Population Pressure and Agricultural Change under Poor Public Investment in Infrasture : The Case of Assam

It is well known that all regions in India have not benefitted from the green revolution technology to the same extent owing largely to the differential public investment in agriculture and infrastructure across the regions. The north western region has been the forerunner whereas the eastern region has continued to show low productivity and low agricultural net state domestic product. Moreover, these agriculturally backward states have high rates of population growth and majority of their population is dependent on agriculture. Assam is one of these states where population growth is high and agriculture is characterised by low growth, poor yield and little diversification. Increasing population pressure and a poorly performing agriculture raises serious concerns as it has to provide for and support a growing rural population. It has been argued that increasing population is an important determinant of agricultural change but is largely conditioned by government's role in facilitating it. Against this background, the study examines agricultural change in the state in the context of increasing population pressure and poor governmental efforts to develop agriculture. Taking a period of four decades (mid 1960s to late 2000s), the present study examines the agricultural changes in terms of extensification, labour intensification, crop intensification, shifts in cropping pattern and improvements in technology that have taken place in response to population pressure across the districts of the state. To examine the role of the government, plan strategies, investment and the outcome in Assam agriculture have been analysed.