About 43 % of India's geographical area is used for agricultural activity. With the spread of irrigation facilities, the introduction of high yielding variety of seeds and farm mechanisation, the vulnerability of the Indian agricultural sector to the vagaries of the monsoons has declined considerably.
Agriculture production increased during the eighties when the weighted index of agricultural production increased at the rate of 3.6 % per annum compared to 2.2 % per annum in the seventies and 3 % per annum in the fifties and early sixties. The increase in agricultural production during the eighties emanates from a significant rise in the yield and a marginal rise in the area.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, Bombay
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Last updated: August 1995.