irrigation and Waterways, Calcutta;(ii) Statistical Abstract of West Bengal(various issues), (iii) Economic Review of West Bengal(various issues). Notes:(i) Figures in parentheses represent rankings.(ii) The sign (-) means the value is nil or negligible. 562 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Groundwater irrigation under private ownership plays a crucial role in the achievement of high productivity of rice and its inter-district variation. Many of the low capacity deep tubewells have been established by the private people for their own use and to do irrigation business for earning additional income. Comparison of data in Table 7 and Table 8 reveals that a major part of shallow tubewells, low capacity deep tubewells and submersible pumps are under private ownership and management. Though the reference years in the two tables are not identical, the figures of 1979-80 and 1981 as well as 1987-88 and 1988 of the two tables are weakly comparable. The increase in large differences in the sets of data presented in these two tables implies higher rate of growth of shallow tubewells under private ownership. The number of shallow tubewells under public management has decreased to 3,231 in 1994-95 since many of them have been converted to low capacity, middle capacity and high capacity deep tubewells. Among them, there was a mushroom growth of submersible pumps or low capacity deep tubewells. This conversion had taken place to cope with the problem of gradual lowering of the water table and increasing demand for irrigation water year after year. The same is also true for private people, as the difficulty of lifting water by shallow tubewells has increased with rising demand. Hooghly, Burdwan and Nadia are the three leading districts where these establishments have made a favourable impact on the yield of rice. Groundwater exploitation has been resorted through filter-points and open dug-wells in the districts of Purulia, Midnapore, Bankura, Jalpaiguri and Cooch-Behar, where the establishment of deep tubewells and shallow tubewells are very difficult and costly and hence uneconomic to the very small cultivators. Table 9 shows the districtwise pattern of growth of consumption of chemical fertiliser. There has been an enormous growth in the consumption of fertilisers during the post-Green Revolution period, leading to increase in yield. It has been observed that the use of chemical fertiliser (aggregate of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic fertiliser) has increased by nearly seven times through 1972-75 to 1991-94. Consumption of chemical fertiliser has increased in all the districts but at different rates. The district level figures revealed that Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan and Birbhum were at the foremost positions all the time with a mild change in rankings. Though Nadia and 24-Parganas remained at their same relative positions in terms of absolute amount of fertiliser consumed per thousand hectares, it has increased by over 5 and 6 times respectively. Though the use of chemical fertiliser in Midnapore and Nadia is still below the state average, the growth in these districts has taken place at a noticeable rate as they were initially very low users but gradually adjusting themselves. TABLE 7. EXPLOITATION OF GROUNDWATER AND RIVER LIFT IRRIGATION THROUGH DIFPERENT DEVICES IN WEST BENGAL(DISTRICTWISE) NATURE (Nos.)

1973* 1981** 1988 AND AND District/year Deep River lift Shallow Deep River lift Shallow Filter- Dug- Deep River lift Shallow Dug- tubewells irrigation tubewells tubewells irrigation tubewells points wells tubewells irrigation tubewells wells CAUSES (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) Burdwan 301 191 7,114 362 237 15,808 762 184 390 266 37,047 391 Birbhum OF 40 65 3,107 49 91 4,480 385 646 50 103 14,661 713 Bankura INTER 59 65 1,632 82 130 3,554 671 7,045 55 175 13,002 8,053 Midnapore 152 212 6,234 302 267 10,322 499 22,129 304 ' 365 . 43,789 26,328 -DISTRICT Howrah 79 46 1,411 122 56 1,154 37' 132 95 1,177 Hooghly 240 219 5,720 350 262 17,571 301 75 376 316 23.512 59

24-Parganas 213 115 8,080 253 140 27,323 5,973 164. ,256 211 60,262 VARIATIONS VARIATIONS Nadia 510 239 7,620 603 272 28,494 6,750 1 ' 588 319 61,137 - Murshidabad 368 264 6,880 434 302 22,973 7,070 402 340 52,699 West Dinajpur 116 270 4,837 142 270 8,816 4,123 2,748 133 345 22,640 1,381 Malda 128 347 5,586 178 353 10,127 1,179 5 177 381 20,101 6 IN

