Rural Development PDF

6 RURAL 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 overall d...

6 RURAL 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 overall development understand the critical role of credit and marketing systems in rural development learn about the importance of diversification of productive activities to sustain livelihoods understand the significance of organic farming in sustainable development. RURAL DEVELOPMENT 99 2015-16(20/01/2015)  “Only the tillers of the soil live by the right. The rest form their train and eat only the bread of dependence”. Thiruvalluvar 6.1 INTRODUCTION lagging behind in the overall In Chapter 4, we studied how poverty development of the village economy. was a major challenge facing India. We Some of the areas which are also came to know that the majority challenging and need fresh initiatives of the poor live in rural areas where for development in rural India include Development of human resources they do not have access to the basic necessities of life. including – literacy, more specifically, female Agriculture is the major source of livelihood in the rural sector. Mahatma literacy, education and skill Gandhi once said that the real progress development – health, addressing both sanitation of India did not mean simply the growth and expansion of industrial urban and public health Land reforms centres but mainly the development of Development of the productive the villages. This idea of village development being at the centre of the resources of each locality Infrastructure development like overall development of the nation is relevant even today. Why is this so? electricity, irrigation, credit, Why should we attach such significance marketing, transport facilities to rural development when we see including construction of village around us fast growing cities with large roads and feeder roads to nearby highways, facilities for agriculture industries and modern information technology hubs? It is because more research and extension, and than two-third of India’s population information dissemination Special measures for alleviation depends on agriculture that is yet to become productive enough to provide of poverty and bringing about significant improvement in the living for them; one-third of rural India still lives in abject poverty. That is the conditions of the weaker sections reason why we have to see a developed of the population emphasising rural India if our nation has to realise access to productive employment real progress. What, then, does rural opportunities All this means that people engaged development imply? in farm and non-farm activities in 6.2 WHAT IS RURAL D EVELOPMENT? rural areas have to be provided with various means that help them increase Rural development is a comprehensive the productivity. They also need to be term. It essentially focuses on action for given opportunities to diversify the development of areas that are into various non-farm productive 100 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015) activities such as food processing. The impact of this phenomenon can be Enabling them better and more seen from the growing distress affordable access to healthcare, witnessed among farmers across sanitation facilities at workplaces and different parts of India. During 2007- homes and education for all would also 12, agriculture output has grown at need to be given top priority for rapid 3.2 per cent. Against this background, rural development. we will critically look at some of the It was observed in an earlier chapter crucial aspects of rural India like credit that although the share of agriculture and marketing systems, agricultural sector’s contribution to GDP was on a diversification and the role of organic decline, the population dependent on farming in promoting sustainable this sector did not show any significant development. change. Further, after the initiation of reforms, the growth rate of agriculture 6.3 CREDIT AND MARKETING IN RURAL sector decelerated to about 3 per cent AREAS per annum during the 1991-2012, which was lower than the earlier years. Credit: Growth of rural economy Scholars identify decline in public depends primarily on infusion of investment since 1991 as the major capital, from time to time, to realise reason for this. They also argue that higher productivity in agriculture and inadequate infrastructure, lack of non-agriculture sectors. As the time alternate employment opportunities in gestation between crop sowing and the industry or service sector, realisation of income after production is increasing casualisation of employment quite long, farmers borrow from various etc., further impede rural development. sources to meet their initial investment on seeds, fertilisers, implements and other family expenses of marriage, Work These Out death, religious ceremonies etc. At the time of independence, Ø On a monthly basis, go through moneylenders and traders exploited the newspapers of your region small and marginal farmers and and identify the problems raised landless labourers by lending to them by them in relation to rural areas and the solutions of fered. You