Chapter 6 Rural Development 27.01.2006 version 4ncertbooks.prashanthellina.com/class_11.Economics... · RURAL DEVELOPMENT 99 ... – literacy, more specifically, female literacy,

99RURAL DEVELOPMENT

After studying this chapter, the learners will

• understand rural development and the major issues associated with it

• appreciate how crucial the development of rural areas is for India’s overalldevelopment

• understand the critical role of credit and marketing systems in ruraldevelopment

• learn about the importance of diversification of productive activities tosustain livelihoods

• understand the significance of organic farming in sustainabledevelopment.

RURAL

DEVELOPMENT

6

100 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6.1 INTRODUCTION

In Chapter 4, we studied how povertywas a major challenge facing India. Wealso came to know that the majorityof the poor live in rural areas wherethey do not have access to the basicnecessities of life.

Agriculture is the major source oflivelihood in the rural sector. MahatmaGandhi once said that the real progressof India did not mean simply the growthand expansion of industrial urbancentres but mainly the development ofthe villages. This idea of villagedevelopment being at the centre of theoverall development of the nation isrelevant even today. Why is this so?Why should we attach such significanceto rural development when we seearound us fast growing cities with largeindustries and modern informationtechnology hubs? It is because morethan two-third of India’s populationdepends on agriculture that is notproductive enough to provide for them;one-third of rural India still lives inabject poverty. That is the reason whywe have to see a developed rural Indiaif our nation has to realise real progress.What, then, does rural developmentimply?

6.2 WHAT IS RURAL DEVELOPMENT?

Rural development is a comprehensiveterm. It essentially focuses on action forthe development of areas that are lagging

behind in the overall development of thevillage economy. Some of the areaswhich are challenging and need freshinitiatives for development in Indiainclude• Development of human resources

including– literacy, more specifically, female

literacy, education and skilldevelopment

– health, addressing both sanitationand public health

• Land reforms• Development of the productive

resources of each locality• Infrastructure development like

electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing,transport facilities includingconstruction of village roads and feederroads to nearby highways, facilities foragriculture research and extension,and information dissemination

• Special measures for alleviationof poverty and bringing aboutsignificant improvement in the livingconditions of the weaker sectionsof the population emphasisingaccess to productive employmentopportunities.All this means that farming

communities have to be provided withvarious means that help them increasethe productivity of grains, cereals,vegetables and fruits. They also needto be given opportunities to diversifyinto various non-farm productiveactivities such as food processing.

“Only the tillers of the soil live by the right. The rest form their train and eatonly the bread of dependence”.

Thiruvalluvar

101RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Giving them better and more affordableaccess to healthcare, sanitation facilitiesat workplaces and homes andeducation for all would also need to begiven top priority for rapid ruraldevelopment.

It was observed in an earlier chapterthat although the share of agriculturesector’s contribution to GDP was on adecline, the population dependent onthis sector did not show any significantchange. Further, after the initiation ofreforms, the growth rate of agriculturesector decelerated to 2.3 per cent perannum during the 1990s, which waslower than the earlier years. Scholarsidentify decline in public investmentsince 1991 as the major reason for this.They also argue that inadequateinfrastructure, lack of alternateemployment opportunities in theindustry or service sector, increasingcasualisation of employment etc.further impede rural development. The

impact of this phenomenon can be seenfrom the growing distress witnessedamong farmers across different parts ofIndia. Against this background, we willcritically look at some of the crucialaspects of rural India like credit andmarketing systems, agriculturaldiversification and the role of organicfarming in promoting sustainabledevelopment.

6.3 CREDIT AND MARKETING IN RURAL

AREAS

Credit: Growth of rural economydepends primarily on infusion ofcapital, from time to time, to realisehigher productivity in agriculture andnon-agriculture sectors. As the timegestation between crop sowing andrealisation of income after productionis quite long, farmers borrowfrom various sources to meet theirinitial investment on seeds, fertilisers,implements and other family expensesof marriage, death, religious ceremoniesetc.

