Chapter 10 Agricultural Development, Growth and Poverty in India’s Mountain Region RAMESH CHAND Principal Scientist National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research ICAR, New Delhi, India 10.1 Introduction India can be classified into five primary or major natural regions on the basis of topographical factors These are: i) the Himalayas and Associated Hills; ii) the Northern Plains; iii) the Peninsular Plateaus and Hills; iv) the East Coast Plains, and v) the West Coast Plains (Alagh 1990). Out of these five regions, the hill areas of the country constitute 21% of the total geographical area and 9% of the total population of the country. The hill areas offer a basic life support system and natural resources. Besides those living in this region, a large part of the population in the plains is dependent on hill resources, especially those of the Himalayan region, and on their management. Most of the perennial rivers of the country originate and have their watersheds in the Himalayas. These rivers are a lifeline of agriculture in the plains, and any adverse change in the Himalayan ecology directly affects flows in these rivers For instance, deforestation in the Himalayas results in reduction in water discharge from the watersheds and increase in soil erosion, leading to siltation of rivers which raises river beds, causes frequent floods in the plains, and reduces the lifespans of multipurpose reservoirs The indirect effects are innumerable. The hill and mountainous areas of the Himalayan region are ecologically fragile and generally underdeveloped. Development of these regions cannot be ignored because underdevelopment and poverty are serious causes of ecological degradation in the hills. Furthermore, ecological problems experienced in the hills and mountains have 275 Untitled-4 275 7/19/2007, 1:08 PM serious repercussions for large areas in the adjoining plains and for the global environment. The salient distinguishing features of hill regions are: difficult terrain, sparse population, mostly inaccessible, far-flung small villages, tiny landholdings of stony soil or sloping fields, an agropastoral economy, emigration of able-bodied men, crop production as the prime responsibility of women, and scanty irrigation with little use of modern and improved inputs, keeping the productivity low. Consequently, the area is technologically backward and poor. The region generally lacks infrastructural facilities for irrigation, power, roads, and markets and not least an industrial climate and institutional finance systems (Swarup 1992). As a result of increased recognition of the importance of the hill region and because of the specific circumstances of the hills, a separate chapter on Hill Area Development was included in India’s 7th Five Year Plan with an emphasis on eco-restoration, eco- development, and eco-preservation. The Eighth Five Year Plan posited that the basic objective of the hill area development plan was socioeconomic development of the hills and the people living there in harmony with ecological development. The present paper examines the growth experience of different hill states and regions of India and examines the extent of undernourishment and poverty. For most of the 11 hill states/regions the requisite information on economic growth and poverty is either not available or it is available but after a considerable time lag. In this paper we have furnished information on output, growth, and productivity of the agricultural sector and the total economy of all the hill states until the recent period. A special feature of the analysis in this paper is that it has prepared estimates of the undernourished population, which designate poverty, for each of the states, whereas, so far, the estimate pertaining to the state of Assam has been considered to hold true for the rest of the north-eastern states. The paper is organised into the introduction and five other sections. The second section briefly describes the areas in the Indian Himalayan region, especially its Western and Eastern zones, in terms of agro-climatic characteristics and the significance of agriculture in the economies of various Himalayan States and areas. Section 3 analyses the progress and changes in the agricultural sector along with public investment in agriculture. Growth in the state economy and per capita income are examined in the fourth section. Section 5 discusses nutrition intake and poverty trends. Information and issues related to sustainable resource use are discussed in Section 6. The conclusions are drawn at the end of Section 6. 