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Abstract
The variations in the indices of total factor productivity in the crop sector,
foodgrain crops and non-foodgrain crops in Andhra Pradesh have been
studied, and the contribution of the total factor productivity in the state
during 1980-81 to 1999-2000 has been evaluated. Tornquist-Theil Index
has been used to calculate the index of total factor productivity. The average
annual index of total factor productivity during the post-reform period
has been found five per cent less than that during pre-reform period in the
state in the crop sector as a whole. In the case of non-foodgrains, it has
been found nine per cent less than that during the pre-reform period, while
in case of foodgrains, it is less than 100 during both the periods. The
contribution of total factor productivity to yield growth has been found to
be a healthy 31 per cent in the pre-reform period. An absolute decline
(–37) has been noted during the post-reform period in the crop sector of
the state. The absolute decline in the contribution of technical change has
been drastic in the case of non-foodgrain crops in the state during the
post-reform period. This absolute decline in total factor productivity seems
to be one of the main reasons for the distress of farmers in the state which
has been manifesting in the form of suicides since the late-1990s.