At the time of independence,moneylenders and traders exploitedsmall and marginal farmers and landlesslabourers by lending to them on highinterest rates and by manipulating theaccounts to keep them in a debt-trap. Amajor change occurred after 1969 whenIndia adopted social banking and multi-agency approach to adequately meet theneeds of rural credit. Later, the NationalBank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NBARD) was set up in1982 as an apex body to coordinate theactivities of all institutions involved inthe rural financing system. The Green

Work These Out

On a monthly basis, gothrough the newspapers ofyour region and identify theproblems raised by them inrelation to rural areas andthe solutions offered. Youcould also visit a nearbyvillage and identify theproblems faced by peoplethere.

Prepare a list of recentschemes and their objectivesfrom the government websitehttp://www.rural.nic.in


Box 6.1: The Poor Women’s Bank

‘Kudumbashree’ is a women-oriented community-based poverty reductionprogramme being implemented in Kerala. In 1995, a thrift and credit societywas started as a small savings bank for poor women with the objective toencourage savings. The thrift and credit society mobilised Rs 1 crore as thriftsavings. These societies have been acclaimed as the largest informal banks inAsia in terms of participation and savings mobilised.

Source: www. kudumbashree.com. Visit this website and explore various otherinitiatives undertaken by this organisation. Can you identify some factorswhich contributed to their successes?

Revolution was a harbinger of majorchanges in the credit system as it led tothe diversification of the portfolio of ruralcredit towards production- orientedlending.

The institutional structure of ruralbanking today consists of a set of multi-agency institutions, namely, commercialbanks, regional rural banks (RRBs),cooperatives and land developmentbanks. The major aim of designing thismulti-agency system is to dispenseadequate credit at cheaper rates. Recently,Self-Help Groups (henceforth SHGs) haveemerged to fill the gap in the formal creditsystem because the formal credit deliverymechanism has not only proven

inadequate but has also not been fullyintegrated into the overall rural social andcommunity development. Since somekind of collateral is required, vastproportion of poor rural households wereautomatically out of the credit network.The SHGs promote thrift in smallproportions by a minimum contributionfrom each member. From the pooledmoney, credit is given to the needymembers to be repayable in smallinstalments at reasonable interest rates.By March end 2003, more than sevenlakh SHGs had reportedly been creditlinked. Such credit provisions aregenerally referred to as micro-creditprogrammes. SHGs have helped in the

Work These Out

In your locality/neighbourhood, you might notice self-help groups providingcredit. Attend few meetings of such self-help groups. Write a report on theprofile of a self-help group. The profile may include — when it was started,the number of members, amount of savings and type of credit they provideand how borrowers use the loan.

You might also find that those who take a loan for starting self-employmentactivities use it for other purposes. Interact with few such borrowers andexplore the possibilities of encouraging them to start self-employmentactivities.


empowerment of women but theborrowings are mainly confined toconsumption purposes and negligibleproportion is borrowed for agriculturalpurposes.

Rural Banking — a Critical Appraisal:Rapid expansion of the banking systemhad a positive effect on rural farm andnon-farm output, income andemployment, especially after the greenrevolution — it helped farmers to availservices and credit facilities and a varietyof loans for meeting their produtionneeds. Famines became events of thepast; we have now achieved food securitywhich is reflected in the abundant bufferstocks of grains. However, all is not wellwith our banking system. This is largelybecause of the chronic underperformanceof formal credit institutions and highincidence of overdue instalments by thefarmers.

With the possible exception of thecommercial banks, other formalinstitutions have failed to develop aculture of deposit mobilisation —lending to worthwhile borrowers andeffective loan recovery. Agriculture loandefault rates have been chronically highand many studies reveal that about 50per cent of the defaulters werecategorised as ‘wilful defaulters’ whichis a threat to the smooth functioning ofthe banking system and needs to becontrolled.

Thus, the expansion and promotionof the rural banking sector has takena backseat after reforms. To improvethe situation, banks need to changetheir approach from just being lendersto building up relationship bankingwith the borrowers. Inculcating thehabit of thrift and efficient utilisationof financial resources needs to beenhanced among the farmers too.

