CH-6 RURAL DEVELOPMENT

[Link] do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues in rural
development?
Rural Development is a comprehensive term. It essentially means a plan of action for the
development of areas which are lagging behind in socio-economic development of rural
areas.
The key issues in rural development are
(i)Development of Human Resources-Investment should be made in education, female
literacy, health, addressing both sanitation and public health and technical skill development
to make people more efficient and able to do work.
(ii)Development of productive resources-The rural people are mainly dependent on
agriculture to earn their livelihood that usually suffers from low productivity, lack of
infrastructure and disguised unemployment. Therefore, efforts must be made towards
development of alternative occupation through available resources.
(iii)Land Reforms-Land Reforms with technical reforms allow the farmers to use modern
techniques and methods which increase the productivity and aggregate volume of farm
output. Land reforms also lead to efficient and optimum use of land, enabling large scale
production.
(iv)Development of infrastructure-Infrastructure is the basic level for all kind of development
such as electricity, irrigation, bank credit, development of markets, etc.
(v)Alleviation of poverty-Special measures should be taken to tackle poverty and bringing
about significant improvement in the living conditions of the weaker sections of the people
emphasising access to productive employment opportunities.
[Link] the importance of credit in rural development.
Credit plays an important role in rural development.
(i)Growth of rural economy depends primarily on infusion of capital from time to time to
realise higher productivity in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.
(ii)The long gestation period between sowing of seeds and harvesting of the crops, credit is
extended to the farmers for meeting their initial requirements of farm inputs like seed,
fertilisers, etc.
(iii)The farmers require funds for meeting their general and specific needs. They also require
credit for buying cattle, purchasing land or irrigation facilities.
[Link] the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of the poor.
The credit and financial services provided to the poor through SHGs and non-government
organisations are known as micro credits.
(i)The SHGs are playing a crucial role in meeting the credit requirements of the poor by
inculcating saving habits among the rural households.
(ii) The SHGs promote thrift in small proportions by a minimum contribution from each
member. From the pooled money, credit is given to the needy members to be repayable in
small instalments at reasonable interest rates. The members of these groups have been linked
with the banks.
(iii) By May 2019, nearly 6 crore women in India have become member in 54lakh women
SHGs. About Rs. 10 -15,000 per SHGs and another Rs. 2.5 lakhs per SHGs as a community
investment support fund(CISF) are provided as a part of renovating fund to take up self-
employment for income generation. Such credit provisions are generally referred to as micro-
credit programmes
(iii)SHGs enable the economically poor individual to gain strength as part of a group. Also,
the financing done through SHGs reduces transactions costs for both the lenders and the
borrowers.
(iv)The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD)played a key role
in providing credit at special concessional rates.
(v)SHGs Have helped in the empowerment of women. SHGs programmes are becoming
popular among the small and marginal borrowers owing to their informal credit delivery
mechanism along with minimum legal formalities.
[Link] the steps taken by the Government in developing rural markets.
(i)Regulated Markets -The regulation of markets is to create orderly and transparent market
conditions. The sale and purchase of the products are monitored by the market committee
which consists of farmers, government, agents and traders. It helps in enforcement of
standard weights, fixation of charges, settling of disputes, etc which is helpful for both
farmers and consumers.
(ii)Development of infrastructure-The government has taken measures to develop
infrastructure like roads, railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units.
(iii)Co-operative Marketing-it is a measure to ensure a fair price to farmers. Member
farmers sell their surplus to the cooperative society which substitute collective bargaining in
place of individual bargaining.
(iv)Policy Instruments-Various policy instruments have been initiated by the Government.
(a)Assurance of minimum support prices for agricultural products.
(b)Maintenance of buffer stock of wheat and rice by Food Corporation of India.
(c) Distribution of foodgrain and sugar through Public Distribution System.
These instruments are aimed at protecting the income of the farmers and providing
foodgrains at a subsidised rate to the poor.
[Link] is agricultural diversification essential for sustainable livelihoods?