on high interest rates and by could also visit a nearby village manipulating the accounts to keep and identify the problems faced them in a debt-trap. A major change by people there. Discuss this in occurred after 1969 when India the classroom. adopted social banking and multi- Ø Preparea list of recent schemes agency approach to adequately meet the needs of rural credit. Later, the and their objectives from the government website http:// National Bank for Agriculture and www.rural.nic.in Rural Development (NABARD) was set up in 1982 as an apex body to RURAL DEVELOPMENT 101 2015-16(20/01/2015)  Box 6.1: The Poor Women’s Bank ‘Kudumbashree’ is a women-oriented community-based poverty reduction programme being implemented in Kerala. In 1995, a thrift and credit society was started as a small savings bank for poor women with the objective to encourage savings. The thrift and credit society mobilised Rs 1 crore as thrift savings. These societies have been acclaimed as the largest informal banks in Asia in terms of participation and savings mobilised. Source: www.kudumbashree.com. Visit this website and explore various other initiatives undertaken by this organisation. Can you identify some factors which contributed to their successes? coordinate the activities of all the gap in the formal credit system institutions involved in the rural because the formal credit delivery financing system. The Green mechanism has not only proven Revolution was a harbinger of major inadequate but has also not been fully changes in the credit system as it led to integrated into the overall rural social the diversification of the portfolio of and community development. Since rural credit towards production- some kind of collateral is required, vast oriented lending. proportion of poor rural households The institutional structure of rural were automatically out of the credit banking today consists of a set of network. The SHGs promote thrift in multi-agency institutions, namely, small proportions by a minimum commercial banks, regional rural contribution from each member. From banks (RRBs), cooperatives and land the pooled money, credit is given to the development banks. They are expected needy members to be repayable in to dispense adequate credit at cheaper small instalments at reasonable interest rates. Recently, Self-Help Groups rates. By March end 2003, more than (henceforth SHGs) have emerged to fill seven lakh SHGs had reportedly been Work These Out Ø In your locality/ neighbourhood, you might notice self-help groups providing cr edit. Attend few meetings of such self-help groups. Write a report on the profile 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 provide and how borrowers use the loan. Ø You might also find that those who take a loan for starting self-employment activities but use it for other purposes. Interact with few such borrowers. Identify the reasons for not starting self employment activities and discuss in the classroom. 102 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015) credit linked. Such credit provisions are With the possible exception of the generally referred to as micro-credit commercial banks, other formal programmes. SHGs have helped in the institutions have failed to develop a empowerment of women. It is alleged culture of deposit mobilisation — that the borrowings are mainly confined lending to worthwhile borrowers and to consumption purposes. Why are effective loan recovery. Agriculture borrowers not spending for productive loan default rates have been purposes? chronically high. Why farmers failed to pay back loans? It is alleged that Rural Banking — a Critical farmers are deliberately refusing to Appraisal: Rapid expansion of the pay back loans. What could be the banking system had a positive effect on reasons? rural farm and non-farm output, Thus, the expansion and promotion income and employment, especially of the rural banking sector has taken a after the green revolution — it helped backseat after reforms. To improve the farmers to avail services and credit situation, it is suggested that banks facilities and a variety of loans for need to change their approach from meeting their prodution needs. Famines just being lenders to building up became events of the past; we have now relationship banking with the achieved food security which is reflected borrowers. Inculcating the habit of in the abundant buffer stocks of grains. thrift and efficient utilisation of financial However, all is not well with our resources needs to be enhanced among banking system. the farmers too. Work These Out Ø In the last few years, you might have taken note — in your neighbourhood if you are living in rural areas or read in the newspapers or seen on TV — of farmers commiting suicides. Many such farmers had borrowed money for farming and other purposes. It was found that when they were unable to pay back due to crop failure, insufficient income and employment opportunities, they took such steps. Collect information relating to such cases and discuss in the classroom. Ø Visit banks that cater to rural areas. They may be primary agricultural cooperative banks, land