Jalpaiguri , 33 7 409 37 27 1,005 181 604 40 71 4,370 1,370 YIELD Darjeeling 1 1 , 1 11 157 7 44 4 23 814 231

Cooch-Behar 15 15 1,943 49 23 3,836 3,128 8,158 51 88 11,331 3,763 OF Purulia 12 55 1 25,506 100 18,290 RICE

West Bengal 2,255 2,068 60,573 2,964 2,496 1,55,621 31,066 67,309 2,958 3,198 3,66,542 60,585

IN IN WEST WEST Sources: (i) *Government of West Bengal (1982), Directorate of Agriculture, Calcutta. (ii) **Government of West Bengal (1982), A Report on Ground Water Structures in the State of West Bengal, State Water Investigation Directorate, Calcutta, November.(iii) Government of West Bengal,,Directorate of Irrigation and Waterways, Calcutta.. BENGAL Note: (-) indicates the value is nil.

(J1 C".7\ Lk.) TABLE 8. GROUNDWATER AND RIVER LIFT IRRIGATION UNDER GOVERNMENT MINOR IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN WEST BENGAL(DISTRICTWISE) (Nos.)

1979-80 1987-88 1993-94 1994-95 District/year . Deep River Shallow Deep River Shallow High Middle Low Total - River Shallow High Middle - Low 'Total River Shallow tube- lift tube- tube- lift tube- capacity capacity capacity deep lift tube- capacity capacity capacity deep lift tube- INDIAN wells irriga- wells wells irriga- wells deep deep deep tube- irriga- wells deep deep deep tube- irriga- wells tion tion tube- tube- tubewells tion tube- tube- tubewells tion wells wells wells wells wells wells (19) JOURNAL (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) Burdwan 301 237 408 332 266 408 443 19 114 576 265 510 447 24 176 647 259 101 Birbhum 45, 91 46 103 47 19 66 103 42 20 12 74 98

OF Bankura . 64 130 66 175 - 67 18 - 85 181 45 20 • 83 148 180 24

Midnapore 172 267 187 - 223 365 187 297 16 130 443 399 187 190 20 217 427 387 71 AGRICULTURAL Howrah 89 56 30 s 93 95 30 94 12 106 95 30 79 20 99 91 Hooghly 240 262 361 261 316 361 317 -1 1 180 508 316 361 312 17 276 605 304 80 24-Parganas 228 140 318 252 211 318 266 20 12 298 211 396 246 29 59 334 208 356 Nadia 517 272 600 532 319 600 612 28 216 856 319 - 943 591 32 228 851 299 758 659 354 1,161 469 32 150 651 343 748 Murshidabad 383 302 936 402 340 909 479 18 162 ECONOMICS West Dinajpur 116 270 200 134 345 200 209 8 217 345 404 308 11 319 333 407 Malda" 128 353 239 164 381 239 242 9 24 275 381 395 257 11 24 292 347 232 Jalpaiguri 33 27 33 - 71 46 - 46 77 174 46 46 77 202

.. _ 23 ...... 7 Darjeeling , 1 11 _ 1 _ 2.3 -, _ 1 7. . 1 . _ 23 ..- - Cooch-Behar 15 23 90 15 88 90 : 24 24 ' 95 276 30 30 95 252 - Purulia 55 - 100 - , -. - .. 133 , - ' 128 West Bengal 2,332 2,496 - 3,369 2,554 3,198 3,342 3,144 178 838 4,160 3,297 4,837 3,062 - 236 1;225 • 4,523 • 3,172 3,231 • Sources: (i) Government of West Bengal, Directorate of Agriculture, and (ii) Government of West Bengal, Directorate of Irrigation and Waterways, Calcutta. • . Note: Figures relate to Minor Irrigation,Schemes of the Government of West Bengal. , ' (-) indicates the value is nil. NATURE AND CAUSES OF INTER-DISTRICT VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF RICE IN WEST BENGAL 565

