Footprint of agricultural inputs on trend of productivity in West Bengal

Abstract

Agricultural productivity is the synthetic reflection of agricultural efficiency in which different inputs are being used and it helps to recognize the regional inequalities in agriculture. The main focus of the present study is on the district wise variation of trends in agricultural productivity in West Bengal from 1991 to 2011 as well as its relation to agricultural inputs like rainfall, percentage of cropped area, irrigation and fertilizer consumption. Therefore, trend analysis has been done by Mann-Kendall test together with the Sen's Slope Estimator for the determination of trend and slope magnitude. Also a regression analysis is done in between productivity and various inputs for answering the causes behind positive and negative trends. Most of the districts have facing negative trend in productivity since 1990. In Hooghly, Burdwan and Nadia districts, agricultural productivity is well enough in comparison to Purulia, Bankura, Darjeeling districts.