It comprises the Chotanagpur plateau Rajmahal hills, Chhattisgarh plains and Dandakaranya. The region enjoys 26°C-34°C of temperature in July, 10°C-27° C in January and 80 cm-150 cm of annual rainfall. Soils are red and yellow with occasional patches of laterites and alluviums.
The region is deficient in water resources due to plateau structure and non-perennial streams. Rainfed agriculture is practised growing crops like rice, millets, maize, oilseeds, ragi, gram and potato. The region requires planning to maximise use of rainwater, increase in ground water potential, change cropping pattern to achieve a balanced crop production and strengthen input and services delivery systems,
Suggested strategies include: (a) coverageof large areas with quality seeds of HYV, (b) cultivation of high value crops of pulses like tur, groundnut and soyabean etc. on upland rained areas, (c) growing crops like urad, castor, and groundnut in kharif and mustard and vegetables in irrigated areas, (d) improvement of indigenous breeds of cattle and buffaloes, (e) rehabilitation of 30 per cent of degraded forest lands, (f) extension of fruit plantations, _(g) renovation including desalting of existing tanks and excavation of new tanks, (h) reclamation of 95.32 lakh ha of acidic lands through lime treatment, (i) development of inland fisheries in permanent water bodies, and (j) adopting integrated watershed development approach to conserve soil and rain water.