"Indian Agriculture – Productivity, Climate Change and Institutions An essay in Agricultural Economics"

Abstract

"Agricultural sector in India has recorded tremendous growth since Independence. This has been largely possible due to the new agricultural reforms and the arrival of the green and white revolutions. The impact of the new agricultural reforms can be felt in the massive increase in the productivity of coarse cereals and pulses which has enabled India to attain self-sufficiency in food grains. A by-product of this has been the gradual rise of energy inputs. In particular, fertilizer consumption, diesel use and electricity consumption, have seen a dramatic rise post 1960. There also has been a large scale substitution of capital for labour. This is a direct consequence of the increasing population size and food grain demand as India strives to maintain self-sufficiency. However, more importantly, the extravagant use of energy inputs and substitution of capital for labour coupled with new agricultural technology has had an adverse effect on the climate. This thesis makes an attempt to analyse the growth in Indian Agriculture and derive its implications in relation to energy use and CO2 emissions. The specific objective is to estimate the relationship between carbon emissions and agricultural productivity. Although agricultural production in India has witnessed a tremendous growth, it is unclear whether the high intake of energy has an adverse impact on climate. Over the past years, the northern states of India have blossomed partly due to favourable climatic conditions, while the western and southern states have experienced drastic climatic conditions that have adversely impacted agricultural productivity, repercussions of which are felt in farmer suicides and rural to urban migration. This thesis also investigates this issue by throwing light on the role of institutions in the development of agriculture and its implications on climate change. The findings of the study show the presence of a positive relationship between agricultural productivity and the level of carbon emissions. Further, the study also finds that states with good institution are able to perform better than their competitors endowed with bad institutions."