Agriculture in economic development

The general story of what is now called the green revolution is well known.1 There is also a very large crop of literature relating to the green revolution in India.2 We now have a definite story of how the green revolution in India since 1965 66 brought about a major breakthrough in the growth of agricultural output, particularly foodgrains, after several decades of almost total stagnation in agriculture. Indeed, the history of the development of Indian agriculture since the beginning of this century can be divided into three distinct periods: (i) A long period of stagnation, (ii) followed by a decade and a half -of substantial increases in agricultural output, and then, com paratively recently (iii) a period of almost revolutionary incre ases in foodgrains production.

A study by George Blyn3 of the growth of agricultural out put in India from 1891 to 1947 reveals that aggregate foodgrains production increased at a surprisingly low rate of only 0.1 per cent per year. This study also reveals that the production of rice, representing nearly 50 per cent of the total foodgrains output during this period, actually declined, though the output of wheat increased impressively (comparatively speaking) at the The main aim of this book is to present a systematic account of this remarkable economic growth of the Punjab region of India in recent years, with special reference to agriculture. Early in the planning stage of the book I became aware of some of the conceptual and practical difficulties of arrange ment and presentation. It appeared to me that it was meaning less to offer just another descriptive and factual account of the development of agriculture, or the rate of industrial expan sion in the Punjab and Haryana.