Introduction:

Bihar is the third largest state with respect to population and seventh in terms of area in India.   Agriculture is still an important sector in Bihar since it contributes about 20 per cent to State Gross Domestic Product and provides employment to about 70 per cent of working force in rural area. The state is characterized by small land holders in the country. More than 90 per cent of farm households belong to marginal farm category (less than 1 ha land) but own about 44 per cent of cultivated land in Bihar.  Agriculture sector experienced a drastic change with respect to public investment, use of inputs, extension activities and crop-milk-fish production. State government assigned priority to the sector through providing fund to this sector by increasing annual average budget allocation from less than Rs 200 crore during 2001-05 to more than Rs 2,000 crore during 2007-13. In Bihar, the State Agricultural GDP was almost stagnant at Rs 32.5 billion during 1981-94 and its growth was negative in Ninth Five Year Plan (-1.4%) which turned positive in Tenth Five Year Plan (0.91%). During Eleventh Five year Plan, State AgGDP grew at the annual growth rate of 5.9 per cent. However, State Gross Domestic Product recorded growth of 12 per cent during the period which was higher than corresponding growth achieved at national level. State agriculture sector also achieved spectacular growth of 31 per cent in the year 2006-07. But the state failed to maintain higher agriculture growth due to flood in 2007 and 2008, and drought in 2009 and 2010. Despite severe drought in 2010, the state recorded the food grain production of 125 lakh tonnes and milk production of 63 lakh tonnes, indicating sustainability in agricultural production in Bihar.

Per hectare Net State Agril. Domestic Product (at current rice) increased from Rs 32672 in 2001-05 to Rs 72942 in 2007-12, which worked out to be an annual increase 9.0 per cent during the period, indicating a substantial  increase in productivity of crops and animals  in the state. It has been made possible due to an increase in area under modern varieties of crops and high value crops and increase in high yielding dairy animals during the period. State Government prepared the first  Road Map in 2008 and the second Road Map in 2012 for development of agriculture and allied sectors and tried to implement several projects/programmes for faster development of these sectors in the state. It is a coincidence that the Union Government has also launched several Mega projects namely; National Horticulture Mission, Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojna and National Food Security Mission for agricultural development during last five years

Climate of Bihar is favourable for production of various field crops and agriculture of the state is still dependent on behaviour of monsoon and distribution of rainfall. During the last 10 years, food grain production was the highest (178 lakh tonnes) in 2011-12 when state received almost  normal   rainfall (1133 mm) . The state has achieved almost sustainability in agricultural production because the   food grains of about 108   lakh tonnes was produced in drought year  of 2010-11 when annual rainfall declined to 678 mm. Whereas  the state had severe drought in 1966 when 866 mm of monsoon rainfall was received and food grain production was declined by 50 per cent of the normal production level. An increase in food grain production in the state in drought year 2010-11 was made possible due to increase in number of private tube wells installed by farmers. However, the State Government also made some cosmetic efforts for maintaining agricultural production.

 Changes in Land Use
  Agricultural land is becoming a scarce commodity and shrinking land is a challenge for agricultural development in Bihar.   Data pertaining to the land use pattern in Bihar revealed that the net sown area is declining and areas under current fallow and land under non-agricultural uses have increased over the last 10 years.  An annual decline of about 15 thousand hectares in net area sown  has been observed during  last 10 years (Table  1  ).

Table 1  :Agricultural Land Use in Bihar during last 10 years
(Area in Lakh hectares)

          Decline in net area sown  is mainly due to unabated massive conversion of agricultural land for building houses and construction of infrastructure. Current fallow increased might be due to erratic rainfall, peak time scarcity of labour, unreliable and costly irrigation and tiny unviable farm holdings in Bihar. Policy makers are not realizing the challenge posed to agriculture due to decline in net area sown and increasing fallow land in the state which warrants their immediate attention.

