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National rural employment programmeObjectivesNational Rural Employment Programme is the revised version of the Food for WorkProgramme with suitable modifications. Started in 1980 with the aim of creatingadditional employment opportunities in rural areas particu!arly during lean periods, theprogramme has succeeded in making a dent into the problems of rural poverty. TheNREP simultaneously would boost rural economy by creating durable communityassets through taking up programmes of deve!opment in afforestation, land developmentand conservation, drinking water supply, rural roads etc. The programme now formspart of the Sixth Plan.

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Co'nstruction of roadshas not only createdemployment opport-unities on a wstscale but also helpedin strengthening therural infrastructure;

Keeping and rearingof milch animals hasa special significancein our rural economy.

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Enquiries reg~ng Subscrip~ons, i\aeJK:ie.,' etc.,Busi~e~!~MaDag'er, PubllcatloiU 'Divbio~

Patiala Hous~, New Delhi-IIOOGlI Tel, 387983

Editorial Office" Klish! Bhav.h, Ne•• Delbl.nOOOIrelepbone.: 384888 & 38%496

co'-': Ji :. • EdIto~ •. Reoldelice: 615920

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In' this iss~e we carty a'n 'enlighieneD study on thisimborta~t sU"biect'of agro'bd~ed i~dll;tties. We aresure thit otrreaders wilL fi~d ,it very useful and in-•• ,- - •... "'1

formative.

These itwo unhealthy developments could have. beenavoided if there would have heen 'large scale growth?f,agro-based industries in and arou'nd rural areasspread throughout the country.

By providing employment opportunities near thevillages, the growth of agro-based industries will lJe1pin 'eliminating the main reason of migration of run;1people to the, urban centres. 'This 'will also help illkeeping the' socio-ecotiomic setting' of the rural fami-.lies intact and act' as an incentive to the farmers top;od~ce mo;e bY :e~suring ~Wrpri~e for 'th~ir pto;

.t. . .., , ..duce., In. due, course, ,this will enable them to enjoyboth the benefits of, tlie village life as well as, ameni,'tiej oCurban life.' 10 brief it \vould lead .to the growth'~iself-con'iai~edniraf townships with basic ~rban:aJTl~n;tie~iike hospit~ls," e(iucatio~al r'l1~titUtiOnsandsh6pping :c~~t~es etc. which' are a ne~e~sary adjunct ~f... '/ .. ". -". -' ',.,. .the gr.owth 'of, agro'based industrial celltres.

The basic objective of fntroducin~ planning in Indiais I", achieve a balanced economic development

of the country. A balanced ~onomic developmentimplies the growth of all the sectors .of the economy asalso of the various regions.

Editorial

A review of the planned economic development in thet.~oun!;Y:s.o~f~r indicates numerous features some ofwhich are not conducive t.o the social and economic

,"weU-being of the mass"'. Despite over three decades. . ~-' .of planning, the country today has wide disparities inthe level of development of various regions. Migration

.:0C: million'soL tural people t.o the towns and cities hasled to large scale growth of ill-planned and ill-equipp-ed :urb.an. centres Ie3;din.g to numerous socia-economicproblems: ,,'" " '

EDITOR

COVER,JIVAN ADALJA

RATNA JUNEJAI

" I ASSTT. EDITORi' N: N.SHARMAI

.. I SUB. EDITORI, ' .'PAP.AMJEET G. SINGH

I!Ir

Vol.xxxiNo. 13

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IMarch 16, 1983 1,.,j'--"'''''1f,!"io.~'_/.!:,' ".,PhaJguna 25,1904 , . _.~.>' :. '.' 1- •

HurukshetraI

, Iijndia's Journal of rural development)

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1CONTENTSI

HOW AGRO'BASED: INDUSTRIES CANPROMOTE RURAL DEVF,LOPMENT

" ' i,'i y. VCllk~i~~'rIRDP IN POVERTY ALL;VIATI~N

, I' A. K. Majumdar1-.