10.2 The Mountain Region of India and Its Socioeconomic Features Geographical coverage Most of the mountain area of India are located in 11 distinct states or regions comprising the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the hill region of 276 Untitled-4 276 7/19/2007, 1:08 PM Uttar Pradesh known as Uttaranchal1, and the north-eastern states of Sikkim, Assam, Arunanchal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura (for details on socioeconomic characteristics of different states/areas of the region, see an earlier paper in this volume by B.K. Joshi). Based on agro-climatic planning, accepted as the principal method of agricultural planning in the country by the Planning Commission and Government of India, the mountain region of India is divided into two distinct zones, namely, the Western Himalayan Region and Eastern Himalayan Region. Broad characteristics of the two regions are described in Table 10.1. Beside the factors listed in Table 10.1, one important difference between the two regions is that, in the Western Himalayan region, settled agriculture is practised, whereas in the Eastern Himalayan region about one-third of the area is under settled agriculture and two-thirds under shifting (jhum) cultivation (Shah 1992). Table 10.1: Broad distinguishing features of the western and eastern Himalayan zones Characteristics Western Himalayas Eastern Himalayas Geog. area in ’000 sq.km 245 274 Net sown area % 18.2 18.7 Forest % 45.3 42.8 Irrigated area % 23.0 16.73 Climate Semi arid, humid, cold arid Humid Rainfall mm 165-2000 1840-3528 Fertiliser/ha 23.0 9.4 Soil type Hill soil, mountain meadow, Brown hill, red sandy skeltal, Terai, brown hill laterite, acidic, alluvial, red loamy, Terai soil Major crops Wheat, maize, rice, pulses Rice, maize, jute, r/mustard Population under poverty line % 20.4 30.1 Note : The information pertains to 1988. Source: Basu and Guha 1996 and Algah1990 Importance of agriculture in the economies of the hill states/areas Work participation rate computed as per cent of main plus marginal workers in the total population is highest in Mizoram where about half of the population is engaged in some work activity or other (Table 10.2). The lowest worker to population ratio is observed in Tripura where only 31% of the population is engaged in work/activity. In order to see the changes in structure of the economy of different hill states, the share of the agricultural sector in total state domestic product at current prices was compared at two points of time taking triennium averages for the years 1980/81 to 1982/83 and 1994/95 to 1996/97. The results are presented in Table 10.2. In a 1 The region has since the writing of this paper been separated from the state of Uttar Pradesh to make a new state, called Uttaranchal. 277 Untitled-4 277 7/19/2007, 1:08 PM developing state, share of agriculture in the total NSDP is expected to decline over time. This phenomenon is observed in all the hill states except for Sikkim and Mizoram where the share of agriculture during the last 15 years showed an increase. The agricultural sector accounted for more than half of the state income of Sikkim. On the other hand, in Nagaland, the contribution of the agricultural sector to the state economy was below 20%. Table 10.2: Structure of workforce and economy of India’s hill states/regions (per cent) State/Region Non-agri. Workers Share of Agri. in NSDP in Main Workers TE 19 TE 1997 Jammu & Kashmir na 37.6 34.6 Himachal Pradesh 33.4 36.3 27.8 Uttar Pradesh Hills 70.0 57.2 55.0 Sikkim 34.1 52.6 54.5 Assam 37.0 41.3 35.8 Arunachal Pradesh 34.5 36.3 29.5 Meghalaya 32.3 37.0 22.9 Mizoram 35.2 20.8 30.1 Nagaland 25.8 25.8 18.0 Manipur 31.6 43.8 30.1 Tripura 38.4 44.9 26.2 India 35.2 36.8 26.6 Source: CSO 1984, 1998 NA = Not available TE = Triennium NSDP = Not Sate Domestic Product 10.3 Status and Growth of the Agricultural Sector As discussed earlier, the agricultural sector provides employment to more than two- thirds of the workforce and it contributes a substantial share to the state income. Therefore, agricultural growth and diversification are vital for the employment and income of the people. Major determinants of the income of rural people are per capita agricultural land and land productivity. Per capita land availability in different hill regions varied between 800 square metres to 2,300 square metres (vide Table 10.3). Per capita land availability was below 1,000 square metres in Manipur, Mizoram, and Jammu and Kashmir, whereas it was 2,300 square metres in Sikkim. In Himachal Pradesh and the UP Hills, per capita availability of agricultural land was 0.11 of an hectare. The average size of holdings shows considerable variation across the hill states. Average size of holdings is below one hectare in Jammu and Kashmir, the UP Hills, and Tripura. At the other extreme is Nagaland where the average size of holding is 278 Untitled-4 278 7/19/2007, 1:08 PM Table 10.3: Structure of agriculture