development banks, regional rural banks or district cooperative banks. Collect details such as how many rural households borrowed from them, amount generally borrowed, kinds of collateral used, interest rates and dues. Ø If farmers who borrowed from cooperative banks could not pay back due to crop failure and other reasons, their loans should be waived otherwise they may take drastic decisions like committing suicides. Do you agree? RURAL DEVELOPMENT 103 2015-16(20/01/2015) 6.4 AGRICULTURAL MARKET SYSTEM lack of storage? Therefore, state intervention became necessary to Have you ever asked yourself how food regulate the activities of the private grains, vegetables and fruits that we traders. consume daily come from different parts Let us discuss four such measures of the country? The mechanism that were initiated to improve the through which these goods reach marketing aspect. The first step was different places depends on the market regulation of markets to create orderly channels. Agricultural marketing is a process that involves the assembling, and transparent marketing conditions. storage, processing, transportation, By and large, this policy benefited packaging, grading and distribution of farmers as well as consumers. However, different agricultural commodities there is still a need to develop about across the country. 27,000 rural periodic markets as Prior to independence, farmers, regulated market places to realise the while selling their produce to traders, full potential of rural markets. Second suffered from faulty weighing and component is provision of physical manipulation of accounts. Farmers infrastructure facilities like roads, who did not have the required railways, warehouses, godowns, cold information on prices prevailing in storages and processing units. The markets were often forced to sell at low current infrastructure facilities are quite prices. They also did not have proper inadequate to meet the growing demand storage facilities to keep back their and need to be improved. Cooperative produce for selling later at a better marketing, in realising fair prices for price. Do you know that even today, farmers’ products, is the third aspect of more than 10 per cent of goods government initiative. The success of produced in farms are wasted due to milk cooperatives in transforming the Fig. 6.1 Regulated market yards benefit farmers as well as consumers 104 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015)  Work These Out Ø Visit a nearby vegetable and fruit market. Observe and identify different characteristics of the market. Identify the place of origin of at least ten different fruits and vegetables and distance travelled to reach the market. Further, look at the modes of transport and its implication on prices. Ø Most small towns have regulated market yards. Farmers can go to these markets and sell their produce. They can also store their goods in the yard. Visit one regulated market yard; collect the details of its functioning, kind of goods coming to the yard and how prices are fixed. social and economic landscape of Agricultural marketing has come Gujarat and some other parts of the a long way with the intervention of the country is testimony to the role of government in various forms. Some cooperatives. However cooperatives have scholars argue that commercialisation received a setback during the recent past of agriculture offers tremendous scope due to inadequate coverage of farmer for farmers to earn higher incomes members, lack of appropriate link provided the government intervention between marketing and processing is restricted. What do you think about cooperatives and inefficient financial this view? management. The fourth element is the policy instruments like (i) assurance of Emerging Alternate Marketing minimum support prices (MSP) for Channels: It has been realised that if agricultural products (ii) maintenance farmers directly sell their produce to of buffer stocks of wheat and rice consumers, it increases their incomes. by Food Corporation of India and Some examples of these channels are (iii) distribution of food grains and sugar Apni Mandi (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan); Hadaspar Mandi (Pune); through PDS. These instruments are Rythu Bazars (vegetable and fruit aimed at protecting the income of the markets in Andhra Pradesh and farmers and providing foodgrains at a Telangana) and Uzhavar Sandies subsidised rate to the poor. However, (farmers markets in Tamil Nadu). despite government intervention, private Further, several national and trade (by moneylenders, rural political multinational fast food chains are elites, big merchants and rich farmers) increasingly entering into contracts/ predominates agricultural markets. The alliances with farmers to encourage need for government intervention is them to cultivate farm products imminent particularly when a large (vegetables, fruits, etc.) of the desired share of agricultural products, is quality by providing them with not only handled by the private sector. seeds and other inputs but also assured RURAL DEVELOPMENT 105 2015-16(20/01/2015) procurement of the