TABLE 9'. CONSUMPTION OF CHEMICAL FERTILISER PER THOUSAND HECTARES - OF GROSS CROPPED AREA IN WEST BENGAL(DITRICTWISE) (tonnes/4000 hectares)

District 1972-75 1977-80 1984-87 1991-94 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Burdwan 22.55 (4) 49.80 (3) ' 87.63 (3) 125.42 (4) Birbhum 24.59 (3) 37.40 (5) 64.84 (6) 124.62 (5) Bankura 20.62 (5), , 32.58 (6) , 48.05(10) 71.62 (14), Midnapore 10.87(10) 23.34 (9) 44.84(11) 72.94 (12) Howrah ' 34.01 (2) 78.93 '(1) '172.91 (1) 276.62 (1) Hooghly 41.68 (1) 78.22 (2) 165.28 (2) 183.60 (2) 24-Parganas 16.10 (7) 28.20 (7) 60.85 (7) 97.94 (7) Nadia 17.96 (6) , 42.03 (4)- 59.13 (8) 87.17 (8) Murshidabad 14.40 (8) 20.92(11) 54.89 (9) 80.49 (10) West Dinajpur 3.53(14) 15.31(12) 38.88(12) 57.72 (15) Malda 10.34(11) 24.13 (8) ' . 69.59 (5) 106.18 (6) Jalpaiguri 4.13(13) 7.67(15) 21.75(15) 72.17 (13) Darjeeling 12.05 (9) 22.29(10) 80.09 '(4) 164.435 (3) .Cooch-Behar 3.40(15) 9.80(14) 36.55(14) .76.46 (11) Purulia 6.32(12) 13.97(13) 37.30(13) 84.42 ,(9) West Bengal 14.87 30.06 60.67 96.62 Sources: (i) Fertiliser Association of India, Fertiliser Statistics (various issues), (ii) Government of West Bengal, Statistical Abstract of West Bengal (various issues). Note: Figures in parentheses represent rankings. NOTES

1. Exponential rate of growth of area, production and yield of rice during 1970-71 to 1994-95 in West Bengal were 0.6, 3.24 and 2.68 per cent respectively, , The rates are estimated from the data on area, production and, yield collected from Statistical Abstract of West Bengal(various issues). 2. It is the latest year for which.data on all sources of irrigation in West Bengal are available. 3. In the estimation of potential capacity of irrigation it is assumed that all the deep tubewells, submersible pumps, and shallow tubewells would be able to irrigate with full potential in all the three seasons of the year(average potential capacity of each unit is taken from the conversion table available in the Directorate of Irrigation and Waterways of the West Bengal Government). Open dug-wells, filter-points and government canals can supply water only in one season and river pumps for two of the three crop seasons in each year. It is true that all the shallow tubewells and deep tubewells are not of equal capacity and not operated in full swing at all times due to several constraints (low voltage problem in electricity supply, problem of water table that goes far down during dry summer and machinery failure, etc.). , REFERENCES

Bandyopadhyay, A. (1989),, "Growth and Instability in the. Production of Main Cereal Crop of West Bengal and Punjab-Haryana, 1950-51 to 1984-85 - A Note",Indian Journalopgricultural Economics, Vol.44, No. 2, April-June. Government of India(1992), Census ofIndia 1991, Series-1, Primary Population Total, Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. ' - Hazell, Peter B.R.(1982), Instability in Indian Foodgrains Production, Research Report No. 30, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Mehra,Shakuntala (1981), Instability in Indian Agriculture, Research Report No.25, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Narain, Dharm (1976), Gi'owth of Productivity in Indian Agriculture, Occational Paper No. 93, Department of Agri- cultural Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Ninan, K.N. and H.,Chandrashekar (1991), The Green Revolution, Dryland Agriculture and Sustainability - Insights . from India", Invited Paper presented at the 21st International Conference of Agricultural Economists held at Tokyo, Japan from August 22nd to 29th, 1991. , • , Rao,C.H.Hanumantha; S.K. Ray and K. Subbarao(1988), Unstable Agriculture and Droughts, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.