Modeling the effect of agricultural inputs on the spatial variation of agricultural efficiency in West Bengal, India

Scarcity of agricultural land is the single greatest constraint to the development of agro-based nations like India, and this problem has been augmented in present day due to the persistently growing pressure of population to the limited available land resource. Accordingly, improvement in agricultural efficiency seems to be the best alternative to meet the requirements of growing population along with the overall development. The central concern of this paper is to study the inter-district variations in agricultural efficiency in the state of West Bengal, one of the agro-based states in India during the period 2010-2011. The study also attempts to scrutinize the impact of agricultural inputs on agricultural efficiency. The level of agricultural efficiency was examined both in crops and aggregate levels based on the 22 major crops grown in the state. Besides, composite development index of agricultural inputs was computed based on optimum combinational composite index model (OCCIM). Wide inter-district variations have been witnessed in the magnitude of agricultural efficiency. The district of Malda was recorded as the maximum efficient district and Purulia was recognized as the least efficient district in terms of agriculture. In addition, inter-district variations in the development level of inputs were also observed in the state. The districts of Bankura and Cooch Behar were registered as maximum and minimum developed districts, respectively, in terms of agricultural inputs availability. The development level of inputs was affecting the agricultural efficiency in the positive orientation in the state. Finally, this paper computes a set of prospective targets of selected agricultural inputs for all districts along with the identification of model districts by using developmental distances between different combinations of districts, which would be in the direction of reducing the inter-district gap of agricultural efficiency.