Introduction: The Economic Context of Jharkhand

Jharkhand came into existence on November 15,2000 as the 28th state of India, carved out of the state of Bihar. It has a population of more than 2.18 crore, 28 per cent and 12 per cent of which belong to the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes respectively. The density of population stands at 274 persons per sq km. Per capita annual income is Rs 4,161. The state is administratively divided into 22 districts, 33 sub-divisions and 211 blocks. The state has 32,620 villages of which only 45 per cent (8,484 villages) have access to electricity.

The total geographical area of Jharkhand is 79.70 lakh hectares (ha), of which 29 per cent is designated as forestland. Although it has 38 lakh ha of cultivable land, the net sown area is only 18.04 lakh ha, which is 25 per cent of the total geographical area. Irrigation is underdeveloped since only 8 per cent of the net sown area (1.57 lakh ha) has any irrigation. The irrigation status in some districts is as follows:

Agriculture is the main occupation of villagers in the Chotanagpur plateau, which along with Santhal Parganas, constitutes Jharkhand's major land area. Since irrigation is negligible, almost all farmers, particularly the poor, generally cultivate rain-fed paddy during the kharif season, and grow a little maize and finger millet in the uplands, and vegetables on homesteads. Although average rainfall in this area is high at about 1,100 mm a year, it is extremely erratic, causing great uncertainty in farming.