Bihar Agriculture is characterized by small and fragmented land holdings. There are about 162 lakh operational holdings possessing about 62 lakh hectares land with average farm size of only 0.39 hectare, down from 0.58 hectare in 2001-02. The reduction in farm-size has been larger in the case of medium and large farmers than in the case of marginal farmers whereas average size of land holdings of small farmers increased from 1.21 hectares 2001-02 to 1.25 hectares in 2010-11(Table 2 ).   Around 91 per cent  of the farmers have land holdings less than1ha and they cultivate nearly 57per cent of the operational land. On the other hand, only 0.02 of the farmers have operational land holdings above 4 hectares and account for 0.7 per cent of the operated land. Marginal farm holdings constitute more than 90 percent of total farm households and their average size of land holdings declined from 0.30 hectare in 2001-02 to o.25 hectare in 2010-11.It is one of the main hindrance in faster adoption of new farm technology due to their small and fragmented holdings, low level of liquidity and low risk bearing capability

TABLE 2: Distribution of Landholdings and their respective operated area in  Bihar during last 10 years

Figures in parentheses indicate average size of land holdings in respective category of households

. Marginal farmers have very limited access to agricultural development programmes, particularly various projects of National Horticulture Mission( Kian Ayog,2009).Agricultural development programmes must be designed considering the large number of marginal farmers holdings so that they are able to get benefits of programs on their tiny land holdings.

Agricultural production scenario: 

Analysis of food grain production during last 10 years revealed that average area under food grain declined from 72 lakh hectares at triennium ending 2000-01 to about 68 lakh hectares at triennium ending 2005-06 and further declined  to 65 lakh hectares  at triennium ending 2011-12, but their share in gross cropped area marginally declined from 90 per cent to 89 per cent to respective gross cropped area during the period. Despite decline in area under food grain and unfavourable weather  during last five years (almost  4 rainfall deficit years) food grain production  crossed 14 million tonnes mark which  never achieved in twentieth century. There was spectacular increase in food grain productivity from1697 kgs per hectare in 2000-01 to 2102 Kgs per hectare during 2011-12. Production of rice, the main food grain crop which is grown in about two- third area of net sown area in kharif season, did not show any increase in productivity up to 2007-08 but showed increasing trend during last four years and crossed 2400 kg per hectare in 2011-12 againt corresponding national average of 2372 kg. . Production of rice also crossed 8 million tonnes in 2011-12 whereas production of about 55 lakh tonnes of rice was achieved in 2003-04. However, rice production  is still depends on weather in Bihar. Rice cannot be grown successfully in scanty rainfall due to unreliable and costly irrigation sources. About 60 per cent rice is grown in irrigated situation but the majority of farmers provide survival irrigation to rice crop because diesel operated tube well is the main source of irrigation which is costly, particularly for marginal  farmers who purchase water at the rate of Rs 70-100 per hour.
                                                                                                                                                      
Wheat  is the second important crop in Bihar which production was stagnant at 40 lakh tonnes up to Eleventh Five Year Plan but its  annual production increased to 65 lakh tonnes in 2011-12. Average per hectare wheat productivity showed increasing trend from about 20 quintals/per hectare during 2001-06 to more than 24 quintals during last five years (2007-12).Per hectare  maize productivity  was also stagnant at 24 quintals during 2001-05 which also increased  to 27 quintals in 2008-09 and further increased to 37 quintals in 2011-12. However, winter maize productivity of 80 quintals per hectare is common in Begusarai and Khagaria districts of Bihar. The high yield of winter maize is mainly due to favourable ecology for production of maize in winter season along with farmers’ efforts in production of this crop in Bihar. State government made a little effort to boost winter maize production because farmers depend on non government sector for not only hybrid maize seeds but also for marketing, fertilizer and pesticide. Hence, there is an ample scope for increasing production of winter maize in Bihar. Increase in production and productivity of wheat and maize has been mainly contributed by adoption of modern production technology of these crops by farmers.

There has been significant increase in per hectare productivity of principal crops during last five years. Among major states, Bihar was placed at twelfth position in rice productivity, seventh position in wheat and sixth position in maize productivity in 2000-01. Despite increase in Productivity of these crops Bihar’s rank in realizing per hectare yield remained almost the same.

Despite unfavourable weather in Bihar,there was spectacular increase in agricultural production which was made possible due to result of a combination of  various factors like; increased farmer’s access to quality seeds, increased use of inorganic and organic fertilizers, adoption of improved water management practices, massive extension efforts through  centrally sponsored Mega agricultural development  projects, and above all, ingenuity and industry of farmers. Among all the factors seed is main determinant of agricultural production on which facilitates the performance and efficacy of other inputs. Quality seed at affordable price is pre-requisite to increase crop productivity.

