A Study of Fluctuation and Development Trend in Kharif Rice Cultivation in Odisha, India

It has been a concern in Odisha to see stable agricultural growth rates. Since rice is the main crop grown in the state, the current study's goals are to determine the district wise growth rate of area, production, and yield of kharif rice as well as to determine the degree of instability in those districts of Odisha. The study is based on secondary source of data on area, yield and production of kharif rice in the districts of Odisha from the period 1994-95 to 2017-18. The data are obtained from various volumes of Odisha Agriculture Statistics published by Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production, Government of Odisha. The growth rates for area, production and yield of kharif rice were computed for the districts of Odisha using exponential model. Cuddy Della Valle’s instability index was used to analyze the instability in area, production and yield of kharif rice in districts of Odisha. The compound growth rate in case of area was highest in Malkangiri and Subarnapur Districts. Lowest growth rate found in Kandhamal district. Compound growth rate for production are significant and highest in Subarnapur, Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur and Boudh districts. Maximum districts showing positive growth rate in production and yield. Instability index for area of kharif rice in all districts of Odisha is insignificant except Bargarh and Jharsuguda which have significant Instability Index, which reveals that for the State, area is more stable as compared to that of yield and production. Despite stability of area, the instability of yield leads to instability of production.