Gujarat's agricultural growth sluggish in 11th Plan

AHMEDABAD: The agriculture growth rate in Gujarat in the 11th plan, which is between 2007-08 and 2011-12, has just remained 4.9% and the state was ranked eighth in the overall ranking. States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are ahead of Gujarat when it comes to agriculture production.According to a report by the agriculture department central Gujarat, during the 11th Plan 2007-08 to 2011-12, the growth performance of agriculture in Madhya Pradesh (7.6%), Chhatisgarh (7.6%), Rajasthan (7.4%), Jharkhand (6.0%) and Karnataka (5.6%) and Gujarat (4.9 per cent) was much higher than that of Punjab (1.6%), Maharashtra (2.0%), Tamil Nadu (2.2%), West Bengal (2.8%), Uttar Pradesh (3.3%) and Haryana (3.3%). The repot states that 6.59 million tonnes (about 5.02%) decline in kharif production has been caused by the late onset of monsoon and deficient rainfall in several states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.