produce at pre- season, in areas where there are decided prices. It is argued that such inadequate irrigation facilities, it arrangements will help in reducing the becomes difficult to find gainful price risks of farmers and would also employment. Therefore expansion expand the markets for farm products. into other sectors is essential to Do you think such arrangements raise provide supplementary gainful incomes of small farmers. employment and in realising higher levels of income for rural people to overcome poverty and other Work This Out tribulations. Hence, there is a need to focus on allied activities, non-farm Ø Visit one such alternative employment and other emerging marketing system which farmers alternatives of livelihood, though in your locality, or in the there are many other options available neighbourhood rural areas, use. for providing sustainable livelihoods How are they different from in rural areas. regulated market yards? Should they be encouraged and supported As agriculture is already by the government? Why and how? overcrowded, a major proportion of the Discuss. increasing labour force needs to find alternate employment opportunities in other non-farm sectors. Non-farm 6.5 DIVERSIFICATION INTO PRODUCTIVE economy has several segments in it; ACTIVITIES Diversification includes two aspects - one relates to change in cropping pattern and the other relates to a shift of workforce from agriculture to other allied activities (livestock, poultry, fisheries etc.) and non-agriculture sector. The need for diversification arises from the fact that there is greater risk in depending exclusively on farming for livelihood. Diversification towards new areas is necessary not only to reduce the risk from agriculture sector but also to provide productive sustainable livelihood options to rural people. Much of the agricultural employment activities are concentrated in the Fig. 6.2 Jaggery making is an allied activity Kharif season. But during the Rabi of the farming sector 106 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015)  Box 6.2: Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture (TANWA) Tamil Nadu Women in Agricultur e (TANWA) is a project initiated in T amil Nadu to train women in latest agricultural techniques. It induces women to actively participate in raising agricultural productivity and family income. At a Farm Women’s Gr oup in Thiruchirapalli, run by Anthoniammal, trained women are successfully making and selling vermicompost and earning money from this venture. Many other Farm Women’s Groups are cr eating savings in their group by functioning like mini banks through a micro-credit system. With the accumulated savings, they promote small-scale household activities like mushroom cultivation, soap manufacture, doll making or other income- generating activities. some possess dynamic linkages that production provides increased stability permit healthy growth while others are in income, food security, transport, fuel in subsistence, low productivity and nutrition for the family without propositions. The dynamic sub-sectors disrupting other food-producing include agro-processing industries, activities. Today, livestock sector alone food processing industries, leather provides alternate livelihood options to industry, tourism, etc. Those sectors over 70 million small and marginal which have the potential but seriously farmers including landless labourers. A lack infrastructure and other support significant number of women also find include traditional home-based employment in the livestock sector. industries like pottery, crafts, Chart 6.1 shows the distribution of handlooms etc. Majority of rural livestock in India. Poultry accounts for women find employment in agriculture the largest share with 58 per cent while men generally look for non-farm Chart 6.1: Distribution of Poultry and employment. In recent Livestock in India, 2012 times, women have also begun looking for non-farm jobs (see Box 6.2). Animal Husbandry: In India, the farming community uses the mixed crop-livestock farming system — cattle, goats, fowl are the widely held species. Livestock RURAL DEVELOPMENT 107 2015-16(20/01/2015)  important productive sectors for diversification. Fisheries: The fishing community regards the water body as ‘mother’ or ‘provider’. The water bodies consisting of sea, oceans, rivers, lakes, natural aquatic ponds, streams etc. are, therefore, an integral and life-giving source for the fishing community. In Fig. 6.3 Sheep rearing — an important income India, after progressive increase in augmenting activity in rural areas budgetary allocations and introduction followed by others. Other animals which of new technologies in fisheries and include camels, asses, horses, ponies aquaculture, the development of and mules are in the lowest rung. India fisheries has come a long way. had about 300 million cattle, including Presently, fish production from inland 108 million buffaloes, in 2012. sources contributes about 64 per cent Performance of the Indian dairy sector to the total fish production and the over the last three decades has been balance 36 per cent comes from