Seed is known for increasing agricultural production, good quality seeds alone can increase 30 per cent of agricultural production. In Bihar, high yielding varieties cover 65 per cent area under rice, 95 per cent area under wheat and 88 per cent area under maize but farmers are using poor quality seeds because most of these seeds are either home grown or spurious purchased from local market

 Seed replacement rate has a strong positive correlation with production and productivity of crops. Seed replacement rates of principal crops showed increasing trend in Bihar during last five years. Paddy seed replacement rare increased from 7 per cent in 2001-02 to 12 per cent in 2006-07 and further increased to 38 per cent in 2011-12( Table 3). Wheat seed replacement rate also increased from 29 per cent  to 35 per cent and maize seed replacement rate from 29 per cent to 82 per cent during the period. Maize seed replacement rate is now 100 per cent in winter season because all farmers cultivate hybrid maize in winter season and there is adequate supply of maize seeds through private seed companies in Bihar. In 2001-02, seed replacement rate of lentil  was only one per cent  which increased to 15 per cent in 2011-12. Seed replacement rate of mustard also increased from 29 per cent to 47 per cent during the period.

Table 3 : Seed replacement rates of principals crops in Bihar during last 10 years
                                                               (in %) 

                          Source: 1. Annual Report, Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar
                                       (Various issues)
                                        2. National Seed Plan (2005), Ministry of Agriculture and
                                             Cooperation, Government of India,

The spectacular increase in seed replacement rate of principal crops has been due to massive efforts made by state government through various centrally sponsored projects namely; National Food Security Mission ( NFSM),Rastriya Krishi vikas Yojana(RKVY),Integrated Scheme for Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil palm and Maize (ISOPOM) and Macro mode. In these Mega projects, In Bihar, about 6 thousand quintals of seeds of principal crops were made available to farmers in 2006-07 which increased to more than 6.05 lakh quintals in 2011-12. Besides , about 26.7 thousand quintals of seeds under Chief Minister Veej Vistar Yojana and 940 quintals in Mini kit programme were also distributed  to farmers in 2011-12.State agriculture department also revived state farms for seed production. Number of state farms for production seeds increased to 247   in 2011-12 from only 45   in 2006-07.Seeds were produced in more than 6 thousand villages under Veej Gram Yojana in 2011-12. Sone Command Development Authority, State Agricultural Universities, National Seed Corporation, State farm Corporation and Private seed companies are  also active in production and making available seeds of principal crops to farming community  in Bihar. But Bihar is still deficient in seeds of pulses, vegetables and fruit plant saplings. Horticulture sector contributes about 50 percent to total value of crops produced in Bihar which is still neglected. But availability of quality seeds of vegetables is still much lower in Bihar, adversely affecting vegetable production in the state. Bihar government made a good effort in right direction but proper monitoring of these schemes could have made miracle in increasing agricultural production in Bihar.
Irrigation is one of the critical inputs for increasing agricultural production. In Bihar, about 61 per cent gross cropped area is irrigated which is much higher than the corresponding national average (45%) but among major states our irrigation efficiency is the lowest (134). Average gross irrigated area has been stagnated at 48 lakh hectares in Eleventh Five Year Plan however there was marginal increase in area through tube wells but canal irrigated area declined during the period. Tube well irrigated area constitutes 70 percent of total irrigated area but more than 90 per cent of them are private tube well. Despite government efforts more than 90 per cent of public tube wells are abandoned and even newly installed tube wells are not operational. State Government has installed few tube wells and handed over their management to individual (officially to committee) but the most of these tube wells are not functioning well in the interest of farming community and they are practically own by individual and they are charging high rate of irrigation from poor farmers who do not own their own tube wells.
Canal irrigation is considered to be a farmers’ friendly and reliable source of irrigation. But it is most unreliable source of irrigation in Bihar. Canal system was an inefficient source of irrigation in Bihar which failed to provide irrigation facility to less than 50 per cent of its command area during the year 2009-10. Canal irrigated area declined from 16.66 lakh hectares in 2008-09 to 12.02 lakh hectares in 2009-10, indicating unreliability of canal irrigation system in Bihar. State Government has been making huge expenditure under plan and non plan heads on development and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure. Expenditure in Irrigation is spread over to many uncompleted projects. In addition, existing infrastructure has rapidly deteriorated as operations and maintenance is assigned lower priority. During last five years annual plan expenditure of about Rs 2500 per hectare of irrigated area was incurred in Bihar but these investment has neither resulted in visible increase in irrigated area nor satisfactory maintenance of irrigation infrastructure in Bihar. However, eleven medium and major irrigation projects for increasing irrigated area was under progress in Eleventh Five Year Plan. About 55 percent of ground water is still to be exploited for irrigation purposes. Hence, there is vast potential for increasing irrigated area in Bihar which will help increasing agricultural production for not only consumption but for raw materials for agro-industry.