The agricultural diversification means diversification of crop production i.e., shift from single
cropping pattern to multiple cropping pattern and shifting of agricultural workforce to other
allied activities such as livestock, poultry, fisheries, etc and non-agricultural sector to raise
income and to explore alternate source of revenues.
Agricultural diversification essential for sustainable livelihood because of the following
reasons.
(i)A substantial portion of Indian farming is dependent on the monsoon, making it a risky
affair to rely upon solely. Accordingly, the need for diversification is required to enable the
farmers to earn from other alternative non-farm occupations. This reduces excess burden on
agriculture by reducing disguised unemployment.
(ii)The Kharif season opens up ample opportunities for agricultural employment. However,
owing to lack of irrigation facilities, the farmers fail to get gainful employment opportunities
during the Rabi season. Therefore, the need for diversification arises during the Rabi season.
(iii) Expansion into other sectors is essential to provide supplementary gainful employment
and in realising higher levels of income for rural people to overcome poverty and others
tribulations.
(iv) As agriculture is already overcrowded a major proportion of the increasing labour force
needs to find alternate employment opportunities in other non-farm sectors.
6. Critically evaluate the role of the rural banking system in the process of rural
development in India.
Rural banking has played a crucial role in the process of rural development in India. The
National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) has made a significant
progress in the field of rural credit.
Positive aspects of rural banking
[Link] had a positive effect on rural farm and non-farm output ,income and employment
,especially after the Green Revolution.
[Link] cannot be denied that the institutional credit has freed farmers from the trap of money
lenders.
c. It helped farmers to avail services and credit facilities and a variety of loan for meeting
their production needs which is reflected in the abundant buffer stock of grains and food
security.
Criticism
a. With the possible exception of the commercial banks, other formal institutions have failed
to develop a culture of deposit mobilisation and lending to worthwhile borrowers and
effective loan recovery.
b. Agricultural loan default rates have been chronologically high. It is alleged that the farmers
are deliberating refusing to pay back loans.
c. The banks failed to inculcate the habit of thrift and efficient utilisation of financial
resources among the farmers.
All these led to financial infeasibility for the rural banks.
7. What do you mean by agricultural marketing?
Agricultural marketing is a process that involves the assembling, storage, processing,
transportation, packing, grading and distribution of different agricultural commodities across
the country.
8. Mention some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agricultural marketing.
a. Farmers suffer from faulty weighing and manipulation of accounts.
b. Due to misinformation about market prices and conditions, farmers are often forced to sell
their product at lower prices.
c. The farmers lack access to proper storage facilities to store their produce for future sell at
better prices.
d. The farmers cannot avail agricultural credit leading to their exploitation by the money
lenders.
e. The current infrastructure facilities such as roads old storage processing unit etc are quite
inadequate to meet the growing demand and need to be improved.
9. What are the alternative channels available for agricultural marketing? Give some
examples.
The small and marginal farmers selling their products through the middle men were exploited
by this middleman. The farmers were not given appropriate price for their product. In this
context there arose a need for an alternative marketing channel. Under this channel the
farmers can sell their product directly to the consumers that would fetch them comparatively
higher price, thereby attractive profits. Some of the examples of alternative agricultural
marketing are Apni Mandi in states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan Hadaspar Mandi in
Pune, Rythu Bazars in Andhra Pradesh, Uzhavar Sandies in Tamil Nadu. Another alternative
channel for agricultural marketing is the contract of direct sales between the farmers and the
national and international companies. These companies offer advanced payment to the
farmers for supplying products at predetermined rates. These alternative agricultural channels
raise farmers income and simultaneously reduce price risk for the small and marginal
farmers.
10. Distinguish between Green Revolution and Golden Revolution.
Green Revolution Golden Revolution
a. It is the combined use of HYV seeds and a. The rapid growth in the production of
increased use of fertilizers and developed horticulture crops such as fruits, vegetables,
irrigation facilities jointly to increase the tuber crops, flowers, etc is known as golden
production of rice and wheat. This increase revolution.
in the production of food grains is known as
the Green Revolution
b. It led to increase in the production of b. It led to increase in production of fruits,
food grains especially of rice and wheat. vegetables, flowers, aromatic plants, spices,
etc
 c. As a result of this revolution, India c. As a result of this revolution India
became self-sufficient in the production of became a world leader in the production of
wheat and rice. mangoes, bananas, coconut and spices.

