Abstract: Rural development involves planned changed of the rural man and his socio-economic environment from a less desirable to a more desirable state. That is, the process by which the well-being of the people is significantly uplifted where there is a general enhancement in the quality of life of majority of rural people. This involves the active participation of the rural communities for whom the rural development programme is designed. Meanwhile, if the programme is properly conceived and effectively implemented, it will bridge the wide gap of inequalities between urban and rural areas. In Nigeria, several attempts were made to effect rural development. Among the first efforts were the establishment of Community Boards of 1954, the farm settlement scheme of the then Western Nigeria in 1959 and the third National Development Plan (1975-80). Others include Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) of 1976, River Basin Development Authorities of 1977, Land Use Decree of 1978, Green Revolution of 1980 among others. However, attempts have been made in this study to examine some of the rural development strategies being employed in Nigeria. The review shows that no single strategy can by itself, provide the solutions to the rural under development. Invariably, a holistic approach such as integrated rural development as introduced by Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) is seen as one of the approaches to rural problems. Integrated rural development is a multi purpose approach or inter-disciplinary solutions to rural development, unlike single purpose approach such as agricultural extension or monodisciplinary agricultural production. This means all programmes such as agricultural education and training, health services, rural electrification, roads and cooperatives must not be conceived in isolation. This study tries to evaluate the far reaching effect of Agricultural Development Projects (AD)s). Also, it tries to determine its effectiveness or otherwise in the provision of basic needs to rural areas for sustainable development. Meanwhile, it has been suggested that any approach to rural development in Nigeria that focuses attention on the improvement of the standard of living of rural people should be given all necessary supports it deserves.