Among hilly regions and Northeast India, Assam, Manipur and Tripura recorded the highest CAGR during the same period, though from a smaller base.
Between 2016-17 and 2024-25, Tamil Nadu’s gross state value added (GSVA) in agriculture recorded a CAGR of 5.99 per cent at constant prices, while that of UP was 5.28 per cent.
No other big state came close to the growth rates recorded by these two, which speaks volumes about their agriculture performance. So what made farming in these two states do well?
Tamil Nadu: High points and challenges
According to the 2025-26 Economic Survey of Tamil Nadu, though agriculture in the state remains heavily dependent on the monsoons, its gross cropped area increased from 43.31 per cent of the state’s geographical area in 2016-17 to 47.58 per cent in 2023-24.
In 2024-25, the gross cropped area stood at 6.225 million hectares, with a crop intensity of 1.29. In other words, between 2016-17 and 2024-25, the gross cropped area rose by almost 44 per cent. The farm sector contributed Rs 1.9 trillion, accounting for 6.6 per cent to the state’s GSVA in 2024-25, making it the fifth-largest sector.
Not only that, the state during 2024-25 achieved notable success in agricultural productivity, ranking first in ragi and sugarcane yields, second in oilseeds, and third in groundnut.
The state’s success in banana cultivation has been cited by the Economic Survey of India as a region-specific horticultural achievement.
The survey has noted that agricultural credit has played a vital role in supporting farmers in the state.
Credit disbursement more than doubled from Rs 2.23 trillion in 2019-20 to Rs 4.52 trillion in 2023-24, registering a compound annual growth rate of around 19 per cent.
During 2023-24, nearly 29.9 million farmer-loan accounts were served. Of those, 78 per cent belonged to small and marginal farmers.
GSVA from the livestock sector in 2024-25 stood at Rs 1.47 trillion, contributing 5.1 per cent to the state’s GSVA.
Egg production increased significantly from about 3.93 billion in 2001-02 to 22 billion in 2023-24, growing at an annual compound rate of 8.2 per cent. Fishing and aquaculture contributed 0.99 per cent to GSVA, with exports of fish products of 134,000 tonnes generating Rs 6,854 crore in foreign exchange during 2023-24.
However, farming in Tamil Nadu is not devoid of challenges. According to the Economic Survey of the state, rapid groundwater depletion and climate change are the two biggest challenges the state faces for accelerated growth in agriculture and allied sectors. “The adoption of climate-smart practices, promotion of mechanisation, and greater focus on post-harvest value addition can significantly enhance farm incomes,” the Economic Survey noted.
Small famers the centrepiece in UP
Agriculture in the state is dominated by small and marginal farmers, who own less than 2 hectares. The data sourced from various agencies shows that almost 93 per cent of the state’s farmers are categorised as small and marginal.
This translates into around 21.59 million farmer households while the rest — almost 1.76 million households — are categorised as large or medium farmers.
With such a large section of farmers owning small land parcels, uplifting them will automatically push up gross state domestic product and boost rural recovery.
And the results are there for everyone to see.
The data sourced from the RBI handbook shows that between 2016-17 and 2024-25, wheat production in the state rose by almost 42 per cent from 25.42 million tonnes to 36 million tonnes, while rice production during the same period increased by almost 66 per cent from 12.50 million tonnes to 20.75 million tonnes.
Foodgrain production during the same period rose by almost 50 per cent from 42.55 million tonnes to 63.84 million tonnes.
Not only that, the production of pulses between 2016-17 and 2024-25 jumped by almost 127 per cent from 1.16 million tonnes to 2.63 million tonnes while that of oilseeds rose by 258 per cent from 0.86 million tonnes to 3.08 million tonnes.
The production of sugarcane, the cornerstone of UP’s farm sector, jumped from 145.38 million tonnes in 2016-16 to 221 million tonnes in 2024-25, up almost 52 per cent.
In UP, the state’s backward areas of Bundelkhand are also witnessing rejuvenation in agriculture due to the concerted efforts of the state government.
A special Bundelkhand package for agriculture ensures an 80 per cent subsidy on certified seeds, free minikits for select millets and cotton, and a 50 per cent subsidy on farm ponds for rainwater conservation.
The state’s agriculture Budget too has grown manifold from just around Rs 1,517 crore in 2016-17 to over Rs 10,000 crore in 2026-27.
In the FY27 Budget, the state government said it had paid more than Rs 3.04 trillion to sugarcane farmers during its tenure so far. This is Rs 90,802 crore higher than the Rs 2.14 trillion paid during the preceding 22 years, it said.
For the 2025-26 crushing season (October to September), the state government increased sugarcane prices by Rs 30 per quintal. The increase, it said, is expected to result in an additional payout of around Rs 3,000 crore to sugarcane growers.
In the Budget it said in the 2025-26 rabi marketing season, it procured 1.027 million tonnes of wheat from farmers at Rs 2,512 crore.
Similarly, during the 2025-26 kharif marketing season, the state procured 4.296 million tonnes of paddy, paying more than Rs 9,710 crore to farmers.
Not only that, the state also procured 0.214 million tonnes of bajra during the 2025-26 kharif marketing season and paid the growers Rs 595 crore.
Since April 1, 2023, the state government has been giving farmers free electricity for irrigation through tubewells. Under the short-term crop-loan programme for 2025-26, loans worth Rs 10,257 crore had been disbursed up to December 19, 2025, benefiting 1.501 million farmers.
The government has said all the measures aim at strengthening farm incomes, ensuring timely payments to growers, expanding procurement operations, and improving access to credit and irrigation facilities across the state.
A few years ago, the state government had launched a World Bank-funded Rs 4,000 crore agriculture business and entrepreneurship project to help rural income. The project was meant to benefit farmers, farm groups, and agro micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 28 districts in eastern UP and the Bundelkhand region. The project is projected to benefit a million farmers, including 30 per cent of the rural women associated with agri self-help groups (SHGs), according to Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh.
Under the project, 100,000 fishing folk will be given financial assistance. Additionally, 500 farmers will be taken on foreign tours for training in advanced farming.