Fertilizer is known as an essential input for increasing crop production. A spectacular increase in fertilizer consumption has been observed during green revolution period in the country in general and Bihar in particular. In Bihar per hectare fertilizer (NPK) consumption was only 4 kilograms in early sixties which increased to 19 kilograms in 1975-76 and further increased to about 183 kilograms in 2010-11 but declined to 158 kilograms in 2011-12 due to deficient rainfall (Table 4    ).
Table 4  :Per hectare use of fertilizer (NPK) in kilogram and their ratios in Bihar during last 10 years

Per hectare fertilizer consumption in crop production increased by 60 per cent during last 10 years from about 109 kilograms  at triennium ending 2001-02 to 174 kilograms at triennium ending 2011-12. Farmers are trying to use balanced use of NPK in Bihar and ratio of NPK improved from 12:2.2:1.0 at TE 2001-02 to 6.6:2.1;1.0 at TE 2011-12.

Deficiency of micronutrients (zinc, boron and sulphur) has been reported from different parts of state but there is no facility where farmers could get their soil tested to know the extent of micro-nutrient deficiency. Government of Bihar made unsuccessful efforts to provide soil test (NPK) facility to farmers but a few farmers could get the report of soil test. Recently, Department of Agriculture started a campaign for popularizing organic farming in the state. State government provided assistance to farmers for construction of 86 thousand vermi compost units and distributed vermi compost for 86 thousand hectares area.  About 50 commercial units also provided with financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each for production of vermin compost. These commercial units are expected to produce three thousand tones vermin compost in a year. These efforts are commendable but more sincere and aggressive efforts are needed to save the soil health in Bihar. In this context it is worth pointing out that the rice production in water logged area of north Bihar was totally chemical free up to mid-eighties. The majority of farmers growing fruits and vegetables for their domestic use do not use fertilizers and chemicals. We should educate these farmers, on priority basis, for organic cultivation of these crops before making efforts for organic farming of food grain crops, which may threaten our food security in short period. It is also a difficult task for farmers to arrange organic/bio-fertilizers for huge area under food grains. Organic certification is another difficult and costly activity, particularly for small and marginal farmers, who constitute more than 96.5 per cent of farm households and own about 72.6 per cent of cultivated area in Bihar ( Agri. Census2005-06). The higher and imbalance use of chemical fertilizers threatened the soil health but soil of the state is still reach in organic carbon (0.5-1.0). However, increasing use of chemical fertilizers accompanied with declining use of manure would likely to have adverse effect on soil health.

During last 20 years there has been drastic change in use of inputs in production of inputs in production of principal crops ( paddy and wheat ) in Bihar. Per hectare use of animal labour in paddy cultivation declined from 227 pair hours in 1981-82 to 34 pair hours in 2008-09 whereas the corresponding decline was more in case of wheat cultivation that is; 305 to 32 pair hours (Table 5   ).  Use of tractor, thresher and other agricultural machineries became more common in crop production and per hectare expenses on machineries increased from Rs 3.0   to Rs 1334.0 in   paddy cultivation and Rs 7.0  to Rs  2914.0 in wheat production during 1981-81 to 2008-09. There was more increase of  fertilizer use in cultivation of wheat than  paddy  but  decline in use of organic manure  was more in wheat cultivation ( 6.0 to 0.1 quintals) than paddy cultivation  (4.3 to 2 quintals ) during 1981-81 to 2008-09. Decline in per hectare use of human labour was evident in wheat cultivation due to increasing use of machines in  ploughing, threshing and irrigation in production of wheat in Bihar during last 10 years. Hence, it may be said that there has been change from animal- manual based cultivation to machined  cultivation of principal crops during last three decades in Bihar

Table 5    :Changes in Input use Pattern in Production of Principal Crops in   
                 Bihar during 1981-82 to 2008-09                                  ( per hectare)

 Source:  1. Cost of Cultivation of Principal  Crops in India, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India,  New Delhi-1996 
2. Reports of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices for the Crops Sown during 2010-11 Season, Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi-2011

Agricultural Development Programmes

There are 14 major agricultural development programmes managed and monitored by Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar which include 5 state sponsored, 4 centre sponsored and 4 Mission Mode projects. An attempt has been made here to examine the performance of three important agricultural development programmes i.e.; National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM).