BAIIIKSCAN HELP IN TRANSFER OFi TECHNOLOGYI A. R. Patel

PLANNING FOR VII1LAGE INDUSTRIES,f' . Fahimuddi/l

NEED TO BRING ABOUT RlJRALTRANSFORMATIONII . Ravindra Kumar1

POPULARISINd BIOGAS PLANTSI Bihari L. Patel! -

THEY SHOW THE WAY ...I

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SINGLl' COPY: Re. ISUBSCRlPTIONFOR. ()NE YEAR: Its. 20

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l'f .• ,KkJRUKSHETRA M:lreh 16, 1983.

The technological revolution, industrialization andhigh levels of productivity arc attracting more and;inoie'(people from the orbit of agriculture and there-'by from the rural community, Two main factor,according to the ILO investigation for movement from.,~grtcultureI ate ,.:~'thelevel of relative incomes and,the. opportunities for non-agricultural employment".'There is a great pressure of population on land andIhe same', wi]] increase further with the advance of'agro;tec~rioiogy an? ,higher levels of productivity, Itis, therefore; necessary to ensure that the agro- ','based industries and activities of various types and

'also i ihe' amenities of life arc so developed in the"'centre'"of' an area comprising a score- or more vil-lages that the surplus rural population will then bea~le~p en.iOJl"",ot,~,,the benefits of the village-life,pariieuJarly healthy atmosphere, and the amenities.: ~". • _, -,,' ..4.'. :',.- -, _l~.." .

IP!J1;Le"~rbav--1ife,,, su~h. as schools, cinemas, shops,and' hotels, Development on these lines will go a long.,way. ill."preserving "the' decp-ro'oted and'. closely'knitt~rural~ociety";' which'rJ'las at present a :more definitef; ~m!l:ge.tharr~.~'the_-amorphous urban conglomerate"o'"

Professor IOsmania'guidance

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The author takes this opportunity to thankJ. Satyanarayana, Dean, Faculty of Commerce,University Hyderabad for his valuable and inspiringin completing the thesis work.

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H 'j 'b 'd'~:d ., 'OW agrQ~jlSe,: 'Itl .".ustfles can

,promote' rural development'••• ,,::>.If, i ,.'nft."'.'~tl !.'it'II;!' . . t;, , ' j , , - \ ' V_VENKAIAH

Faculty Member; ~Institu,te of Public Enterprise, Osmania Univcrsit)' Campus, Hydcrah:l.~,,' l 'fn ~-...tr,-} )~1'.#' t, +. ,:7}('f,f.',ll,! (

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A GRo-BASEDINDUSTRIEShave 'assumed crucial im- village society are not merely economic e1Jtitiesbut alsoportancein the economic planning and prd~ds~~j~ff sp~,!~lJ an? )~\t~tl!~~I,c.~t!.!~~s,.. indi~ati!1g.distin~t wa'ys

our country due to the defects in the spatial and ~ of hfe and' characterIstIcs, •Family umts and sO~JaIstruCtuval aspects of o.ur economy, .t.h.~'ico~spicuours i con.-ncc-,ti~ns' are usually stronger, mor~sympatheticfeature of which has so far been the concentration of I and bealthy in a village than in a city, In cities, notinqustries in a v~ry fe~ {egio~'s, lhat 190 in la. fe~ r 91iJy~th~rgmJIY:lun}ts ~re~wdlken~d,but also the fqrni.-urban centres, The overcrowding of population and f lY'de's,' Mart's Ipneliriess in. a city'has become acongestion of industries in a few' regioris' Mve' 'given seriou's problem' (or himself as well as the . society,rise to numerous problems some of which, such as though it is unavoidable product of urbanisation.lwusi~g, transport, wa~c-r_ s,~,?,P~.¥l :d-,~ai,nag~.al1~ A~(is 'well known, I a' 1/ number' of "urban problem's,slum~, have b,ec9,!"e v~ry aCllte and have adversely whi~h arc referred to earlier, have adversely affected' .~affected the urban life. In the light 'of these prob- not only the productivity of industries but also thelems and in view of the fact that the country is'rich I morale of the 'work,,"rs. (' J I !iri v~'ri6us types of 'eash crops and,dther.materials .fe- Iquircd for indus,tries, the importanc~ of. ~gr(),Qasedindustries in the economy of the country need, not be ,Iover-emphasized,,' Agro-based industries are linkedup' with agricultural ~ctivity and have~ consequ~_ntly,an inherent tendency towards' decentralisation .an'd Idispersal. 'Development of a network of small-scale I