Work These Out

In the last few years, you might have taken note — in your neighbourhoodif you are living in rural areas or read in the newspapers or seen on TV — offarmers commiting suicides. Many such farmers had borrowed money forfarming and other purposes. It was found that when they were unable topay back due to crop failure, insufficient income and employmentopportunities, they took such steps. Collect information relating to suchcases and discuss in the classroom.Visit banks that cater to rural areas. They may be primary agriculturalcooperative banks, land development banks, regional rural banks or districtcooperative banks. Collect details such as how many rural householdsborrowed from them, amount generally borrowed, kinds of collateral used,interest rates and dues.If farmers who borrowed from cooperative banks could not pay back due tocrop failure and other reasons, their loans should be waived otherwise theymay take drastic decisions like committing suicides. Do you agree?


6.4 AGRICULTURAL MARKET SYSTEM

Have you ever asked yourself how foodgrains, vegetables and fruits that weconsume daily come from different partsof the country? The mechanismthrough which these goods reachdifferent places depends on the marketchannels. Agricultural marketing is aprocess that involves the assembling,storage, processing, transportation,packaging, grading and distribution ofdifferent agricultural commoditiesacross the country.

Prior to independence, farmers,while selling their produce to traders,suffered from faulty weighing andmanipulation of accounts. Farmerswho did not have the requiredinformation on prices prevailing inmarkets were often forced to sell at lowprices. They also did not have properstorage facilities to keep back theirproduce for selling later at a betterprice. Do you know that even today,more than 10 per cent of goodsproduced in farms are wasted due to

lack of storage? Therefore, stateintervention became necessary toregulate the activities of the privatetraders.

Let us discuss four such measuresthat were initiated to improve themarketing aspect. The first step wasregulation of markets to create orderlyand transparent marketing conditions.By and large, this policy benefitedfarmers as well as consumers. However,there is still a need to develop about27,000 rural periodic markets asregulated market places to realise thefull potential of rural markets. Secondcomponent is provision of physicalinfrastructure facilities like roads,railways, warehouses, godowns, coldstorages and processing units. Thecurrent infrastructure facilities are quiteinadequate to meet the growing demandand need to be improved. Cooperativemarketing, in realising fair prices forfarmers’ products, is the third aspect ofgovernment initiative. The success ofmilk cooperatives in transforming the

Fig. 6.1 Regulated market yards benefit farmers as well as consumers


social and economic landscape ofGujarat and some other parts of thecountry is testimony to the role ofcooperatives. However cooperatives havereceived a setback during the recent pastdue to inadequate coverage of farmermembers, lack of appropriate linkbetween marketing and processingcooperatives and inefficient financialmanagement. The fourth element is thepolicy instruments like (i) assurance ofminimum support prices (MSP) for 24agricultural products (ii) maintenanceof buffer stocks of wheat and riceby Food Corporation of India and(iii) distribution of food grains and sugarthrough PDS. These instruments areaimed at protecting the income of thefarmers and providing foodgrains at asubsidised rate to the poor. However,despite government intervention, privatetrade (by moneylenders, rural politicalelites, big merchants and rich farmers)predominates agricultural markets. Thequantity of agricultural products,handled by the government agencies andconsumer cooperatives, constitutesonly 10 per cent while the rest ishandled by the private sector.

Agricultural marketing has comea long way with the intervention of thegovernment in various forms. Therapid commercialisation of agriculturein the era of globalisation offerstremendous opportunities for valueaddition of agro-based productsthrough processing and this needs tobe encouraged apart from awarenessand training of the farmers to improvetheir marketing ability.

Emerging Alternate MarketingChannels: It has been realised that iffarmers directly sell their produce toconsumers, it increases their share in theprice paid by the consumers. Someexamples of these channels are ApniMandi (Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan);Hadaspar Mandi (Pune); Rythu Bazars(vegetable and fruit market in AndhraPradesh) and Uzhavar Sandies (farmersmarkets in Tamil Nadu). Further, severalnational and multinational fast foodchains are increasingly entering intocontracts/alliances with farmers toencourage them to cultivate farmproducts (vegetables, fruits, etc.) of thedesired quality by providing them with

Work These Out

Visit a nearby vegetable and fruit market. Observe and identify differentcharacteristics of the market. Identify the place of origin of at least tendifferent fruits and vegetables and distance travelled to reach the market.Further, look at the modes of transport and its implication on prices.

