WELCOME TO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ACHIEVEMENT STATUS

Agriculture dominates the economy of the State although because of the mountainous terrain only a little over 10 percent of the total land area is cultivated. Population pressure on cultivated land is high and the holdings of most of the cultivators are small and scattered i.e. 86.4% of the farmers are small and marginal. Most of the holdings are self-cultivated. About 18.5% of the cultivated area is under irrigation and remaining 81.5% of the area is rainfed. The cultivation is carried out right from 300 to 3000 meters above sea level. Agro-climatically the region is more suitable for growing off-season vegetables and temperate fruits. Animal Husbandry and Fisheries also generate wealth and employment in Agriculture Sector.

During the last 58 years of Planning, the foodgrain production has increased from 2 lakh to 16 lakh MT, Vegetable production from 0.25 lakh to 6.27 lakh MT during the 9th Five Year Plan Period. During the 10th Five Year Plan period, the Department has achieved the level of foodgrain production 15 lakh MT and Vegetable production 10 lakh MT inspite of unfavourable agro-climatic conditions.

The physical targets and achievements for 9th, 10th, and 11th Five Year Plans are given below:-

S.No.	Physical	9th Five Year Plan (level of achievement)	Target for 10th Five Year Plan	10th Five Year Plan (level of actual achievement)	11th Five Year Plan target
A.	Production(000MT)
i)	Foodgrains	1598.922	1875.00	1487.645	1700.00
ii)	Vegetables	627.445	1000.00	1006.247	1300.00
iii)	Potato	182.678	175.00	163.213	180.00
B.	Distribution of Inputs (MT)
i)	Fertilizer(NPK)	40156	46000	48981	50000
ii)	Seeds(Cereals, Pulses & Oilseeds)	30000	37700	45940	45000
iii)	Plant Protection Material	232.39	200	163.20	140
C.	Area under High Yielding Varieties(000 Hect.)
i)	Maize	212.33	280.00	273.14	280.00
ii)	Rice	74.31	79.00	70.94	75.00
iii)	Wheat	376.72	361.00	353.52	330.00
D.	Additional Area brought under Soil & Water Conservation measures. (in Hect.)	12000	22500	22325	18000

In spite of serious topographic limitations, significant achievements have been made by the Agriculture Sector during the past. Concerted and dedicated efforts are being made to enhance production and productivity of different crops grown in the Pradesh. Efforts are also being made to put in place requisite infrastructure to promote cultivation of cash crops through diversification from cereals. Incentive is being provided to the farmers to adopt precision farming under protected conditions and adoption of micro- irrigation methods of irrigations. These efforts and incentives would safe guard farmers from the vagaries of weather and losses to the crops due to shortage of water. Efforts are also being made to promote cultivation of Niche crops for which agro climatic conditions are conducive. Concerted efforts are also being made to tackle the changes in climate due to global warming etc.

NEXT