'and agro-based industries, as in s.ome States, likePunjab an\! Haryana, may be 'expected to not only.result in rapid industrial growth but', also to reducethe ine.quitabie distrib~tion -Of b~tJiinc~me and 'ec.~- ,nomic opportunities in different parts :;{ the "co'urttrY'1and among different'sections: of the popiJllitioi" '?

I. ,Balanced economic growth' through .tbe. develop- 'Iiment .of aliro-based industries, ism;t ';"~r'ely a~ecO- .n.omic problem but als~ ~- social arid 'a :~~lt~hilproblem, This is so because'the urban sd2iety.and the

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, Selection of villages and Industrial places

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Methodology

AlagadapaBaiajinagar

Chandapuram

Name of the Villageselected for the' study .

Objectives of the study,'"i.

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Name and place of agro-basedIndustrial. Unit (s)

, E Sugar Factory (NSF) Lid'.)Alagadapa

~.2: Rice Mills, K(;dad _3: Tobacco Proces'sing Esta~

blishment, Nandigama .4. Khandasari Sugar Factory,, Lingayapalem - Lingayapalem-'-'-'--------~,----- ------

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T'-HISIS ESSENTIALl'Ya sample study and is eXc!lI-, sively based Ollthe empirical data. The critefia'forthe selectioll of sample for the study are as follows:.-"Selection of Industries,-ln order to find out thei~p~ct of' different agro"based industries on the mral'areas, four agro-based industries arc selected forthe study, These are: (i) sligar industry, (Ii) rice mil.ling industry, (iii) tobacco proeessing industry and'(Iv) 'kliiiridasari 'su'.~ar industry, These four indnstriesare'selected in"termsof their predominant place intlie, Stallf'of Andlira Pradesh.

'Y.c' fiE osdtCTivES of the present investigation, which, ! -is ot cnipirjca! nature, are as follows:

;,1 i'o to st~iW the impact of agro-based industries.(,,....... on rural employment;, .'

,'(2,) to I,examine 'the nature of relationshipwee'll the agro-based' industries andcropping pattern;

(3) to analyse the changing occupational struc-ture tif rurai population;

[4'5"t6' ehiniire ihe infliJence of agro-based in-d II dilstfies on the functioning of rmal l?bour

~rilarket iH terms df wage rates, consequentupori 'the. pressure of demand for laponr;

, )(5) to critically examine the related changes in

, the ineome levels of rural population;, (6) to ana1ysethe migration in its multi-

dimensional aspects; and"':" '(7) to make a comparative analysis of the

soeio-ecoliomie impaet of different kinds ofagt~base.d' industries;

. _.•,I' .' .. "Selection of "illages and Industries )'Iaees.- This

is mainly an intensive s'tudy of four selected villagescoveie'd'15), fOur"different types of agro-based ind~s-tties, The,linkage of a'groCbased industries with thevlIh\ges is shown in the foHowing table.

TABLE 1

Of the four industrial places selected, two (I.e.,Nos. ohe and ;four)' are'villages (rural areas), TheiilipadCdf' the"setting' up of agro:based industrial units

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tt is In this' context thai Ithe agro'b:1serl industriesassume paramount 'significarlce:' Agro"based iridus-tries are the cOrner-stone ,of kconohiies of developingcountries such as India as !tiev ,stiike deep-roOts forfurther indicre-nous e-conomik~ .-environment. and, it .