the quite impressive. Milk production in marine sector (sea and oceans). Today the country has increased by more than total fish production accounts for five times between 1960-2012. This 0.8 per cent of the total GDP. In India, can be attributed mainly to the West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, successful implementation of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu ‘Operation Flood’. It is a system are major fish producing states. A large whereby all the farmers can pool their share of fishworker families are poor. milk produced according to different Rampant underemployment, low per grading (based on quality) and the capita earnings, absence of mobility of same is processed and marketed to labour to other sectors and a high rate urban centres through cooperatives. In of illiteracy and indebtedness are some this system the farmers are assured of of the major problems fishing a fair price and income from the supply community face today. Even though of milk to urban markets. As pointed women are not involved in active out earlier Gujarat state is held as a fishing, about 60 per cent of the success story in the efficient workforce in export marketing and 40 implementation of milk cooperatives per cent in internal marketing are which has been emulated by many women. There is a need to increase states. Meat, eggs, wool and other by- credit facilities through cooperatives products are also emerging as and SHGs for fisherwomen to meet the 108 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015) working capital requirements for marketing. Horticulture: Blessed with a varying climate and soil conditions, India has adopted growing of diverse horti- cultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, tuber crops, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices and plantation crops. These crops play a vital role in providing food and nutrition, besides addressing employment concerns. Horticulture sector contributes nearly one-third of Fig. 6.5 Women in rural households take up bee- the value of agriculture output and six keeping as an entrepreneurial activity per cent of Gross Domestic Product of India. India has emerged as a world harvesting, nursery maintenance, leader in producing a variety of fruits hybrid seed production and tissue like mangoes, bananas, coconuts, culture, propagation of fruits and cashew nuts and a number of spices flowers and food processing are highly and is the second largest producer of remunerative employment options for fruits and vegetables. Economic women in rural areas. condition of many farmers engaged in Though, in terms of numbers, our horticulture has improved and it has livestock population is quite impressive become a means of improving livelihood but its productivity is quite low as for many unprivileged classes. Flower compared to other countries. It requires improved technology and promotion of good breeds of animals to enhance productivity. Improved veterinary care and credit facilities to small and marginal farmers and landless labourers would enhance sustainable livelihood options through livestock production. Production of fisheries has already increased substantially. However problems Fig. 6.4 Poultry has the largest share of total livestock in India related to over- fishing and RURAL DEVELOPMENT 109 2015-16(20/01/2015) pollution need to be regulated and technologies and its applications, controlled. Welfare programmes for the prices, weather and soil conditions for fishing community have to be reoriented growing different crops etc. Though IT in a manner which can provide long-term is, by itself, no catalyst of change but gains and sustenance of livelihoods. it can act as a tool for releasing the Horticulture has emerged as a successful creative potential and knowledge sustainable livelihood option and needs embedded in the society. It also has to be encouraged significantly. potential of employment generation in Enhancing its role requires investment rural areas. Experiments with IT and in infrastructure like electricity, cold its application to rural development are storage systems, marketing linkages, carried out in different parts of India small-scale processing units and (see Box 6.3). technology improvement and dissemination. 6.6 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIC FARMING Other Alternate Livelihood Options: The IT has revolutionised many sectors In recent years, awareness of the in the Indian economy. There is broad harmful effect of chemical-based consensus that IT can play a critical fertilisers and pesticides on our health role in achieving sustainable is on a rise. Conventional agriculture development and food security in the relies heavily on chemical fertilisers twenty-first century. Governments can and toxic pesticides etc., which enter predict areas of food insecurity and the food supply, penetrate the water vulnerability using appropriate sources, harm the livestock, deplete the information and software tools so that soil and devastate natural eco-systems. action can be taken to prevent or Efforts in evolving technologies which reduce the likelihood of