AgricultureID

State · IN-MH

Maharashtra

Maharashtra spans the narrow humid Konkan coast, the high Western Ghats, and a large semi-arid Deccan plateau interior. Rainfall is heavy on the coast and Ghats but sharply lower and monsoon-dependent across the rain-shadow interior.

Major crop systems

  • Cotton
  • Irrigated sugarcane
  • Soybean
  • Pulses (pigeon pea and gram)
  • Sorghum (jowar) and pearl millet (bajra)
  • Grapes, onions and horticulture

Major livestock systems

  • Dairy (cattle and buffalo)
  • Goats and sheep
  • Poultry

Agricultural land: Farming is dominated by rainfed cultivation on the drought-prone Deccan plateau, alongside pockets of intensive irrigated agriculture in river valleys and canal command areas. Irrigation: A large share of the cropped area is rainfed and vulnerable to monsoon variability, with irrigation concentrated in sugarcane-growing canal command areas and lift-irrigation schemes.

Agroecological zones: Am (Tropical monsoon), Aw (Tropical savanna (dry winter)), BSh (Hot semi-arid (steppe))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) — National agricultural research system coordinating research and variety development.
  • Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri — A state agricultural university serving the western Maharashtra plateau.
  • Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra — State authority for agricultural administration and statistics.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational agricultural statistics for Maharashtra are published by ICAR, the state agricultural universities, and the state Department of Agriculture (with national aggregates by FAO) and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Administrative boundaries and the region code follow the official ISO 3166-2 system; this profile does not redraw them.
  • Any agricultural statistics are dated and source-specific; where an official figure is not reproduced here, consult ICAR and the state Department of Agriculture directly.
  • The state combines very different agroecologies (coastal, Ghats, and rain-shadow plateau); statewide descriptions necessarily generalise across them.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]ICAR — national agricultural research system of India (opens in a new tab)

    Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

    High

    Cited for: Crop and livestock systems context

    Type:
    Research institute
    Jurisdiction:
    India
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: National agricultural context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12