The need for increased agricultural production to feed the growing population began to be felt in the 19th century. The Department of Agriculture was established in 1883 on the recommendation of the Feminine Commission of 1881. The work was started with the objective of providing necessary assistance from the government for increasing the productivity in agriculture in the rural areas by involving all the departments related to the agricultural sector. Until 1907, the Agriculture and Land Records departments were working together. In the year 1915-16, after the promising results of the experiment done by the then Director of Agriculture, Mr. Keating to stop the erosion of the soil, the work of soil conservation started from the year 1922.

Since the enactment of the Land Reforms Act in 1942, various land reform works have been implemented by the Department of Agriculture. In 1943, for the first time, the then government formulated a comprehensive agricultural policy for agriculture considering the problems in agriculture and other ancillary sectors. According to this policy, water was used as irrigation for agricultural production.

The post-independence Green Revolution period is from 1950 to 1965. At this stage a number of schemes were devised to give impetus to the development of agriculture. Quality seed production started from 1957 through Taluka Bijgunan Kendra. During this period, emphasis was laid on increasing the area under irrigation along with the expansion of area under cultivation. In the year 1961-62, a special campaign was launched for the use of chemical fertilizers.

From the year 1965-66, the development of hybrid varieties of different crops laid the foundation of Green Revolution in the country. Subsequent five year plans laid special emphasis on agricultural development. Since 1974, along with land reclamation work, Nala dam works have been started by the department which has helped in raising the water level in wells and ground water. The use of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and available water on a large scale through intensive farming methods to increase agricultural production has helped in increasing agricultural production. Was started. Crop demonstrations, field visits, campaigns, seminars, gatherings,

Although we have become self-sufficient in food production, self-sufficiency in food production is not the sole objective of the state but it is imperative to make maximum use of available resources to the farmers to reap maximum economic benefits. A number of schemes are being implemented to increase agricultural production, export growth and promote agro-processing industries in the field of agro-horticulture and water conservation with a view to taking advantage of free economic system and global trade system. In this way, the Department of Agriculture has started its journey with the determination to achieve economic prosperity along with self-sufficiency in agriculture and to gain an important place in the global agricultural market. The ambitious horticulture scheme under the Employment Guarantee Scheme implemented by the Government of Maharashtra is part of this policy.

The Department of Agriculture has been set up with a view to ensure that farmers are the focal point for the use of modern agriculture and that there should be a single mechanism to guide the proper utilization of all the necessary resources. For easy communication, the post of an agricultural assistant has been provided for three to four villages each. Since the average number of farming families in the field of this agricultural assistant is between 800 and 900, it has become easy to impart agricultural technology directly to the farmers.

All thematic schemes are implemented. It is controlled by the Mandal Agriculture Officer at the Mandal level. For the convenience of administrative work, liaison with other departments, monitoring and training programs, etc., there are offices of Taluka Agriculture Officer at Taluka level, Sub Divisional Agriculture Officer at Sub-Divisional level, District Superintendent of Agriculture at District level and Divisional Agriculture Co-Director at Divisional level. Apart from this, under the district level control of the Agriculture Development Officer at the Zilla Parishad, at the Panchayat Samiti level, the Agriculture Officer implements various agricultural inputs schemes.

For technical and administrative monitoring of all the schemes implemented at the regional level, there are departments of Soil Conservation, Horticulture, Extension, Inputs and Quality Control, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning and Estimates at the State Commissionerate of Agriculture, while there are separate departments for handling establishment and accounting matters.