The cropping pattern in Jharkhand has significantly changed from 2000 to 2016, with shifts from the cultivation of cereals to non-cereals. An increase in the crop area and diversification towards high-value crops have accelerated overall agricultural growth. Capital formation and better infrastructure facilities along with improved fertiliser consumption and irrigation will foster agricultural development in Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is a state with huge opportunities but unmet expectations (Debroy et al 2011). It is one of the poorer Indian states with poor development indicators while rich in mineral resources. The growth and structure of the state economy have experienced drastic changes since the bifurcation from Bihar. In the recent decade, the state has shown impressive growth, especially in the agriculture sector during 200515 (Hoda et al 2017; Kumar et al 2014; World Bank 2014). The overall economy has registered an impressive average annual growth rate of over 6% from 2000 to 2017 with a major share of this high growth coming largely from the booming services and secondary (industries) sectors. With structural change, the share of agriculture and allied sector in the gross state income (at 201112 prices) has marginally declined from 16.8% from 200002 to 14.8% in 201416, while the growth rate for the service sector has drastically increased by almost 20%. Still, the agricultural sector remains the largest source of employment in the economy. More than 62% of the total workforce directly or indirectly epends on the agricultural sector.

The overall performance of the agricultural sector has mainly been dependent on crop production. The value of the output of the crop sector constitutes around 55% of the value of the output of the primary sector. The value of crop production has grown at an average annual rate of 8.31% per annum between 200001 and 201617. The allied activities of agriculture also performed well during this period with 7.85%, 11.19%, and 6.69% growth for livestock, forestry, and fisheries, respectively. However, the dependency of the rural workforce on agriculture for employment is not declining. This has resulted in a widening income disparity between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors (Chand and Chauhan 1999). The overall per capita income of the state has grown at 4% per annum between 2000 and 2018. However, the growth of the per capita income of the state has been fluctuating since the state came into existence.

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