Maharashtra’s economy is primarily agricultural and rural. Agriculture is a major occupation of the people in Maharashtra. Both food and cash crops are grown in the State.

The agriculture & Allied Activities sector has an average share10 of 11.8 percent in the total GSVA and is growing at an average annual rate of 1.7 percent. The average share of GSVA of the ‘Industry’ sector is 33.8 percent and its average annual growth rate is 5.8 percent. GSVA of the ‘Services’ sector has an average share of 54.4 percent in the total GSVA.

Sahyadri, the hilly ranges running parallel to the coast at an average elevation of 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) divides Maharashtra into two parts geographically, (i) Konkan coastal plains, 50–80 kilometers in width and around 720 km in length to the west and (ii) Deccan Plateau (Western Ghats) to the east. The Konkan is dotted with paddy fields and coconut gardens. The Western Ghats form one of the three watersheds of India, from which many South Indian rivers originate, forming one of the greatest river basins in India.

Maharashtra has nine agro-climatic zones with a typical monsoon climate, with hot, rainy, and cold weather seasons.

• South Konkan coastal zone:
• North Konkan coastal zone
• Western Ghat zone
• Transition zone - 1
• Transition zone - 2
• Scarcity zone
• Assured rainfall zone
• Moderate rainfall zone
• Eastern Vidarbha zone

A major strength of Maharashtra's food processing industry lies in the following:

• Cereals - Rice, wheat
• Nutri-cereals - Pearl millet (Bajra) and Sorghum other small millets
• Fruits & Vegetables - Mangoes, Bananas, Grapes, Oranges, Onion, and Tomatoes.
• Oilseeds - Groundnut, Sunflower, and Soybean
• Pulses - Pigeon pea, Chickpea, Green gram (Moong), Black gram (Moth)
• Commercial crop - Sugar, cotton
• Livestock & Fisheries - Milk, fisheries, meat, and eggs

Food Grains: Key production highlights15 (2015-16)

Total production of 83. 28 Lakh* MT of food grains

• Cereals: Total production of 68.96 Lakh* MT
• Rice (25.93 Lakh* MT), Wheat (9.8 Lakh* MT), Sorghum (12 Lakh* MT)
• Pulses: Total production of 14.32 Lakh* MT

Commercial Crops: Key production highlights16 (2015-16)

• Sugar Cane: Total production of 692.35 Lakh* MT
• Cotton: Total production of 39.14 Lakh* MT
• Groundnut: Total production of 0.33 Lakh* MT

Horticulture products: Key production highlights (2015-16)

Total 9.09 Lakh hectare land under fruit crops in 2015- 16

Milk & Fisheries: Key production highlights (2015-16)

Total production of 74 Lakh* MT of Milk

• Total number of livestock: 32.49 million (Livestock Census 2012)
• Total number of poultry: 77. 8 million (The year 2003)

Total production of fishes 5.8 Lakh* MT Marine & Inland

• Marine: 4.34 Lakh* MT
• 1.12 Lakh* sq. km marine ­shing, 173 ­sh landing Centers
• Inland: 1.46 Lakh* MT
• 30 ­sh seed production centers; 2,414 Lakh* spawn production capacity

Maharashtra is a leading State in agriculture. Principal crops grown in the State are rice, jawar, bajra, wheat, tur, mung, urad, gram, and other pulses. The State is a major producer of oilseeds. Groundnut, sunflower, soybean are the major oilseed crops. The important cash crops are cotton, sugarcane, turmeric, and vegetables. The state is the pioneer in onion production in the country. It is today emerging as an important horticultural State in the country. Different types of soil, diverse agro-climatic conditions, adequate technical manpower, well-developed communication facilities, an increasing trend in drip irrigation, greenhouse, use of cool chain facilities, and vibrant farmer organization offer wide opportunities to grow different horticultural crops in the State. Best quality grapes produced in the State are now exported to other countries. Mango, particularly 'Alphanso', grown in Konkan, has already established a name in the international market.