~ "-.' I . .vould not be .rational to consider them merely as ,a

hango,ver of traditionalist Ild~tilogY'. "It is neces~~rYJtherefore, that atieast an impbrtant part of the deve-,lopment effort should hypa?s (he pig Cities ~nd.' bedirectly concerned with the cr~ation of ',an 'Agro-,industrial structure' in the runil and small-town areas,In this connection' it is neces~ary, to emphasise ,thatthe, primary need is wQl:k placts" literally millions of\,;orkp'lac'es'.. N~ one, of cour~e, would s~~ges~thatoutput per-man is unimportant; but the pnmaryconsidera-ti~-n can nbt b-e to ma:kimise 'output tk"i'man;it must be to maximise work ~pportunities' Jar theUl]emp]oyed' and under"employ~d,,1 FOf' a 'poor 'manthe ,chance' to work is tbe grelitbst of all needs," and

. c;'cn poorly paid iind re1ative-l)/~.U11Ptodtictive:v.'ork isbetter than idleness"'. I

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Agi'O'"based'ihdu'Stties inA:R.,, ' , " \'" ' .• l

A'GRO-BASEDINDUSTRiES'play'a' dominant role in the, industrial economy of A'ndhJa Pradesh.' The study

(belsed' oli ASI data) reveaied'that tHe agto:basedindustries are- more labour-intensive .'as 'compared to11On-agro-oased industries jn~;An4hra' Pradesh. Fur...ither, the share of agr~based inaustries in tlie valueadded is much higher than their Ish'are' inpfod'uctive

(capita!. Obviously" the ratio I of. yalue added; totapital is much higIier in the case' of agto-bosed in-dustries than in' non-agro,btlsed -illdu';tries, I'll other,vol'd\;, the agro-based' industries'lha've higher capital

, productivity as 'compared to non-agro,based indus-tries aild are characterised by',htigl1 labour-intensity

" 'I'and' high-labour, productivity,. 'I' '

IThe State of Andhra Pradesh accounted for a re-

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latively high share in the case of agro-based industriesin teHns of factories and 'CmployJl1~ntil] 1969,' , TrieState j~lproved its position ,sigl]ificeiiitly'in terms of.itsshare'. inr~employIi1enr a'rid" prodifcti*e-I capitaf in' rela:.::.

• tion to its sliare in popuhitiun; by 1979',' That is, the--'share" of non•.agro~based'"iIrdustri~siiF dk ..State wasdisproportionaiely'Iess at Dotli' poiiif~ 'of: iime;', more'particularly in 1979. I

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_ "IConsidering the cOmpOsition,;of different typ'es of

agro'based'industries in' Andiita- Ptaa~sh:,tIie study haSshowl] that the industry" groUp 'Manufaeture ofbeverages; tobacco and: toblieco prdduGtS' played' a'vital rble- umOll!t: the-'agro..!b,fsedi in"2Iustrie's of the' Sfafc'between' 1969 a-(fa 1979 folibWcd;)by tlie industry'group' 'Nfanuftrclurc' of foo'd 'arid! JoodJ\pfoduds'.I";. ,~

I,'K8RUKSHETRA Matcn\'lG;i i982" I

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.is"studied with reference; W~hese two villages. Theother two industrial places (Le., Nos. two and three)are .urban areas. The impact of these two industrialplaces on the nearest village3 is studied. Tbese twovil1agesarc Balajinagar and Chandrapuram, eachloea-ted at a distancc of less than '2 kl)ls. fro,!! the respec-tive industrial places.' The rationale bebind tbeSelection of villages 1S that they ate either tbe agro-based industrial places tbemselves or the nearest to'the agro-based industrial places.

Another important f~ctor behind the selection oft~e .villages is the assured canal irrigation facility. In.ordcr to d,marcate the, impact of agro-based indus-tries on the rural economy from that of irrigation, twoof. the .villages, (i.e., AIagadapa and Balajinagar) ares~lected because these two vil1ages are covered by thea'ssured ~aqal irrigation.' On the ~ther hand, irriga-tion is of no relevance. in the, ease of the other twoviilages.In additi6n to the four villagesselecte.d forthe study, as mentioned above, another village viz.,Sherd'palie Chennaram of Oevarakonda TaIuk,'Nalgorida'OistriCt is 'selected. This village is rieithercovered by irrigation nor by agro~based industry. The,rationale behind the selection of this village is to

.. "-, ,makc a comparative study of the villages in order toidentify 'the impact of agro-based industries ~n the'rural ~c-onomy.. '

; Selection of resjJOlldents.-This study comprisesfour 'groups of respondehts. They are': (i) Agricul-turists (ie., Cultivators), (ii) Agricultural workers'(iii) Workers employed in Agro-based Industries and:(iv) Agro-based Industrial Entrcpreneurk. '

.\ -'"The data collected from the ,first two categories of

responde,nts represent the villages and ,the next twocategories represent the industrial places. Table 2 givean idea of the selection of respondents for the study.