Most small towns have regulated market yards. Farmers can go to thesemarkets and sell their produce. They can also store their goods in the yard.Visit one regulated market yard; collect the details of its functioning, kindof goods coming to the yard and how prices are fixed.


not only seeds and other inputs but alsoassured procurement of the produce atpre-decided prices. Such arrangementswill help in reducing the price risks offarmers and would also expand themarkets for farm products.

inadequate irrigation facilities, itbecomes difficult to find gainfulemployment. Therefore expansion intoother sectors is essential to providesupplementary gainful employmentand in realising higher levels of incomefor rural people to overcome povertyand other tribulations. Here the focuswill be only on allied activities, non-farm employment and other emergingalternatives of livelihood, though thereare many other options available forproviding sustainable livelihoods inrural areas.

As agriculture is alreadyovercrowded, a major proportion of theincreasing labour force needs to findalternate employment opportunities inother non-farm sectors. Non-farmeconomy has several segments in it;some possess dynamic linkages thatpermit healthy growth while others are6.5 DIVERSIFICATION INTO PRODUCTIVE

ACTIVITIES

Diversification includes two aspects:one relates to diversification of cropproduction and the other relates to ashift of workforce from agriculture toother allied activities (livestock, poultry,fisheries etc.) and non-agriculturesector. The need for diversificationarises from the fact that there is greaterrisk in depending exclusively onfarming for livelihood. Diversificationtowards new areas is necessary notonly to reduce the risk from agriculturesector but also to provide productivesustainable livelihood options to ruralpeople. Much of the agriculturalemployment activities are concentratedin the Kharif season. But during theRabi season, in areas where there are

Work This Out

Visit one such alternativemarketing system which farmersin your locality, or in theneighbourhood rural areas, use.How are they different fromregulated market yards? Shouldthey be encouraged and supportedby the government? Why and how?Discuss.

Fig. 6.2 Jaggery making is an allied activityof the farming sector


in subsistence, low productivitypropositions. The dynamic sub-sectorsinclude agro-processing industries,food processing industries, leatherindustry, tourism, etc. Those sectorswhich have the potential but seriouslylack infrastructure and other supportinclude traditional household-basedindustries like pottery, crafts,handlooms etc. Though majority ofrural women find employment inagriculture with men looking for non-farm employment, in recent times,women have alsobegun to look for non-farm jobs (see Box 6.2).

Animal Husbandry:In India, the farmingcommunity uses themixed crop-livestockfarming system —cattle, goats, fowlare the widely heldspecies. Livestockproduction providesincreased stability inincome, food security,transport, fuel and

nutrition for the family withoutdisrupting other food-producingactivities. Today, livestock sector aloneprovides alternate livelihood options toover 70 million small and marginalfarmers including landless labourers. Asignificant number of women also findemployment in the livestock sector.

Chart 6.1 shows the distribution oflivestock in India. Poultry accounts forthe largest share with 42 per centfollowed by others. Other animals whichinclude camels, asses, horses, ponies

Box 6.2: Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture (TANWA)

Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture (TANWA) is a project initiated in Tamil Naduto train women in latest agricultural techniques. It induces women to activelyparticipate in raising agricultural productivity and family income. At a FarmWomen’s Group in Thiruchirapalli, run by Anthoniammal, trained women aresuccessfully making and selling vermicompost and earning money from thisventure. Many other Farm Women’s Groups are creating savings in their groupby functioning like mini banks through a micro-credit system. With theaccumulated savings, they promote small-scale household activities likemushroom cultivation, soap manufacture, doll making or other income-generating activities.

Chart 6.1: Distribution of Livestock in India, 1997

Others


and mules are in the lowest rung. Indiahad about 287 million cattle, including90 million buffaloes, in 1997.Performance of the Indian dairy sectorover the last three decades has beenquite impressive. Milk production inthe country has increased by more thanfour times between 1960-2002. Thiscan be attributed mainly to thesuccessful implementation of‘Operation Flood’ from 1966 onwards;it is a system whereby all the farmerscan pool their milk produce accordingto different grading (based on quality)and the same is processed andmarketed to urban centres throughcooperatives. In this system the farmersare assured of a fair price and incomefrom the supply of milk to urbanmarkets. Gujarat state is held as asuccess story in the efficientimplementation of milk cooperativeswhich has been emulated by manystates. Meat, eggs, wool and other by-products are also emerging asimportant productive sectors fordiversification.

