Agricultural development in India

Much has been written about the problems of Indian agricul ture. But the existing literature on the subject deals largely with the technological aspects or with the economics of agricultural development. There is hardly any book which puts together relevant information and findings, about techno logy and economics as well as about financing, management, and coordination of agricultural development programmes, in a manner that might be found useful by policy-makers, administrators, and professional managers. This book, it is hoped, will meet the need for a vade mecum on agricultural programme management, a comprehensive but simple hand book of practical utility to those who, in some way, are involved in the formulation, administration, and implementation of agricultural development schemes and policies.

This book is divided into four sections. The first reviews the performance of the agricultural sector since the inception of Five-year Plans in the context of the future growth of the Indian economy and of agricultural development in other countries. It also outlines the techniques of rational formulation and efficient implementation of development plans for agri culture. The institutional underpinning of different facets of agricultural development, ranging from research to marketing, is considered in the second section, which also examines the role of agricultural programmes in the attainment of vital social objectives like land reforms and improving the lot of the rural poor-small and marginal farmers, landless labour, and tribals. The third section is devoted to the problem of organising the provision of key inputs like irrigation, high yielding seeds, fertilisers, credit, pesticides, and farm implements and machinery. A synthesis, from the managerial viewpoint, of all the factors which influence crop production is attempted in the final section.