In the fifth five year plan a sum of rupees 7,411 crores was allocated to the development of agriculture and irrigation which increased to rupees 8,084 crores (20.5% of the plan out lay) at the end of the plan.

The fifth plan set the objective of self-sufficiency and poverty eradication. Special emphasis was given on the extension of irrigation (50 major irrigation projects covering 14 million hectares was put through in the plan), increase in the area under HYV seeds (promoting research on im­proved seeds and the formation of the State Seed Corporation), grant of loans and subsidies to the farmers (formation of Small Farmers Development Agency), and promotion of dry farming in drought prone and rain-fed areas.

Although the agriculture recorded an annual growth of 4.6% but the progress had been fluctuating. The production of food grains reached 121 million tons in 1975-76 but declined to 112 million tons in 1976-77 due to bad weather conditions but touched a level of 126 million tons in 1977-78. Similarly oil seeds production increased from 88 lakh tones to 96.6 lakh tones; cotton from 63 to 72 lakh bales; sugarcane from 141 to 165 lakh tones. But the production of pulses fell down from 83 lakh tones to 77 lakh tones. Due to some difficulty the plan had to be terminated one year before in 1977-78.