State-led or market-led green revolution? Role of private irrigation investment vis-a-vis local government programs in West Bengal's farm productivity growth

Abstract

We estimate the role of private investments in irrigation in farm productivity growth in West Bengal, India between 1982 and 95. Using a state-wide farm panel, we find that falling groundwater costs generated significant growth in value added per acre for farms. These resulted from investments in minor irrigation which was stimulated by tenancy registration programs implemented by local governments. This helps account for substantial spillover effects of the tenancy reform on non-tenant farms noted in an earlier study. Hence the West Bengal Green Revolution of the 1980s benefited from complementarity between private investment incentives and state-led institutional reforms. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.