National Horticulture Mission (NHM): It was launched in Bihar in the year 2005-06 with the objective of bringing a holistic and integrated development in the horticulture sector. It is based on cluster approach, focused to development of selected crops, improvement in production and productivity, adoption of good agricultural practices aimed at promotion of export and thrust on post- harvest management. During first four years of NHM implementation, less than 40 per cent of fund allocated to this programme could be utilized but pace of implementation of various components of NHM was accelerated in 2010-11 when 57 per cent of allocated fund was utilized for implementation of the project. In 2011-12, The allocation of fund declined by 50 per cent but about 64 per cent fund was utilized for development of horticulture sector in the state.

Among various  components of NHM, promotion of export and post harvest management have not been taken up seriously in Bihar, which are very important for increasing income of farmers. Mango constitutes about 50 per cent of total fruit area in Bihar and it is one of the important crops of NHM programme. Area under Mango increased by 4 thousand hectares during 2005-09 and only 3 thousand hectares during last three years ( 2009-12). Department of Horticulture made effort in implementation of NHM but state has lagged much behind in executing various projects of NHM, mainly due to inappropriate design of the project for more than 90 per cent farm households along with poor monitoring of the scheme.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was launched in Bihar in the year 2007-08 with objectives to increase productivities of rice, wheat and pulses along with to maintain/increase the fertility of soil. This programme has made some dent in rural area by distributing seeds and fertilizers but a large number of remote villages and poor farmers do not have access to this programme. Department of Agriculture could make much higher expenditure (86% of allocated fund) in 2009-10 but it has reduced to 59 per cent in 2010-11 and 35 per cent in 2011-12. Paddy seeds distributed during kharif 2011 could not be utilized properly by the majority of farmers, due to their poor knowledge about the seeds or their less confidence in new technology (seed). 

Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY): The project was launched in 2007-08 to increase investment in agriculture and allied sectors, reduce yield gap and address the agriculture and allied sectors in an integrated manner. In RKVY, agriculture mechanization is the major component which accounts for 85 per cent of total outlay of the project but only one-third outlay of agriculture mechanization could be utilized in 2010-11 and performance remained commendable in 2011-12 also but  project for providing laser leveler and Rota vector could not be implemented satisfactorily due small size of land holding in Bihar. The performance of other components of the RKVY has been poor than the agriculture mechanization since inception of the project.

In all these Mega Projects, small and marginal farmers are least benefited due to their small size of land holdings, low socio-economic status and poor access to officials of agriculture department

Performance of Allied Sector

Livestock sector contributes about 40 per cent to the State Gross Agricultural Domestic Product of Bihar and supports the livelihoods and food security of about two-third of rural households. This is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of the agricultural economy in the state and recorded about 4.27%, 6.0 % and 3.0per cent  annual growth in milk, meat and fish production,respectively during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. If developed appropriately, livestock sector has the potential to significantly enhance the rural economy. Despite the higher growth and substantial contribution to State GDP, Bihar is still not self-sufficient in milk, meat, eggs and fish production. These sectors have the capacity to provide opportunities for livelihood to people in their present location and situation. Bihar has abundant water resources such as ponds and tanks covering approximately 65000 hectares and major flowing rivers (around 2700 kms in length) which are fertile breeding grounds for pisci-culture. North Bihar also has capture fisheries resources like, chours and ox-bow lakes. Converting these capture fisheries to culture fisheries could make them important sources of income and employment for fishermen communities, apart from being an excellent source of cheap protein for people. Total fish production in the State is about 3.44 lakh tonnes, however, annual consumption of fish within the State is about 5.0 lakh tonnes. The underutilization of aquaculture resources, unscientific management of water bodies and lack of entrepreneurship are some of the most obvious reasons for the gap between demand for and supply of fish in Bihar.

