Fundamentals of Extension Education (1+1)

High yielding variety programme (HYVP)

• HIGH YIELDING VARIETY PROGRAMME (HYVP) was launched in 1966, which helped the country in attaining self-sufficiency in food. The technological development did not remain confined to the introduction of high yielding crop varieties alone. These were combined with the application of high analysis and balanced fertilizer, irrigation, plant protection, improved implements etc. which made a 'Green Revolution' possible in the country.
• Agricultural scientists found successful in evolving new high yielding varieties in some cereals particularly in wheat, rice & maize, Punjab, Haryana & Western parts of UP were initially selected for this programme.
• The pervasive influence of high yielding technology spread to other area as of farm production such as animal production, fishery, sericulture, social forestry etc. The high yielding technologies in these production enterprises also have some common characteristics such as shorter gestation period, good response with better management; higher return fan terms of yield and income, and higher investment in comparison to traditional technologies.
• High yielding technologies by themselves tend to be scale neutral i.e. farmers irrespective of the size of their holding can derive economic benefit from them provided they have access to the needed inputs. However, high yielding technologies are not resource neutral. In other words more inputs are required for higher output.

Objectives
i) To assess the spread of the various high yielding varieties in different parts of the country and also determine the extent of such spread;
ii) To ascertain the reactions, attitudes of cultivators/participating cultivators; and
iii) To study the problems of implementation of the programme at different level of administration such as States, district, block and village.
iv) Besides above, the study also covered certain other important and relevant aspects such as research efforts in evolving of new varieties.