02/04/2024
Which Indian state has the highest monthly Income per hectare in agriculture, as per the SAS Survey data? The answer might genuinely surprise you.
Jammu Kashmir
I have been looking at the state-wise variation in farmers' incomes as per Situation Assessment Survey data conducted in 2018-19 and it's quite fascinating.
//Of course, such data needs to be taken with a good serving of salt. But, when I correlate this data with other sets of data (more below), it matches and hence I can talk about this with a reasonable amount of confidence as the pattern matches.//
Top 3 States with high monthly incomes per hectare as per Situated Assessment Survey 2019
Jammu Kashmir 40684 INR
Kerala 40258 INR
Meghalaya 35105 INR
Interestingly, India's agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar presented in Dec'22 the top 3 states' agricultural income, in response to a query raised in Rajya Sabha and guess which state stood fourth?
Jammu Kashmir
Meghalaya Rs 29,348
Punjab Rs 26,701
Haryana Rs 22,841,
Arunachal Pradesh Rs 19,225
Jammu and Kashmir Rs 18,918
Whether it is Meghalaya or Jammu and Kashmir, their success stems from their efforts in Horticulture. Apple farming provides livelihood to over 45 lakh people in Kashmir and contributes about 75% of the total apple production in the country. 98% of the walnuts cultivated in India come from Jammu Kashmir
ofcourse, the picture isn't as rosy as it seems.
Over the past few years, as my friend Dev Bhardwaj recently apprised me, Climate Change has severely impacted the high-density cultivation of apples and as per recent local reports, farmers are transitioning to lavender farming to bring more resilience to a state grappling with unseasonal rains, prolonged heat waves, and severe water scarcity.
In a recent fireside chat, Amitabh Kant shared that India must aim for 10 champion states that could grow at more than 10 per cent.
Based on the data we have in our midst, can we consider Jammu and Kashmir as a champion state that could contribute a higher growth to Indian Agriculture?
In a recent publication published by Niti Aayog by Bruno Dorin, Neelam Patel and Ranveer Nagaich, Jammu Kashmir stood out for another important reason. It is the only Indian state in a positive Lewis path trajectory where the active farmer population is declining and the income differential between agricultural and non-agricultural workers is declining.
When Incofin India Progress Fund invested EUR 5.6 Million in Kashmir-based Horticulture Technology Enterprise Qul Fruit Wall a few weeks ago, I profiled it in Agribusiness Matters.
How can we make Jammu and Kashmir a champion state? What is working well? What isn't? How can we do better?