11. Do you think various measures taken by the government to improve agricultural
marketing are sufficient?
The Government has taken various measures to improve agricultural marketing such as
regulation of markets, development of infrastructure, cooperative marketing and policy
instruments but despite various attempts of the government, private trade (by money lenders,
rural political elites, big merchants and rich farmers) predominates agricultural markets.
The measures have not been successful because
a) There is still a need to develop about 27,000 rural periodic market as regulated market
places to realize the full potential of rural market.
b) The current infrastructure facilities are quite inadequate to meet the growing demand and
need to be improved.
c) Cooperatives have received a setback due to inadequate coverage of farmer members, lack
of appropriate link between marketing and processing cooperative and inefficient financial
management.
Also, there are many obstacles in the agricultural marketing system such as
i) It is found that farmers often fall prey to defecting way techniques and misappropriation of
account.
ii) Farmers lack knowledge of market prices and market conditions which forces them to sell
their produce at a lower price.
iii) Storage facilities are insufficient which forces the farmers to sell their produce at a lower
price to traders.
iv) There is lack of institutional sources of finance which forces the farmers to fall back on
moneylenders for obtaining credit.
12. Explain the role of non-farm employment in promoting rural diversification.
a. The agricultural sector in India is overcrowded, a major portion of labour force needs to
find alternate employment opportunities in other non-farm sectors.
b. Diversification towards non-farm sectors not only to reduce the risk from agriculture
sectors but also to provide productive sustainable livelihood options to rural people.
c. Non-farm economy has several segments in it. Some poses dynamic linkages that permit
healthy growth while others are in subsistence, low productivity propositions.
d. The dynamic subsectors include agro-processing industries, food processing industries,
leather industry tourism etc.
e. Those sectors which have the potential but seriously lack infrastructure and other support
include traditional home-based industries like pottery, crafts, handlooms, etc.
f. Majority of rural women find employment in agriculture by men generally look for non-
farm employment. In recent times, women have also begun looking for non-farm jobs.
13. Bring out the importance of animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture as a
source of diversification.
Animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture can be very important as a source of
diversification in rural economy.
i) Livestock production provides increased stability in income, food security transport fuel
and nutrition for the family without disrupting other food producing activities. This sector
alone provides alternate livelihood options to over 70 million small and marginal farmers
including landless labourers. A significant number of women also find employment in the
livestock sector.
The successful implementation of operation flood as enhanced income of the rural people and
changed the social and economic landscape of Gujarat.
ii) Today total fish production accounts for 0.9%of the total GDP. In India, West Bengal
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are major fish producing
states. About 60% of the workforce in export marketing and 40% in internal marketing are
women.
iii) Horticulture has played a vital role in provision of food nutrition as well as generating
income and employment. This sector contributes nearly one-third of the value of agricultural
output and 6% of GDP of India. India has emerged as a world leader in producing a variety of
fruits like mangoes, cashew nuts, etc and a number of spices. It is the second largest producer
of fruits and vegetables. This has improved economic condition of many small and marginal
farmers as well as many unprivileged classes.
14. Information technology plays a very significant role in achieving Sustainable
development and food security. ----- Comment.
Information technology (IT) plays a very significant role in achieving sustainable
development and food security.
i)IT enables to provide and store data related to the past and future conditions providing
inputs for policy decision and for adopting various corrective measures. For example, with
the help of IT, weather conditions can be forecast. If, for, example, there is a probability of
crop failure, then preventive measures can be taken to avoid or mitigate the impact of food
insecurity.
iii) Information Technology facilitates the storage and dissemination of information on
emerging technologies and its applications,prices, weather and soil condition for growing
various crops etc which ease the decision-making process vis-a-vis production and
productivity.
iv)Now a days the farmers can consult Kisan Call Centers and various websites providing
valuable information regarding measures to improve farm productivity and quality of farm
inputs, seeds, fertilisers and various modern techniques.
v)It acts as a tool for identifying the experts on food security and sustainable development. IT
sectors also generates employment opportunities in the backward areas via developing 'info
kiosk '(i.e. PC with Internet, scanner etc) in the rural areas.