an emergency. are eco-friendly are essential for It also has a positive impact on the sustainable development and one agriculture sector as it can disseminate such technology which is eco-friendly information regarding emerging is organic farming. In short, organic Box 6.3: Adoption of Village by Parliamentarians In October, 2014, The Government of India introduced a new scheme called Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Under this scheme, Members of India's Parliament need to identify and develop one village from their constituencies. To begin with, MPs can develop one village as a model village by 2016, and two more by 2019, covering over 2,500 villages in India. According to the scheme, the village can have a population of 3,000-5,000 in the plains and 1,000-3,000 in the hills and should not be MPs' own or their spouse's village. MPs are expected to facilitate a village development plan, motivate villagers to take up activities and built infrastructure in the areas of health, nutrition and education. Source: www.pib.nic.in accessed on 24 October 2014 110 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015)  Box 6.4: Organic Food Organic food is growing in popularity across the world. Many countries have around 10 per cent of their food system under organic farming. There are many retail chains and supermarkets which are accorded with green status to sell organic food. Moreover, organic foods command higher price of around 10-100 per cent than conventional ones. agriculture is a whole system of is on a rise. Studies across countries farming that restores, maintains and have shown that organically grown food enhances the ecological balance. There has more nutritional value than is an increasing demand for chemical farming thus providing us organically grown food to enhance with healthy foods. Since organic food safety throughout the world (see farming requires more labour input Box 6.4). than conventional farming, India will find organic farming an attractive Benefits of Organic Farming: Organic proposition. Finally, the produce is agriculture offers a means to substitute pesticide-free and produced in an costlier agricultural inputs (such as environmentally sustainable way (see HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, Box 6.5). pesticides etc.) with locally produced Popularising organic farming organic inputs that are cheaper and requires awareness and willingness on thereby generate good returns on the part of farmers to adapt to new investment. Organic agriculture also technology. Inadequate infrastructure generates income through exports as and the problem of marketing the the demand for organically grown crops products are major concerns which 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 then Dir ector of the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, famously remarked, “Do you want India to go naked?” At present, as many as 130 farmers have committed 1,200 hectares of land to grow cotton organically on the 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 of Indian farmers are marginal farmers owning about less than 0.8 hectare but accounting for 20 per cent of India’s cultivable land. For such farmers, organic agriculture is more profitable in terms of money and soil conservation in the long run. Source: Lyla Bavadam, A Green Alternative, Frontline, 29 July 2005. RURAL DEVELOPMENT 111 2015-16(20/01/2015) need to be addressed apart from an spectacular changes occur, the rural appropriate agriculture policy to sector might continue to remain promote organic farming. It has been backward. There is a greater need observed that the yields from organic today to make rural areas more farming are less than modern vibrant through diversification into agricultural farming in the initial years. dairying, poultry, fisheries, Therefore, small and marginal farmers vegetables and fruits and linking up may find it difficult to adapt to large- the rural production centres with the scale production. Organic produce may urban and foreign (export) markets also have more blemishes and a shorter to realise higher returns on the shelf life than sprayed produce. investments for the products. Moreover choice in production of Moreover, infrastructure elements off-season crops is quite limited in like credit and marketing, farmer- organic farming. Nevertheless, organic friendly agricultural policies and a farming helps in sustainable constant appraisal and dialogue development of agriculture and India between farmers’ groups and state has a clear advantage in producing agricultural departments are organic products for both domestic and essential to realise the full potential international markets. Do you think of the sector. food and non-food items cultivated Today we cannot look at the using organic farming methods will be environment and rural development as cheaper? two distinct subjects. There is need to invent or procure alternate sets of eco- 6.7 CONCLUSION friendly technologies that lead to It is clear that until and unless some sustainable development in different Work These Out Ø Make a list of five popular items that are organically produced in India. Ø Visit a nearby super market, vegetable shop and/or a departmental shop. Identify a few products. Prepare a chart comparing a few goods that are produced organically and in the normal way on the basis of their prices, shelf life, quality and the kind of advertisement through which they are popularised. Ø Visit a horticultural farm in the nearby locality. Collect the details of goods that they cultivate on the farm. They could have diversified their cropping patterns. Discuss with them the merits and demerits of the diversification. 