page_title: Economy of Maharashtra
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of Maharashtra / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: English: Weighing of sugarcane at a cooperative sugarmill in Maharashtra India,
context_page_description: The economy of Maharashtra is the largest in India. It is one of the most urbanised of Indian States.
  Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra is considered the financial capital of India with the headquarters of almost all major banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and mutual funds being based in the city. India's largest stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange, the oldest in Asia, is also located in the city. More than 41% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Maharashtra.
  Maharashtra is India's leading industrial state contributing 13% of national industrial output. Almost 46% of the GSDP is contributed by industry. Maharashtra has software parks in many cities around the state, and is the second largest exporter of software with annual exports over ₹80,000 crores.
  Although highly industrialized, agriculture continues to be the main occupation in many regions of the state.64.14% of the people are employed in agriculture and allied activities.
  As part of its sustainability efforts, the state has started a project for the identification of suitable plantation sites for Jatropha, a drought resistance plant.
context_section_description: Historically, India has classified and tracked its economy and GDP in three sectors: agriculture, industry, and services. Agriculture includes crops, horticulture, milk and animal husbandry, aquaculture, fishing, sericulture, aviculture, forestry, and related activities.
  Although Maharashtra is a highly industrialized state of India, agriculture continues to be the main occupation in the state. Since most of the cultivable land is still rain-fed, the Southwest Monsoon season between June and September is critical to the food sufficiency and quality of life in the state. Therefore, the agricultural calendar of Maharashtra and other parts of India is governed by Monsoon. Any fluctuations in the time distribution, spatial distribution or quantity of the monsoon rains may lead to conditions of floods or droughts causing the agricultural sector to adversely suffer. This has a cascading effect on the secondary economic sectors, the overall economy, food inflation and therefore the overall quality and cost of living for the general population. Many areas in Western Maharashtra on the Deccan plateau such as eastern Pune district, Solapur, Sangli, Satara and Ahmadnagar and the Marathwada region are particularly prone to drought. Recent years have seen a huge increase in farmers committing suicide in Maharashtra because of indebtedness resulting from monsoon failure, climate change, and at times cost of growing crops being higher than the market price. The cause for suicide has been linked in some studies to inability to  [loans]] mostly taken from banks and NBFCs to purchase expensive seeds and fertilizers, often marketed by foreign MNCs.
  Irrigation facilities are being extended so that agriculture could be made less dependent upon rain water. Maharashtra has by far the largest number of Dams in India. Despite that, the net irrigated area totals only 33,500 square kilometres or about 16% of cultivable land.
  Principal Monsoon crops include millets such as jwari, Bajri, and Finger millet. These have been grown in the region for thousands of years. In the high rain fall areas of Konkan and the eastern foothills of the Sahyadri mountains, different varieties of rice are cultivated. Other crops include Wheat, pulses, vegetables and onions.
  The main Cash crops include cotton, sugarcane, turmeric, and several oil seeds including groundnut, sunflower and soybean. The state has huge areas under fruit cultivation of which mangoes, bananas, grapes, pomegranate and oranges are the main ones.
  Maharashtra was a pioneer in the development of Agricultural Cooperative Societies after independence. In fact, it was an integral part of the then Governing Congress party's vision of ‘rural development with local initiative’. A ‘special’ status was accorded to the sugar cooperatives and the government assumed the role of a mentor by acting as a stakeholder, guarantor and regulator, Cooperatives play a crucial role in dairy, cotton, and fertiliser industries. The members of the respective society include all farmers, small and large, supplying their produce to the processing mill, dairy etc. As with dairy and sugar, cooperatives play a significant part in marketing of fruit and vegetables in Maharashtra. Since the 1980s, the amount of produce handled by Cooperative societies has increased exponentially.Common fruit and vegetables marketed by the societies include products such as bananas,mangoes,grapes, onions and many others. Over the last fifty years, the local sugar mills and other cooperative bodies have played a crucial part in encouraging political participation and as a stepping stone for aspiring politicians.
  Maharashtra and Karnataka have been at the forefront of obtaining Geographical indications for a variety of fruit, vegetables, and other crops in the state. Agricultural products on the list from Maharashtra includes Chiku of Gholvad, Nagpur oranges, Nashik grapes, Mahabaleshwar strawberry,Waghya Ghevada (A French bean variety) of Satara district, Jalgaon eggplant, Ambemohar rice etc.,
  Maharashtra with a coastline of 720 km is one of the le
caption: Sugarcane weighing at a Cooperative Sugar mill in Maharashtra, India.
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