The report of the All India Rural Credit Review Committee (1969) recom
mended the
establishment of an agency to assist the small farmers who had not benefited from
the gains of the Green Revolution. Accordingly, the Fourth Five Year Plan laid special
emphasis on enabling the small farmers to participate in the process of development and
share in its benefits. To achieve this objective, the Plan provided for the initiation of a
project, namely, the SFDA scheme, which was sanctioned during 1970-71, but the actual
implementation started only during 1971-72. The objective of the SFDA was to ensure
the viability of the small farmers. An autonomous agency registered under the Societies
Registration Act 1860 was established at the district level to implement the SFDA projects.
It acted as a catalyst in identifying small farmers, identifying their problems and helping
them to obtain inputs from various developmental organisations.