Total Factor Productivity In Agriculture: A Review Of Measurement Issues In The Indian Context

The productivity growth in agriculture is both a necessary and sufficient condition for the development of the sector as well as the economy. While the partial productivity does not truly reflect whether the productivity growth is because of more use of inputs or improvement in the efficiency of their use or technology improvement, the total factor productivity (TFP) measures the net growth of output per unit of total inputs. This paper reviews the different methods of measuring TFP and highlights some issues related to measurement of TFP in agriculture, especially in the Indian context. The paper also discusses the determinants of TFP growth in agriculture and analyse the trends in TFP growth in Indian agriculture. The TFP growth in Indian agriculture was very low in the pre green revolution period and it declined during 1970s. During 1980s the TFP growth rate has marginally improved, but it has again come down during the 1990s.