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Agriculture in Karnataka
INTRODUCTION:
State of Karnataka is the eighth largest in the country having an area of 1.91 lakh sq. kms. It has a coast line of 310 kms. Coastal zone is a narrow strip of land between the Arabian Sea in the West, the Western ghats in the East, Kerala in the South and Goa in the North. State forms the South Western part of the Deccan Peninsula and lies between 11o 5’ and 18o 6’ North latitude and 74o 4’ East longitudes. It had a population of 44.98 Millions (1991) with population density of 235 per sq. km. The state had a rural population of 31.07 Million and Urban population of 13.91 Million. More than 71% of this population is engaged in Agriculture. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe constitute 21% of the population. Average farm size stands at 1.95 hectares as per Agricultural Census 1995.
It has an altitude ranging from sea level along the west coast to about 5000 ft. in the Western ghats tapering off to East with an elevation of 1000 ft. in the plains. Transitional Western ghats are covered with thick evergreen and deciduous forests. State has vast resources of land, forests, minerals and water. It has 27 districts with 175 taluks comprising 27066 inhabited villages.
IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE:
Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of the State. Besides contributing a substantial part of the state domestic product (about 28%), it is also the largest source of employment. Details on gross state domestic product at constant and current prices are presented in Table-I & II. Out of 17.29 million workers in the State (as per 1991 census), agriculture and allied activities provide employment to 11.53 million (66.6%).
During 1980-93, this sector's growth was at an average of 2.8 percent per annum (compound), which was about half of the growth rate at which the NSDP (Net State Domestic Product) increased over the same period. An interesting feature of the growth in the State Agriculture has been that it progressed at 4.4 per cent during the first half of 1980s (1980-85), but then decelerated sharply in the latter half. In the beginning of 1990s, although it picked up marginally, it was far from being a dynamic and vibrant sector.
During the last decade and a half public investment in the State agriculture has witnessed a downward trend in real terms. Although private investment in agriculture has shown some encouraging signs, yet the overall picture is grim.
