ABSTRACT:
Famous as ‘The Rice Bowl of India’, Chhattisgarh is the 26th state of the country. It came into existence on 1st of November in the year 2000. The quality of soil, adequate climatic conditions, vast rural population and availability of hardworking labours make the state favourable for agricultural business. Government estimates show that approx. 80% people living in the state are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore the economic development of the state primarily depends on agriculture and the socioeconomic condition of the farmers. In the early years of its foundation, the state faced many challenges viz. lack of irrigation facilities, lack of technology and training centres in the field, dependency on other states for good quality of seeds, availability of agricultural loans at higher interest rates and so on. With the constant efforts of the state government and the determination of the farmers, the sector has undergone improvement in many ways. Despite these changes, the condition of the farmers and that of the agricultural produce have yet not reached the expected level. One of the major issues in this regard is related to marketing of the agricultural produce. This paper focuses on the current problems of agriculture in the state and the possible suggestions to overcome them.