Thus ,it can be said that IT plays a vital role in assuring food security and sustainable
development in India.

15. What is organic farming and how does it promote sustainable development?
Organic farming refers to a system of farming that restores, maintains and enhances the
ecological balance. In other words, this system of farming relies upon the user organic inputs
for cultivation. The traditional farming involves the use of chemical fertilizers, toxic
pesticides, etc that harms the ecosystem drastically. So, this type of farming is practiced to
produce toxic free food for the consumers while simultaneously maintaining the fertility of
the soil and contributing to ecological balance. This type of farming enables eco-friendly
sustainable economic development.
16. Identify the benefits and limitations of organic farming.
Organic farming has some notable advantages as compared to the conventional farming. The
advantages of the organic farming are as follows:
a. Discards use of chemicals: Unlike conventional farming, organic farming is free from
synthetic chemicals. The chemicals present in the chemical fertilisers penetrate into the
groundwater and raises its nitrate content. This cause health hazards and also pollutes the
environment. So, organic farming is an environment friendly method of farming.
ii) Sustains soil fertility: The use of chemical fertilisers leads to erosion of soil fertility.
Organic farming discards the use of chemical fertilisers. Therefore, this farming is practiced
to produce non-toxic food for the consumers without degrading the soil fertility.
iii) Healthier food: Organically grown crops have high nutritional value than the
conventional grown crops. Also, the demand for organic farming rises rapidly even at a
higher price.
iv) Inexpensive technology for small and marginal farmers: The small and marginal
farmers constitute the bulk of the farming. Organic farming offers an inexpensive farming
technique to these small and marginal farmers.
v) Generates income from exports: It generates higher income from exports as there is huge
international demand for organic crops.
vi)Labour intensive technique- Since organic farming requires more labour input than
conventional farming, India will find organic farming an attractive proposition.
Limitations of organic farming:
i) Organic farming offers lesser yield than the conventional farming. Therefore, the
productivity of the organic farming is lower than that of the conventional farming.
ii) The popularity of organic farming depends on the awareness and willingness of the
farmers to adopt this technology. Due to lower productivity, farmers lack initiative to adopt
organic farming techniques.
iii) The inadequate infrastructure and problem of marketing are the major concerns that need
to be addressed to promote organic farming.
17. Enlist some problems faced by farmers during the initial years of organic farming.
i)In the initial years, it has been observed that the yields from organic farming are lesser than
the modern agricultural farming. So, the farmers found it difficult to undertake large scale
production.
ii) Also, due to low yield per hectare, this technique was not financially viable for the small
and marginal farmers. The products obtained from organic farming have shorter life and are
quickly perishable
iii)Moreover, the choice in production during off season is quite limited in organic farming.
Despite this shortcoming in the initial years, India has attained competitive advantage in
organic farming due to labour intensive techniques. Hence, the availability of labour in
abundance popularized organic farming in India.
18. Jan-Dhan Yojna helps in the rural development. Do you agree with this statement?
Explain.
Yes, Jan Dhan Yojana helps in the rural development.
In recent years, all the adults are encouraged to open bank accounts as a part of a scheme
known as Jan Dhan Yojana. Those bank account holders can get Rs.1-2 lakh accidental
insurance coverage and overdraft facilities for Rs.10,000 and get their wages if they get any
government related jobs and works under MNREGA;old age pension and other social
security payments of the government are transferred to bank account. There is no need to
keep minimum bank balance. This has led to more than 40 crore people opening bank
accounts.
Jan Dhan Yojana has promoted thrift habits and efficient allocation of financial resources,
particularly in rural areas. Formal banking system has mobilised a substantial amount more
than Rs.1,40,000 crores through these accounts (under this yojana).
[Link] a short note on micro credit programmes/Self Help Groups.