Economy of Cooch Behar district is mainly agriculture based. A large part of the income in the district is generated by agriculture, and the majority of people are involved in the same. Among the various crops grown here, wheat is one of the most important cereal crops in the rabi season. The coverage of crop in this district is gradually increasing. Pulse is one of the important cereal crops and steps have been taken to increase the productivity as well as production of the same. This district is marginally surplus in rice production.
Efforts are consistently being made for the marketing of agricultural goods. Marketing extension is a continuous process to disseminate all relevant information to the farmers, traders and consumers about various measures taken for improvement of marketing system so that they may all derive the benefits flowing from such measures. The information is disseminated through documentaries, cinema slides, printed literatures, exhibitions, conferences, seminars and workshops. The DMI headed by the Agricultural Marketing Advisor, Department of Agriculture and Co-operation (DAC) implements agricultural marketing policies and programmes of the Government of India. Among the various measure undertaken, farmer`s training (Male and Female) under departmental normal schemes are carried out through out the year which have significantly improved cultivation and brought about diversification in cropping practices and visibly improved socio-economic condition for farmers.
Cooch Behar, an industrially backward district, has undergone a tremendous growth in Industrial Development in the last few years. A sizeable number of industries have been set up in the district which is not only quantitative but definitely qualitative. In fact the district has shown the highest growth amongst the districts of North Bengal. A few units which are set up in the district are the first of their kind in North Bengal but Eastern India as well. The most sophisticated Haldia Down Stream Projects are seen in Cooch Behar. Units for Unconventional and Industrially used products are now being set up in the District. Cold Drawing Steel Plant, Casting Units, Modern Jute Mills are in operation in the District. As regards food processing units there are three mechanised bread units, and the biggest Fruit Processing unit which have been commissioned in the district.
The major manufacturing units are involved in the following- Canned Pineapple, Flavoured Fruit Juice, Milk Shake, Fruit Syrup, Mustard Oil Mill, Soya Nuggets, Vermicelli, Bread and Biscuits along with Mono Filament HDPE yarn, Mosquito Net cloth, Pet bottle, Electrical casing, Conduit pipes, Jute twine and weaving, Herbal oil, Fertilizer and Potato Cold Store. In Cooch Behar there are a good number of Plywood and Veneer manufacturing units in operation. So far, around 14 units for manufacturing of plywood and veneer have got the Permanent SSI registration.
Cooch Behar is constrained from the point of view of transport and communication. Rivers are not navigable and the district only has 127 km of railway track. The climate is mostly wet which makes it difficult to preserve or store products. Moreover, the units face difficulty in respect of electricity and also Sales Tax matters because those are controlled by the Jalpaiguri Division. The Government has taken a careful note of the above facts and categorised the district under `C` category and all necessary assistance applicable for such category is being implemented.
