In which year was the Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) launched in India?

The Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) was launched in 1960-61, initially in seven selected districts of India, one in each of seven states. It is often called the "package programme", because it provided farmers with a complete package of inputs and services together.

Background:

• In the late 1950s, India faced slow growth in food production and a rapidly growing population.
• A team of experts sponsored by the Ford Foundation studied India's food problem and published a report, "India's Food Crisis and Steps to Meet It" (1959).
• It recommended concentrating resources in districts with assured irrigation and good potential, instead of spreading them thinly across the whole country.

Features of the IADP:

• It selected districts with assured water supply and minimum natural hazards.
• Farmers received a package of improved seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, credit, improved implements and expert advice.
• It emphasised better farm planning, demonstrations, marketing and storage facilities.

The first districts included Ludhiana (Punjab), West Godavari (Andhra Pradesh), Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Shahabad (Bihar), Raipur (then in Madhya Pradesh), Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) and Pali (Rajasthan). The programme was later extended to more districts.

Results:

It increased production in some districts, especially in Ludhiana, but overall results were limited, because the traditional crop varieties available then could not respond well to heavy fertiliser use.

Successor programmes:

Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP): launched in 1964-65, extending the intensive approach to more areas with a focus on specific crops.

High Yielding Varieties Programme (HYVP): launched in 1966-67, introducing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. This, together with irrigation and fertilisers, formed the core of the Green Revolution strategy.

Significance:

The IADP is seen as the forerunner of the Green Revolution. It showed the value of providing farmers with a package of modern inputs and services and of concentrating effort in favourable areas.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1955 falls in the First Five-Year Plan period, before the IADP.
• ✗1966 is when the High Yielding Varieties Programme began.
• ✗1972 is the year of the national guidelines on land ceilings.