112 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015) circumstances. From these, each rural illustrations (which means success community can choose whatever will stories of rural development suit its purpose. First of all, then, we experiments that have already been need to learn from, and also try out carried out in similar conditions in when found relevant, practices from different parts of India), to speed up the available set of ‘best practice’ this process of ‘learning by doing’. Recap Ø Rural development is quite a comprehensive term but it essentially means a plan of action for the development of rural areas which are lagging behind in socio-economic development. Ø There is a need for improving the quantity and quality of infrastructure in rural areas such as banking, marketing, storage, transport and communications etc. to realise its true potential. Ø Diversification towards new areas such as livestock, fisheries and other non-agricultural activities is necessary not only to reduce the risk from agriculture sector but also to provide productive sustainable livelihood options to our rural people. Ø The importance of organic farming as an environmentally sustainable production process is on a rise and needs to be promoted. EXERCISES 1. What do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues in rural development. 2. Discuss the importance of credit in rural development. 3. Explain the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of the poor. 4. Explain the steps taken by the government in developing rural markets. 5. Why is agricultural diversification essential for sustainable livelihoods? RURAL DEVELOPMENT 113 2015-16(20/01/2015)  6. Critically evaluate the role of the rural banking system in the process of rural development in India. 7. What do you mean by agricultural marketing? 8. Mention some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agricultural marketing. 9. What are the alternative channels available for agricultural marketing? Give some examples. 10. Distinguish between ‘Green Revolution’ and ‘Golden Revolution’. 11. Do you think various measures taken by the government to improve agricultural marketing are sufficient? Discuss. 12. Explain the role of non-farm employment in promoting rural diversification. 13. Bring out the importance of animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture as a source of diversification. 14. ‘Information technology plays a very significant role in achieving sustainable development and food security’ — comment. 15. What is organic farming and how does it promote sustainable development? 16. Identify the benefits and limitations of organic farming. 17. Enlist some problems faced by farmers during the initial years of organic farming. REFERENCES A CHAR YA , S.S. 2004. Agricultural Marketing, State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. A LAGH, Y.K. 2004. State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study — an Overview. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. C HAWLA, N.K., M.P.G. KURUP and V. P. SHARMA. 2004. Animal Husbandry, State of the Indian Far mer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. D EHADRAI , P.V. and Y.S. YADAV. 2004. Fisheries Development, State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. J ALAN , BIMAL. (Ed.). 1992. The Indian Economy: Problems and Perspectives. Penguin Publication, New Delhi. 114 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2015-16(20/01/2015)  NARAYANAN, S. 2005. Organic Farming in India. NABARD Occasional Paper No: 38, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai. SINGH, H.P., P.P. DUTT A and M. SUDHA. 2004. Horticulture Development, State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. SINGH, SURJIT and VIDYA SAGAR. 2004. Agricultural Credit in India: State of the Indian Farmer, a Millennium Study. Academic Foundation, New Delhi. SINHA , V.K. 1998. Challenges in Rural Development. Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi. TODARO, MICHAEL P. 1987. Economic Development in the Third World. Orient Longman Ltd, Hyderabad. TOPPO, E. 2004. Organic Vegetable Gardening: Grow Your Own Vegetables. Unit for Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Government Reports Successful Governance Initiatives and Best Practices: Experiences from Indian States, Government of India in Coordination with Human Resource Development Centre and UNDP, Planning Commission, Delhi, 2002. Annual Reports, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi. Website www.dahd.nic.in RURAL DEVELOPMENT 115 2015-16(20/01/2015)