CONTENTS Foreword v Preface ix List of Tables xiii 1 Introduction 1 1 Overview 1 2 Agricultural Growth: Role of Infrastructure and Technology 3 3 Evidence from Literature 6 4 Agricultural Development in Gujarat and West Bengal : Some Contrasts 11 5 Research Questions 13 6 Research Methodology 14 7 Implications 16 2 Agro-Climatic Features and Irrigation Development in Gujarat and West Bengal 18 1 Introduction 18 2 Gujarat 18 3 West Bengal 25 4 Concluding Remarks 32 3 Cropping Pattern and Changes during Liberalization Period 41 1 Introduction 41 2 Gujarat 42 3 West Bengal 53 4 Concluding Remarks 61 4 Growth Analysis of the Crop Sector 62 1 Introduction 62 2 Data and Methodology 64 3 Growth Analysis for West Bengal 65 4 Growth Analysis for Gujarat 90 5 Concluding Remarks 111 5 Decomposition of Output Growth 114 1 Introduction 114 2 Methodology 115 3 Results of the Decomposition Scheme 116 4 Concluding Remarks 140 6 Liberalization and Changes in the Technical Efficiency in Agriculture 149 1 Introduction 149 2 Nature of Technical Change 151 3 Measurement of Technical Efficiency 152 4 Input Use Pattern and Changes in Technical Efficiency in Gujarat Agriculture 156 5 Input Use Pattern and Changes in Technical Efficiency in West Bengal Agriculture 165 6 Emerging Concerns 171 7 Summary and Policy Implications 173 Summary 173 Policy Implications 181 Bibliography 185 Index 192