Fisheries: The fishing communityregards the water body as ‘mother’ or‘provider’. The water bodies consistingof sea, oceans, rivers, lakes, naturalaquatic ponds, streams etc. are,therefore, an integral and life-givingsource for the fishing community. InIndia, after progressive increase inbudgetary allocations and introductionof new technologies in fisheries andaquaculture, the development offisheries has come a long way. Presently,fish production from inland sourcescontributes about 49 per cent to thetotal fish production and the balance 51per cent comes from the marine sector(sea and oceans). Today total fishproduction accounts for 1.4 per cent ofthe total GDP. Among states, Kerala,Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Naduare the major producers of marineproducts. The overall socio-economicstatus of fishermen is comparativelylower than that of other backwardsectors of our economy. Rampantunderemployment, low per capitaearnings, absence of mobility of labourto other sectors and a high rate ofilliteracy and indebtedness are some ofthe major problems faced by thesecommunities. Even though women arenot involved in active fishing, about 60per cent of the workforce in exportmarketing and 40 per cent in internalmarketing are women. There is a needto increase credit facilities —cooperativesand SHGs — for fisherwomen to meetthe working capital requirements formarketing.

Horticulture: Blessed with a varyingclimate and soil conditions, India has

Fig. 6.3 Sheep rearing — an important incomeaugmenting activity in rural areas


adopted growing of diverse horti-cultural crops such as fruits,vegetables, tuber crops, flowers,medicinal and aromatic plants, spicesand plantation crops. These crops playa vital role in providing foodand nutrition, besides addressingemployment concerns. The periodbetween 1991-2003 is also called aneffort to heralding a ‘Golden Revolution’because during this period, theplanned investment in horticulturebecame highly productive and thesector emerged as a sustainablelivelihood option. India has emerged asa world leader in producing a varietyof fruits like mangoes, bananas,coconuts, cashew nuts and a numberof spices and is the second largestproducer of fruits and vegetables.Economic condition of many farmersengaged in horticulture has improvedand it has become a means of improvinglivelihood for many unprivilegedclasses too. Flower harvesting, nurserymaintenance, hybrid seed production

and tissue culture, propagation of fruitsand flowers and food processing arehighly remunerative employmentoptions for women in rural areas. It hasbeen estimated that this sector providesemployment to around 19 per cent ofthe total labour force.

Though, in terms of numbers, ourlivestock population is quite impressivebut its productivity is quite low

as compared to othercountries. It requiresimproved technologyand promotion of goodbreeds of animals toenhance productivity.Improved veterinary careand credit facilities tosmall and marginalfarmers and landlesslabourers would enhancesustainable livelihoodoptions through livestockproduction. Productionof fisheries has alreadyincreased substantially.Fig. 6.4 Poultry has the largest share of total livestock in India

Fig. 6.5 Women in rural households take up bee-keeping as an entrepreneurial activity


However problems related to over-fishing and pollution need to beregulated and controlled. Welfareprogrammes for the fishing communityhave to be reoriented in a manner whichcan provide long-term gains andsustenance of livelihoods. Horticulturehas emerged as a successful sustainablelivelihood option and needs to beencouraged significantly. Enhancing itsrole requires investment in infrastructurelike electricity, cold storage systems,marketing linkages, small-scaleprocessing units and technologyimprovement and dissemination.

Other Alternate Livelihood Options:We know that IT has revolutionisedmany sectors in the Indian economy.There is broad consensus that IT willplay a critical role in achievingsustainable development and foodsecurity in the twenty-first century.Many examples justify thisobservation, such as the ability ofgovernments to predict areas of foodinsecurity and vulnerability usingappropriate information and softwaretools so that action can be taken toprevent or reduce the likelihood of an

emergency. It also has a positiveimpact on the agriculture sector as itdisseminates information regardingemerging technologies and itsapplications, prices, weather and soilconditions for growing different cropsetc. Most importantly, it has usheredin a knowledge economy that is athousand times more powerful thanthe industrial revolution. Though IT is,by itself, no catalyst of change but itcan act as a tool for releasing thecreative potential and knowledgeembedded in our people. It also haspotential of employment generation inrural areas. Experiments with IT andits application to rural development arecarried out in different parts of India(see Box 6.3).

