This paper focuses on inter-district variation in agriculture among the 13 undivided districts of Orissa. This paper is divided into three major studies: The first study relates to disparities in various indicators of economic development such as Per Capita Income (PCI), net irrigated area as percentage of net area sown, productivity per hectare, cropping intensity, distribution of fertilizer per thousand hectares of gross cropped area. The second observation relates to variation of district income such as Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP), Net District Domestic Product (NDDP), and PCI, etc. The third observation relates to variation in equal distribution of land holdings. It explains the importance of land reforms for the benefit of marginal and small farmers.

The state of Orissa presents a paradoxical picture of agriculture. Despite being endowed with vast human and natural resources, and achieving substantial progress in many areas during the past 50 years, Orissa continues to be one of the less developed states plagued by acute and persistent poverty. The agriculture sector is highly fluctuated because of its dependence upon rural people. The growth rate has decreased due to bad crops year after year. The state of Orissa is prone to multiple hazards. Mansoon always gambles with the agriculture of Orissa. There is either an excess of rainfall causing floods or insufficient rainfall causing drought. The rainfall is also not distributed uniformly throughout the year. It gets 80% of rain between June to September.

As per 1999-2000 estimates, 47.15% of the state population is below the poverty line. Its economy is growing at a very sluggish rate of 3.5-5% which is far below the average of about 6%. The Per Capita Income (PCI) of Orissa which was 62.3% of the national income average during 1993-94 has decreased to 52.3% during 1999-2000.

Balanced regional growth is essential for the smooth development of a country like India. In India, regional variation is present in terms of PCI, working population in agriculture, the proportion of population below the poverty line, etc. Some states are economically advanced and some are backward. Some districts are highly developed and some are underdeveloped. The co-existence of highly developed and economically underdeveloped states and regions is called regional variation or regional imbalance (Dutt and Sundaram, 2007).

Regional variation may be natural due to dependence on natural factors or it may be man-made due to high priority given to one sector and neglecting the other in terms of investment and development. Regional variation may be inter-state or intrastate, inter-district or intradistrict, total or sectoral. The main reason of economic backwardness is population growth, excess dependency on agriculture, lower literacy rate and technical knowledge, lower agricultural productivity etc. The entire five year plans stressed the importance of balanced regional development, and policies were designed to direct investments in the relatively backward areas.

Agriclture Economics Journal, Economic Development, Gross District Domestic Product, GDDP, Per Capita Income, PCI, Agricultural Productivity, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Agricultural Sectors, Indian Economy, National Dairy Development Corporation, NDDC, Agricultural Technology.