2nd Green Revolution- a dream project (A)

(A)Historical Background
Food production in the first five year plan exceeded the target and at the end of plan prices of all commodities registered declining. cheap food created a semblance of prosperity and planning commission presumed that the food problem was over.
Soon things started changing and it was realized that food problem was very much there. In the period 1958-1968 India experienced recurrent shortage of food and to import fairly large quantities of wheat. Various factors were responsible for the same. These were inadequate inputs, old methods of cultivation, faulty land use pattern, shortage of scientific knowledge of cultivation etc.
After 1961 the situation was so alarming that government was compelled to adopt a strategy powerful enough to secure the breakthrough.
The new agricultural strategy which was introduced in mid sixties emerged out of recommendations of the FORD FOUNDATION. The main theme of the recommendation was to emphasize that-
” Instead of spreading the developmental efforts more or less on uniform basis throughout the country without getting any striking result, intensive effort for production should be made with a combination of all technological improvements and concentration of man power and resources in selected areas having potential of production/ having optimum conditions of stepping up production.”
It was anticipated that this new strategy will spread in other areas automatically.
Coincidentally sever droughts were seen in the year 1968-1969 which also necessitated adoption of the strategy. Finally it was adopted in the plan of in the annual plans of 1969.

(NEXT PART WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON WITH HEADING "WHAT IS GREEN REVOLUTION INDEED"-B )