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Unit 6: Agriculture in the National Economy

The Indian Planning Commission specified several programmes for increasing agricultural Notes
production such as irrigation, dry farming, soil conservation, and land reclamation, supply of
fertilisers and manures, enhanced agricultural implements, adoption of scientific practices, etc.
The Government offered substantial attention to institutional changes like the setting up of
community development programme and agricultural extension services all through the country,
the use of land reforms, expansion of rural transportation, power, marketing and other
fundamental amenities, enhancement of the system of co-operative credit, etc. From the Third
Plan onwards, the greatest focus was laid on irrigation-fertilizer-seed technology which resulted
in the green revolution,
Actual outlay on the agricultural sector varied between 18 and 24 per cent of the total Plan outlay
(except during the first Plan, it was as great as 31 per cent). During Eleventh Plan it has decreased
to only 19.7 per cent. For twelfth Plan it has been aimed at 17.3 of total outlay.
You must understand that the progress made by India in the area of agriculture under the first
nine plans. In the subsequent section, we shall take up the advancement of agriculture under the
Tenth Plan separately.

6.2.4 Agricultural Progress under the Five Year Plans: Brief Summary

First Three Plans (1951-61)

It is important to note that the First Five Plan (1951-56) targeted at solving the food crisis India
was facing at that time and also ease the critical agricultural raw material situation, especially
the acute shortage of raw cotton and raw jute. Accordingly, the First Plan gave the greatest
priority to agriculture, particularly food production, by allocating 31 per cent of the total Plan
outlay on agriculture.

The production target in food grains during the First Plan was exceeded-for example, as against
the target of nearly 62 million tonnes, real production of food grains came to about 67 million
tonnes (Table 6.1). But, the targets fixed for sugarcane, cotton and jute were not attained.

You must understand that the Planning Commission wished the Second Plan to lay the foundations
of industrialisation. Out of total expenditure of ` 4,600 crore during the Second Plan, a sum of
` 950 crore or nearly 20 per cent was devoted on agriculture. In spite of the percentage decrease
in Plan outlay on agriculture, the progress on the agricultural front was important.

Example: Food grain production recorded about 80 million tonnes in 1960-61, as against
the target of 81 million tonnes.
Similarly, the production of oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton was much more in 1960-61 than in
1955-56. There was, however, a deficit in the production of all groups of commodities, as against
the target fixed, except in the instance of sugarcane in which there was considerable progress,
Experience in the Second Plan had depicted clearly that the rate of growth in agricultural production
was a main limiting factor in the advancement of the Indian economy.
As the Government sensed that the success of the agricultural sector was a necessary condition
for the success of the whole Plan, the Third Plan fixed ambitious targets of production for all
agricultural crops.
The Government launched the new agricultural technology known as Intensive Agricultural
District Programme (IADP), which was soon pursued by a programme of using improved seeds,
viz., High Yielding Varieties Programme (HYVP). The new agricultural technology was
anticipated to usher in the green revolution. However, as a consequence of the extensive and

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