Impact of Structural Change on Agricultural Performance in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Over past 26 years, the structural change in Andhra Pradesh economy and its agriculture has been slow. The divergence of productivity of labor between nonagricultural economy and the agricultural sector is still widening, and so is the difference between the share of labor in agriculture and the share of agricultural output in the economy. A turning point where the productivity differential and the differences in labor and output share of agriculture start declining is not close at hand. In agriculture, economic growth has shifted consumer demands away from cereals, pulses and oilseeds towards horticulture and livestock products that have much higher income elasticities. In this paper we briefly analysis agriculture performance in Andhra Pradesh. Agriculture growth rates among the states have recently started to converge and GDP. That existed prior to the economic reforms of the early 1990s, has disappeared. The relationship between initial poverty and current agricultural growth has also disappeared, and it is the middle income states that have been growing the fastest over the past two decades. Methodology For this study, the secondary data sources like National Agricultural Report and Economics Survey is used to analyze national level tendency of structural change and the possible reasons and the situation in Andhra Pradesh.  In addition to this the Economic Survey of Andhra Pradesh report 2016-17 Agriculture Action Plan 2017-18 is considered for this analysis. The primary sources of the data have been collected through a questionnaire from the study area   and the major observation focuses on agricultural performance in Andhra Pradesh.