Eleventh Plan envisions promotion of livestock sector to enable Bihar to become self sufficient in related products. As major inputs for agro processing, dairy and fisheries produce can become an important source for value addition within the state itself, which in turn opens up income and employment opportunities. An effort has been made to examine the progress made in various component of livestock sector in the state.

The milk production target in Bihar has almost been achieved by the end of Eleventh Plan but there has not been any visible sincere efforts made by state government, except Immunization programme which could not reach to remote villages. The programme of establishing Fodder Block Unit is still in planning stage .However, the state faced an embracing situation in supply of fodder to flood affected farmers in last flood. State Govt failed to revive their old Artificial Insemination Centres and a large number of villages are not provided with artificial insemination facilities. COMFED (Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited) is doing good work in milk marketing in Bihar but milk processing capacity has not increased for the last several years. COMFED could cover only livestock rich districts and farmers of backward districts are still deprived of benefits of marketing network of COMFED.

Fish production recorded an annual growth of about 6% during first four years of Eleventh Plan but the state govt. programme of establishing govt. sponsored hatchery and supporting farmers for construction of new ponds could not make much headway in the state. In Bihar, the major problem in development of agriculture and allied sector is poor implementation and monitoring of programmes.

In the Eleventh Plan, an Agriculture Road Map with an outlay of Rs. 3757.12 crore was implemented by the state government to boost the agriculture sector. Besides, several new initiatives have been implemented for the development of agriculture and allied sector in the state. Due to renewed emphasis on agriculture the state achieved  annual average growth rate of 5.9  per cent in GSDP of Agriculture and Allied Sectors against the target of 7 per cent during the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

During the last five years, Bihar experienced two severe droughts and faced scanty rainfall in two years. The state government disbursed crores of rupees as compensation to the farmers to save them from drought disaster. It should also be noted that much of Bihar’s agricultural growth revolves around horticulture. Bihar is the fourth largest horticultural producer in the country. Fruits and vegetables are cultivated in nearly 10 per cent of cropped area, producing 3.9 million tonnes of fruits and 15.5 million tonnes of vegetables. But, leaving the corporate trade in litchi, less than 1 per cent of these horticultural produce is processed and not even five per cent finds place in multi-product area. It clearly indicates the extent of low and unstable prices and distress sale by farmers in the state.

Several new innovative programmes have been initiated by state governments like ‘Mukhyamantri Teevra Beej Vistar Yojana’, ‘Beej Gram Yojana’, Bihar Horticulture Development Society, ‘Mukhyamantri Bagwani Mission Karyakram’, etc  which will show  their  impacts on the growth rate only when  the process of strong infrastructure development and monitoring  of projects are taken up on priority basis.. Besides, what is needed is to orient and prioritize public expenditure for sectors like; agriculture and small scale agro-processing that cater to the needs of the overwhelming majority of Bihar’s population for improving their skill, access to knowledge and technology.

Conclusions:

During last five years, the annual growth rate of State AgGDP has been around 5.9 per cent wheras State Gross Domestic Product recorded growth of 10.9 per cent during the period which was higher than corresponding growth achieved at national level. But the growth has not been sustainable, mainly due to floods in 2007 & 2008 and draughts in 2009 & 2010.  Despite almost stagnant irrigated area, a substantial increase in productivity of principal crops has been achieved during Eleventh Five Year Plan which was made possible due to increased seed replacement rate and more use of fertilizer. Use of organic manure and animal power declined but use of agricultural machineries increased in crop production ,mainly due to uneconomic keeping of bullock on tiny land holdings. In this process marginal farmers are being exploited by resourceful farmers due to irrational hiring rate of agricultural machineries in rural Bihar. A number of central sponsored projects have already been initiated in the State but they have not yielded the desired results. The strong monitoring system of agricultural projects, investment in irrigation and research, improving access of farmers to inputs and agricultural development programmes, increased agricultural credit to small peasants and tenants and, of course, increased generation and improved transmission of electricity are the prerequisites for higher and sustainable agricultural growth in the State. In the absence of these, desired rate of growth will remain elusive. Agriculture Extension officials should also be trained for modern agriculture technology and package of practices.