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TABLE 2Selection of respondents Cram the villages and Industrial Places .

Name o/the village. No. of No. of No. of No. of Totalagriclt/- agricu/- agro- agro~IUrists tural based hased

wor~ers fndus~ indus-trial trialworkers Entre-

preneurs

2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Alagadapa 60 60 t04 . 1 2252. Balajinagar " 37 34 150 25 246

. 3. Challdapuram 28 24 150 I 2034. Lingayapalem 17 34 60 I 1125, Sherupalle6. Challnaram 7 8 15

149 160 464 28 801

,., While the selection of respondents in the case ofagticu1turists; '~gricultural :'workers " and agr?-based, "

industrial workers is based on 2Q.:per cent systematierandom sampling technique, the selection of agro-based industrial entrepreneurs (Le., units) is basedon the census sys~m.

Period of study.-The study broadly covers theperiod of II years i.e., from 1967-68 to 1977-78. It""is only to maintain uniformity in tbe case of alJ thevillages, tbis period is selected fat the study. Thatis, n9ne of the selected villages was covered by agro-based 'industries in 1967-68. ,Hence, it forms thebase year of the study. The year 1977-78 constitutesthc last year 6f tbe study, being the latest year ofdata collection possible for all the villages and indus-trial places.

Source of Data.-Tbe present study is mainly basedon the primary data. The data were collected bypersonal, convassiog of schedules/questionaries in theconcerned villages. Four separate questionaires werepreparcd, onc for each group of the respondents. -

Findings of the study

1.Rural Employment.- The nature of employment, • agro-based' industries was divers,,' depending uponthe nature' of agro-based, industries under considera-tion. It is observed in this study that the permanentemployment took pride of place in rice milling indus-try fol,lowed by the sugar industry. In contrast, theemployment in tobacco processing and Khandasarisugar industries was more 'of seasonal and casualnature respectively.

The composition of employment (i.e., white eollar,skilled and unskilled) depended largely upon, thenature of ,the' agro-based Industry concerned and thelevel of technology involved in it. The study revcalsthat wbiJe un,skilled workers constituted a majority inthe ease of rice milling industry, sugar industry andKhandasari sugar iodustry, almost all were skilledworkers in tbe case of tobacco processing industry.

THE SETTJNG UP ~t'fag.ro-based industries broughtagro-based industries was diverse depending upon

lages concerned. At the same time, this new croppingpattern 'threw open new employment opportunities inthe farm sector (Le. indirect employment). The re-lationship between the agro-based industr.ies and thecropping pattern has been analysed in this light.

Some of the agro-based industries are the result ofirrigation and changes in the cropping pattern. Forc-xample, in :jrrigated areas, it is the cultivation ofpaddy that led to the setting up of rice mills and notvice versa. In some other cases such as tobacco(F.CY.) and cotton, the setting up of agro-basedindustries is not linked up with the provision of irri-gation facility. 'Generally, theehanges in the crop-ping pattern and selling up df agro-based industries

KURUKSHETRA ,Mareh 16, 1983 ;

go hand in hand, The setting ~p of ag':o~based,indus-trial units is not always the sini;le factor that brjngsabO;;; chang~;kthe ~ropp~g pattern,' Some Of thesech~ngcs may hi,' due to' (rrigatipn ,also, Thus, the

.Jl£ro-based industries per sc ITIayll91 result in a ID~jor'Q~eak-thro.ugh' in the cropping pattern, Howcver,giv~I) th~. supply; of necessary inputs (i.e., w,ater,ch<;mjcal ferti)isers,. pesti<;ides, develqped seeds etc,)anc/,suitability of the soil, agJ;?-based industries canind,uce shiHs iJ) Ille cropping patteJ;!l,

