Agriculture of Bihar

Bihar lies in the river plains of the basin of the river Ganga. It is endowed with fertile alluvial soil ground water resources. This makes the agriculture of Bihar rich and diverse. Rice, wheat, and maize are the major cereal crops. Arhar, urad, moong, gram, pea, lentils, and khesaria are some of the pulses cultivated in Bihar. Bihar is the largest producer of vegetables, which is dominated by potato, onion, eggplant, and cauliflower. In fruit cultivation, it is the largest producer of lychee and the third largest producer of pineapple, as well as a major producer of mango, banana, and guava. Sugar cane and jute are two other major cash crops of Bihar.

Cropping pattern

The net sown area in Bihar is 60% of its geographical area. This percentage is much higher than the all-India average of 42%. Such a high percentage of cultivated land is possible for two reasons. First, most of Bihar is plain area suitable for agriculture. Second, most of the forest had been converted into farmland during the last 2000 years. Currently, land under forest constitutes only 6% of the area.

North Bihar is a productive agricultural center, while South Bihar is hindered by its flood and drought prone geography. In the south, the Ahar-Pyne system of agriculture has long been used to cultivate crops.[1]

Food grains

Rice is cultivated in all districts of Bihar. Autumn rice, aghani rice, and summer rice are three different varieties of rice grown at three different times of the year. The average production of rice is around 5 million tonnes each year. Some five decades back, wheat cultivation was very restricted to western districts of Bihar. After green revolution success, wheat was planted by Bihari farmers on a larger scale, and wheat now occupies the status of major crop of the rabi (spring) season. The average annual wheat production is approximately 4-4.5 million tonnes. Maize is also cultivated, with an average annual production level of approximately 1.5 million tonnes and a steady positive trend in production. The leading producer districts are Khagaria and Saharsa. Pulses such as moong, arhar, peas, and khesari are grown, more in southern than in northern Bihar. The leading districts are Patna, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, and Nalanda.

Vegetables

The total area under vegetable cultivation is currently about 11% of the state's gross sown area, and is increasing. The important vegetable crops include potato, onion, tomato, cauliflower, and brinjal. Hajipur in Vaishali is famous for an early variety of cauliflower that reaches market in the last week of September. Production of vegetables is well dispersed over the districts, with a concentration of production in some particular districts. Apart from Patna and Nalanda (Jehanabad), where vegetable production is quite extensive, the other districts with high shares in total vegetable production are Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, West Champaran, East Champaran, Katihar, and Begusarai.[2]

References
  1. Koul, D. N., Singh, S., Neelam, G., & Shukla, G. (2012). Traditional water management systems-An overview of Ahar-pyne system in South Bihar plains of India and need for its revival.
  2. http://finance.bih.nic.in/Budget/Economic-Survey-2012-En.pdf%5B%5D

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