Assessing Status and Area, Production and Productivity of Fruits and Vegetables in Goalpara District of Assam, India, Using Compound Growth Rate (CGR)

Abstract Objectives: This study analyses the growth trends in area, production, and productivity of eleven major horticultural crops in Goalpara district, located in the lower Brahmaputra Valley of Assam, India, during 2006–07 to 2020–21. It also examines the relative contribution of area and productivity to production growth and evaluates the district’s status among major horticultural producers in the state. Method: The study adopts an analytical approach using the logarithmic method to estimate compound growth rates of area, production, and productivity. A decomposition model was applied to quantify the contributions of area effect, productivity effect, and their interaction using secondary data. Findings: The area under major crops such as banana, pineapple, papaya, and potato increased at growth rates of 5.44%, 7.19%, 5.17%, and 10.00%, respectively. Production growth was highest for papaya (14.07%), pineapple (11.52%), banana (10.52%), and potato (11.41%). However, productivity growth remained relatively low, with notable increases in papaya (5.01%), banana (2.80%), and pineapple (2.08%), while lemon recorded negative growth (-1.75%). Decomposition results show that area effect contributed more than 50% of production growth in most crops (e.g., banana: 51.71%, pineapple: 62.42%, tomato: 90.65%, potato: 87.61%). Novelty: This study provides novel district-level empirical evidence by applying a decomposition framework to horticultural growth in an aspirational district. It demonstrates the dominance of area expansion over productivity improvement and identifies crop-specific productivity gaps, offering policy-relevant insights for sustainable horticultural development. Keywords: Horticulture, Production, Productivity, Socio-economy