West Bengal is predominantly an agrarian State. Comprising of only 2.7% of India’s geographical area, it supports nearly 8% of its population. There are 71.23 lakh farm families of whom 96% are small and marginal farmers. The average size of land holding is only 0.77 ha. However, the State is bestowed with diverse natural resources and varied agro-climatic conditions which support cultivation of a wide range of crops.
The net cropped area is 52.05 lakh ha which comprises 68% of the geographical area and 92% of arable land. The cropping intensity is 184%. However, as the State is located in the humid tropic and the Bay of Bengal is close by, it has to often face vagaries of nature like flood, cyclone, hailstorm etc. Though the State has a surplus production of rice, vegetables and potato, a huge gap exists between the requirement and production of pulses, oilseeds and maize. Deterioration of soil health due to imbalance in the use of chemical fertilizers, paucity of suitable improved varieties of seed, inadequate farm mechanization, unorganized marketing structure etc. are major challenges to agricultural growth.
West Bengal ranks first in paddy, ranks second in potato & fish and is in a leading position in vegetable production in the country. Apart from these, West Bengal is known for jute, wheat, sesame, tobacco and tea too. West Bengal also engaged in fruit production including Mango, Litchi, Pineapple, Guava and Orange. West Bengal is rich with food commodities; it produces almost all the items namely Cauliflower, Tomato, Cucurbits, Cabbage, Okra, Brinjal etc. In West Bengal, some spices are also produced namely Chili, Ginger, Garlic, Coriander, Turmeric etc.
Source: Egiye Bangla website.