The present report has been prepared to update the information on various performance related indicators of agricultural sector in Punjab, encompassing state population, demography, structure, performance, natural resource management, farm input management etc. Total population of Punjab as per 2011 census is 2.77 crore which accounted for 2.29 percent of total population of the country. Literacy rate in the state was recorded at 75.80 percent. With total geographical area of Punjab at 50,362 sq. km the population density of Punjab was 551 per sq km which is higher than national average of 382 per sq km. Cultivators and agricultural labours directly dependent on agriculture accounted for about 40 per cent of the total workforce of state. Out of the total agricultural work force, cultivators and agricultural labours accounted for 54.92 and 45.08 per cent, respectively. During 2014-15, the share of overall primary sector including livestock, forestry, and allied agricultural activities along with agriculture in GSVA was 27.44 per cent. Study revealed that Punjab agriculture had made rapid strides since mid 1960s. In 2014-15, the state had its 99.9 per cent net sown area under the irrigation in comparison to about 45 per cent in country. Hundred per cent of the area of wheat and rice is under HYVs. Per hectare consumption of chemical fertilizers (NPK) has achieved the levels of 218 kg. The rapid adoption of the green revolution technology in Punjab has led to the sharp increase in farm mechanization. The number of tractors and tube wells in state was 4.88 lakh and 14.05 lakh, respectively. Density of tractors in state was 75 tractors per thousand hectares against only 27 at all India level. With development of irrigation infrastructure along with large scale mechanization of state agriculture the intensity of cropping has been reached at 189 per cent compared to 142 per cent at national level. Consequently, in last four decades, the production of wheat, rice and cotton in state has gone up by about three times, seventeen times and one and half times respectively. Total food grain production over this period increased by more than three and half times. Productivity of wheat, paddy and cotton nearly doubled over the period. The per hectare productivity of principal crops viz. wheat, paddy and cotton nearly doubled over the period. The per hectare productivity of the principal crops in state viz. wheat, rice and cotton during 2014-15 was observed to be 4305, 3838 and 543 kg per hectare respectively. State has contributed 24.200 per cent of rice and 41.54 per cent of wheat to the central pool in 2014-15. Punjab state comprising only 1.54 per cent of total geographical area of country now contributes 19 per cent of wheat, 11 per cent of rice and 5 per cent of cotton in country.
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