The major production clusters of Maharashtra are as given below:

• Nasik is known as the Grape capital of India
• Several Agriculture produces of Maharashtra are registered with GI

Production Cluster of the State:-

Market linkage is currently the responsibility of the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB). However, its focus is more on fresh and primary processed products. The food-processing sector needs special attention for establishing sustainable market linkages, and MSAMB will also give a specific focus to providing direct marketing linkages to the processing industry. The farm to processor to market linkages are well established in the dairy sector in some parts of the State but not in others. In these areas, and also in respect of the poultry, meat, and fisheries industries where such linkages are largely missing, a similar focus will be given through nodal agencies under the Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Department.

Maharashtra has the following marketing facilities in the state:      

• 306 main market yards and 596 submarket yards,
• Eight Agri-Export Zones for grapes, grapevine, pomegranate, onions, mangoes.
• Vapor Heat Treatment Facility prevents fruit fly and helps promote exports of mangoes
• Six National Research Centers - Cotton, Orange, Pomegranate, Grape, Onion & Soil Survey
• Investment in onion storage infrastructure
• Soil Testing Labs – 118 (29 Public, 89 Private),
• Residue Testing Labs – Two, Biocontrol lab – 10, Fertilizer testing labs - Five Pesticide Testing Labs – Four, Seed Testing Labs – Three, Agro polyclinic - 231

Agricultural markets in Maharashtra:

• 306 main market yards Processing Clusters
• 596 submarket yards
• Six crops focussed R&D centers
• 118 Soil testing labs
• Eight Agri Export Zones
• >200 medium and large units

Food processing industries in Maharashtra consists of very basic processing. The main processing industries in the State are in the sectors of sugar, milk, poultry, rice mill, flour mill, meat, edible oil, vanaspati, fruit and vegetable units, milk processing units, etc. There exist immense opportunities for modernizing food processing units in the State. Rice, wheat, soybean, jawar, grapes, pomegranates, and mangoes are the main crops that are available in the State for a primary and secondary process. Similarly, there is a vast potential for development and setting up processing units for tomatoes, onion, cabbage, okra, and cauliflower. In particular, fruit juice pulp and concentrated units, winery, distillery, pickles, rice mill, flour mill, dal mill, soybean extraction, and refining units, etc. can be set up in the industrial areas of the State.

Some of the major processing clusters in the state include:

• Chili Powder Processing Dhule, Pune, Kohlapur
• Sugar Processing from Jaggery Kohlapur, Pune, Satara
• Beverages Nashik, Raigad, Solapur
• Rice Mills Gondia, Gadchiroli
• Fruits processing Pune, Aurangabad
• Pulse Processing Nagpur, Jalgaon
• Bakery Products Greater Mumbai, Jalgaon, Jalna
• Prepared Foods Dhule, Beed

Maharashtra is host to more than 10,000 companies in the food processing sector with a number of multinational companies having their production facilities. Also, some of the famous food processing clusters include:

• Nashik Wine cluster

• Pune Food Processing Cluster

• Maharashtra contributes about 10.4% to India’s textiles and apparel output. The state contributes about 25% of India’s cotton production. The textile industry is the largest employer in Maharashtra and contributes around 28% to India's total exports
• Textile parks, aimed to provide world-class infrastructural components for the textile sector and enhance productive capacity, are being set up in Maharashtra to maintain its leadership position in textile exports and production. Some of the textile parks are the Nardhana Textile Park in Dhule, Butibori (Nagpur) Textile Park, and Ambernath Textile Park
• IT is one of the top-notch sectors in the state, with a maximum thrust, development, and investment
• The Government of Maharashtra is focusing on providing IT-related infrastructure, fiscal incentives to IT units, and an institutional framework for the IT sector. The prime IT/ITeS clusters are in Greater Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nasik. Pune is the leader in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services
• Maharashtra accounts for approximately 35.1% of the country’s output of automobiles by value
• Pune is the largest auto hub of India with over 4,000 manufacturing units in the Pimpri-Chinchwad region alone. Pune is home to large players like Bajaj Auto Limited, Daimler Chrysler Limited, Tata Motors, whereas Nasik is home to one of India's largest multi-utility vehicle manufacturers - Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
• Gems and Jewellery Industry is considered as one of the key sectors of the State
• Mumbai is India’s most important diamond cutting and polishing centers
• Maharashtra is one of the key exporters of Gems and Jewellery in the country
• Maharashtra is a major trade and tourist destination of India, attracting thousands of tourists from across the world every year. It is the fourth most visited state of India