6.6 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND

ORGANIC FARMING

In recent years, awareness of theharmful effect of chemical-basedfertilisers and pesticides on our healthis on a rise. Conventional agriculturerelies heavily on chemical fertilisersand toxic pesticides etc., which enterthe food supply, penetrate the water

Box 6.3: Every Village — a Knowledge Centre

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, an institution located in Chennai,Tamil Nadu, with support from Sri Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, has establishedthe Jamshedji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity. The Academyenvisaged to identify a million grassroot knowledge workers who will be enlistedas Fellows of the Academy. The programme provides an info-kiosk (PC withInternet and video conferencing facility, scanner, photocopier, etc.) at a lowcost and trains the kiosk owner; the owner then provides different servicesand tries to earn a reasonable income. The Government of India has decidedto join the alliance by providing financial support of Rs 100 crore.


sources, harm the livestock, deplete thesoil and devastate natural eco-systems.Efforts in evolving technologies whichare eco-friendly are essential forsustainable development and one suchtechnology which is eco-friendly isorganic farming. In short, organicagriculture is a whole system offarming that restores, maintains andenhances the ecological balance. Thereis an increasing demand for organicallygrown food to enhance food safetythroughout the world (see Box 6.4).

Benefits of Organic Farming: Organicagriculture offers a means to substitutecostlier agricultural inputs (such asHYV seeds, chemical fertilisers,

pesticides etc.) with locally producedorganic inputs that are cheaper andthereby generate good returns oninvestment. Organic agriculture alsogenerates incomes through internationalexports as the demand for organicallygrown crops is on a rise. Studies acrosscountries have shown that organicallygrown food has more nutritional valuethan chemical farming thus providingus with healthy foods. Since organicfarming requires more labour inputthan conventional farming, India willfind organic farming an attractiveproposition. Finally, the produce ispesticide-free and produced in anenvironmentally sustainable way (seeBox 6.5).

Box 6.4: Organic Food

Organic food is growing in popularity across the world. Many countries havearound 10 per cent of their food system under organic farming. There aremany retail chains and supermarkets which are accorded with green statusto sell organic food. Moreover, organic foods command higher prices of around10-100 per cent than conventional ones.

Box 6.5: Organically Produced Cotton in Maharashtra

In 1995, when Kisan Mehta of Prakruti (an NGO) first suggested that cotton,the biggest user of chemical pesticides, could be grown organically, the thenDirector of the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, famouslyremarked, “Do you want India to go naked?” At present, as many as 130farmers have committed 1,200 hectares of land to grow cotton organically onthe International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement’s standards.The produce was later tested by the German Accredited Agency, AGRECO,and found to be of high quality. Kisan Mehta feels that about 78 per cent ofIndian farmers are marginal farmers owning about less than 0.8 hectare butaccounting for 20 per cent of India’s cultivable land. Therefore, organicagriculture is more profitable in terms of money and soil conservation in thelong run.Source: Lyla Bavadam, A Green Alternative, Frontline, 29 July 2005.


Popularising organic farmingrequires awareness and willingness onthe part of farmers to adapt to newtechnology. Inadequate infrastructureand the problem of marketing theproducts are major concerns whichneed to be addressed apart from anappropriate agriculture policy topromote organic farming. It has beenobserved that the yields from organicfarming are less than modernagricultural farming in the initial years.Therefore, small and marginal farmersmay find it difficult to adapt to large-scale production. Organic produce mayalso have more blemishes and a shortershelf life than sprayed produce.Moreover choice in production ofoff-season crops is quite limited inorganic farming. Nevertheless, organicfarming helps in sustainabledevelopment of agriculture and Indiahas a clear advantage in producingorganic products for both domestic andinternational markets.

6.7 CONCLUSION

It is clear that until and unless somespectacular changes occur, the ruralsector might continue to remainbackward. There is a greater need todayto make rural areas more vibrantthrough diversification into dairying,poultry, fisheries, vegetables and fruitsand linking up the rural productioncentres with the urban and foreign(export) markets to realise higherreturns on the investments for theproducts. Moreover, infrastructureelements like credit and marketing,farmer-friendly agricultural policiesand a constant appraisal and dialoguebetween farmers’ groups and stateagricultural departments are essentialto realise the full potential of the sector.

