Growth and Instability in Production and Productivity of Food Grains: A Study of the Districts of Jangalmahal in West Bengal

Abstract

This paper has explored the growth and instability in production and productivity of food grains during the different phases of liberalization (1981–2010) in the context of the zone of Jangalmahal in West Bengal. We have compared the growth and instability in production and productivity of the food grains of the districts of Jangalmahal with that of Burdwan district in West Bengal. Analyzing the kinked exponential growth model for food grains production and its area productivity for the districts of Jangalmahal we have found that in most of the cases growth of food grains production and its productivity has declined during the WTO regime. The issue of instability has also been examined for food grains production and productivity. This paper has discussed the causes and consequences of the slow performances of the districts of Jangalmahal in food grains production and productivity.