Current Status:
Agriculture is counted as the chief economic occupation of the state. According to a government estimate, net sown area of the state is 4.828 million hectares and the gross sown area is 5.788 million hectares. About 80% of the population of the state is rural and the main livelihood of the villagers is agriculture and agriculture-based small industry.Horticulture and animal husbandry also engage a major share of the total population of the state. Chhattisgarh is also called the “rice bowl of central India”
The majority of the farmers are still practicing the traditional methods of cultivation, resulting in low growth rates and productivity. The farmers have to be made aware of modern technologies suitable to their holdings. Providing adequate knowledge to the farmers is essential for better implementation of the agricultural development plans and to improve the productivity.
Considering this and a very limited irrigated area, the productivity of not only rice but also other crops is low, hence the farmers are unable to obtain economic benefits from agriculture and it has remained as subsistence agriculture till now.
Agricultural products:
The main crops are rice, maize,kodo-kutki and other small millets and pulses; oilseeds, such as groundnuts , soybeans and sunflowers, are also grown. Kodo Millet is used as Life Saving Medicine in Chhattisgarh.
In the mid-1990s, most of Chhattisgarh was still a monocrop belt. Only one-fourth to one-fifth of the sown area was double-cropped. When a very substantial portion of the population is dependent on agriculture, a situation where almost 80% of a state’s area is covered only by one crop, immediate attention to turn them into double crop areas is needed.
Fruit Crops – The major fruit crops grown in Chhattisgarh state are Mango, Guava, Lime, Litchi, Cashew-nut, Cheku etc., apart from these major fruit crops minor fruits like Sitafal, Bael, Ber, Anola etc., are also grown both as cultivated and wild crop. The total area of the fruit crops in the state is 2,39,676 Ha. along with the production of 23,28,811 MT in the year 2015-2016. Agro climatically Mango can be grown in the whole part of the state successfully while the northern hilly area of Sarguja and Jashpur district is suitable for production of Litchi. Cashew nut can be grown well in the plateau region of the Bastar&Raigarh district
Spices – Chili, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Coriander &Methi are the major spices grown in the state. The total area of spices recorded in year 2015-2016 was 93,662 Ha. with the production of 6,59,192 MT.
Aromatic & Medicinal Plants – The medicinal crops grown in the state are Ashwagandha, Serpagandha, Satawar, Butch, Aonla, Tikhur etc. Some aromatic crops like Lemongrass, Pamarosa, Jamarosa, Patchauli, E.citridora are promoted by the department for commercial cultivation among farmers. The present area of aromatic and medicinal crops in the state is 8529 Ha. with the production of 59,972 MT in the year 2015-2016.
Flowers – Area under flower cultivation is negligible in the state. With the formation of new state the demand of flowers is increasing day-by-day, to meet out the growing demand of flowers it is essential to promote commercial floriculture among the farmers. The major flowers like Marry-gold, Tuberose, Gladiolus, Roses, Gaillardia, Chrysanthemum, Orchids etc., can be grown very well without much care. The present area under floriculture in the state is 11 thousand Ha. with the production of 53 thousand MT. approximately in the year 2015-2016.
Vegetables – Mostly all vegetable crops like Solaneious crops, Cucurbits, Beans, Cabbage, Cauliflower etc., are grown very well in the state. The total area of vegetable crops in the state was recorded 4,38,849 Ha. in the year 2015-2016 with the production of 60,61,801 MT.
Agriculture and Irrigation
Chhattisgarh has a limited irrigation system, with dams and canals on some rivers. Average rainfall in the state is around 1400 mm and the entire state falls under the rice agroclimatic zone. Large variation in the yearly rainfall directly affects the production of rice. Irrigation is the prime need of the state for its overall development and therefore the state government has given top priority to development of irrigation.
In Chhattisgarh, rice, the main crop, is grown on about 77% of the net sown area. Only about 20% of the area is under irrigation; the rest depends on rain.
Of the three agroclimatic zones, about 73% of the Chhattisgarh plains, 97% of the Bastar plateau and 95% of the northern hills are rainfed.
In Chhattisgarh region about 22% of net cropped area was under irrigation as compared to 36.5% in Madhya Pradesh in 1998-99, whereas the average national irrigation was about 40%. The irrigation is characterized by a high order of variability ranging from 1.6% in Bastar to 75.0% in Dhamtari. Based on an average growth trend in irrigated area, about 0.43% additional area is brought under irrigation every year as compared to 1.89% in Madhya Pradesh and 1.0% in the country as a whole. Thus, irrigation has been growing at a very low rate in Chhattisgarh and the pace of irrigation is so slow, it would take about 122 years to reach the 75% level of net irrigated area in Chhattisgarh at the present rate of growth.
| Agricultural development in the state |
| Positive results of efforts over the years for the economic regeneration of the state of agricultural development and farmers by the state government said. Chhattisgarh state government to increase the production of rice farmers by farmers of the aid went and state due to the advanced agricultural technology by adopting the highest paddy production by the Government of India for the year 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14 and prestigious “the fourth state of pulses output in 2014-15 was awarded the Krishi Karman award”. State farmers for this achievement deserve congratulations. |
| Agriculture Today magazine awarded the “Agriculture Leadership Award” for the state by the year 2015. An increase of 39 percent, 24 percent, 35 percent of the total grain, 13 percent of the total pulses, 13 percent, 33 percent and total oilseeds in total food wheat in rice in the past 12 years. |
Horticulture is growing popularity owing to the high value of horticulture produces than agriculture crops. However, there needs to be a greater impetus in boosting the irrigation resources of the state and in promoting horticulture in intensive mode in the state. According to the old and existing data, a brief analysis is made on the status of Horticulture in the state which is furnished below. However, fresh efforts are being made to generate and compile statistical data through systematic data collection on Horticulture crops in the state.