Today we cannot look at theenvironment and rural development astwo distinct subjects. There is need toinvent or procure alternate sets of eco-friendly technologies that lead tosustainable development in different

Work These Out

Make a list of five popular items that are organically produced in India.

Visit a nearby super market, vegetable shop and/or a departmental shop.Identify a few products. Prepare a chart comparing a few goods that areproduced organically and in the normal way on the basis of their prices,shelf life, quality and the kind of advertisement through which they arepopularised.

Visit a horticultural farm in the nearby locality. Collect the details of goodsthat they cultivate on the farm. They could have diversified their croppingpatterns. Discuss with them the merits and demerits of the diversification.


circumstances. From these, each ruralcommunity can choose whatever willsuit its purpose. First of all, then, weneed to learn from, and also try outwhen found relevant, practices fromthe available set of ‘best practice’

illustrations (which means successstor ies of rural developmentexperiments that have already beencarried out in similar conditions indifferent parts of India), to speed upthis process of ‘learning by doing’.

1. What do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues inrural development.

2. Discuss the importance of credit in rural development.

3. Explain the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of thepoor.

4. Explain the steps taken by the government in developing ruralmarkets.

5. Why is agricultural diversification essential for sustainablelivelihoods?

Recap

Rural development is quite a comprehensive term but it essentially meansa plan of action for the development of areas which are lagging behind insocio-economic development.

There is a need for improving the quantity and quality of infrastructurein rural areas such as banking, marketing, storage, transport andcommunications etc. to realise its true potential.

Diversification towards new areas such as livestock, fisheries and othernon-agricultural activities is necessary not only to reduce the risk fromagriculture sector but also to provide productive sustainable livelihoodoptions to our rural people.

The importance of organic farming as an environmentally sustainableproduction process is on a rise and needs to be promoted.

EXERCISES


6. Critically evaluate the role of the rural banking system in the processof rural development in India.

7. What do you mean by agricultural marketing?

8. Mention some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agriculturalmarketing.

9. What are the alternative channels available for agriculturalmarketing? Give some examples.

10. Explain the term ‘Golden Revolution’.

11. Explain four measures taken by the government to improveagricultural marketing.

12. Explain the role of non-farm employment in promoting ruraldiversification.

13. Bring out the importance of animal husbandry, fisheries andhorticulture as a source of diversification.

14. ‘Information technology plays a very significant role in achievingsustainable development and food security’ — comment.

15. What is organic farming and how does it promote sustainabledevelopment?

16. Identify the benefits and limitations of organic farming.

17. Enlist some problems faced by farmers during the initial years oforganic farming.

ACHARYA, S.S. 2004. Agricultural Marketing, State of the Indian Farmer, aMillennium Study, Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

ALAGH, Y.K. 2004. State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study — an Overview.Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

CHAWLA, N.K., M.P.G. KURUP and V. P. SHARMA. 2004. Animal Husbandry, State ofthe Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

DEHADRAI, P.V. and Y.S. YADAV. 2004. Fisheries Development, State of the IndianFarmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

JALAN, BIMAL. (Ed.). 1992. The Indian Economy: Problems and Perspectives.Penguin Publication, New Delhi.

REFERENCES


NARAYANAN, S. 2005. Organic Farming in India. NABARD Occasional Paper No:38, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai.

SINGH, H.P., P.P. DUTTA and M. SUDHA. 2004. Horticulture Development, State ofthe Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

SINGH, SURJIT and VIDYA SAGAR. 2004. Agricultural Credit in India: State of theIndian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

SINHA, V.K. 1998. Challenges in Rural Development. Discovery PublishingHouse, New Delhi.

TODARO, MICHAEL P. 1987. Economic Development in the Third World. OrientLongman Ltd, Hyderabad.

TOPPO, E. 2004. Organic Vegetable Gardening: Grow Your Own Vegetables. Unitfor Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Government Reports

Successful Governance Initiatives and Best Practices: Experiences from IndianStates, Government of India in Coordination with Human ResourceDevelopment Centre and UNDP, Planning Commission, Delhi, 2002.

Annual Reports, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, NewDelhi.

Documents

Chapter 6 Rural Development 27.01.2006 version 4ncertbooks.prashanthellina.com/class_11.Economics... · RURAL DEVELOPMENT 99 ... – literacy, more specifically, female literacy,