Measurement of agricultural productivity and levels of development in the Malaprabha river basin, Karnataka, India

The present paper attempts to analyze the spatial patterns of agricultural productivity and assess regional disparities in the levels of agricultural development in the Malaprabha river basin, Karnataka state. The Malaprabha river basin is one of the natural regions, with agriculture being the lifeline activity of the inhabitants of the basin. However, surprisingly, the region experiences greater regional disparities in overall development in general and agricultural development in particular. Regional disparities in the river basin may be natural due to unequal distribution of natural resources or man-made in the sense of neglect of some regions and preferences for others for investment and infrastructural facilities, and to some extent, the developmental policies of the region. The present study has utilized the published sources of data and reports collected from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Karnataka, the Directorate of Census Operations in Karnataka, Govt. of India, Bangalore, and other related statistical records at taluka level at two points in time, i.e., 1993–94 and 2013–14. Though the study area is a natural region, the taluka has been taken as the smallest unit of study. The findings suggest that significant disparities have extensively affected the various aspects of agricultural development in the talukas of the river basin. The areas with a low level of development should be given top priority so that they may come up at par with the developed areas and the concept of planning with social justice may be fulfilled.