The agro-based inqustries ,re~t~d emploYll1ent 01'-portllnit,ies in, qiflerent ways, ,T~ey not only provid-ed en;tployment opportunities .in the influstrial units(i,e, dir~t empl0Ymel).t) but 'lIs,? created consider-able additional' employment 'opport1Jni.ti~s in, the farn;t~nd ,te,~!i~ry'sectors, 'Theaddlti,?nal <;mpl<;>¥JTIentinthe farm sector was tbe result, of th, c~anges in. thecroppj~g pattern consequent i'P.on th~' settil'\g up ofag,O-base(1 indu~trial units., The inqease in thevolume Of farm, er,nploymj'nt depyn,ded uJ?9n the Dum-bef of wandays oflabcmr ~e.qulteg both for the newlyintroquced ('lgro~industrial J. crop and th,e replaced(non-agro-industrial) crop. .

,'KURUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

2"o.CCUPATlONAL PATTERN:, The imJla~t of.•.awo-l;>.~.se.-d~~9~st~I~s,?11_ th~o~cup'a~ion...al ~dsi~~_~!.!~.

tists, wa~ rniI!im.,!I,,!S,a very.few agri,cultuiists,pai1i-cip,ated 'jn th'.' el).trepreneurship of, agro-ba?ed indus'trips.The establishment of agro-based industries brought

significant changes in the occupational positions ofagriflll,t\lral workers, Some of the work,ers, who wereeI);lplpyedin agJ'i<;l,lltirialoccupations before the set.ting up of agro,b,!sed in(1uptries, to<;>kup agro-basedin.justdal. oGcupa1;iopsafter their setting up. Further,the persons en~ering into. t~~-work,ing-age groups fqrthe firs,t time had, been taking up agro-based industrialoc<;upatjon? and il)dependent wage work in agricultur.alsector withol\t going in. for the non-independent wagcwork ];hus. it has ~en inferred ,that there was a.break in' th~' c~nventional cycle of 'occupation byage'. -Fo1l9~ingthis, th.~re.w~s a s~vere deart!I inthe aVailability of non-independent v.:orkers in thea2Ticultural sector, even with incre::).sed -remunerati90.Ig,othe~ ;";o~dsotbe~e \Va,s'a chN/ge .il),th,e att,i\\Ideof agricultural work.ers and, they v.:anted to bc inpe-pendent wage-earners rath~r ,tha,n non-il)d,ependentwage~workers.. Inciden,taIIY, they were neither PU\\C-IT!ar ill allyndi,ng to. their \York nor sincere in doingthe work due to the pressure of demand for agricul,-tural labour. In short, the role of agro-based indus-tries i~vital in improving the occ,npat~onal ~tatus o!agricultural workers since they provide seasonal e~-, ployment to the agricultural workers in the n~m-

iurriculturaI season.' '"'-A;';';"'bas~d industriaf occupations have added' a~-- -.' ,- ',. . . .new' and important dimension in the. occupa,tional~t~ucture of tbe rural arcas as a result-'of the" sellingup ~f ag,.o,based indus,tries, Depend,~ce' On a sin,iieoO,cupation declined considerabll,' an~ th<:.rewas "x-p,ansion of, occ;:upations with thy t~k\'1g, up of awo,based 'industrial occupations in addition'to their ear-lier occupations. Thus, there' has been improvementin the occupational ,tatus of the workers engagedear.lier ih agrieultural occupations and now employedin a~ro-based industries. '

A great majoritx of, the workers employed ill agro-based industrial units were drawn frOl1l the agricul.turalsector a'nd particularly from those of 'wage-earning- m;cupations. The 'local 'agricultur~l w,orkerstoo]c up inost of the unskilled, semi-skilled. anilmanual jobs.in agro-based industries .. One of the important findings is that thcre has 'been

shift from non. remunerative and less prestigiousagric~Hgral 9,cP.1JW,tlon~ t(( mor~ remu':"-eratjve andb,ett,er agt:i~~I!uralo~cup[J.ti9ns,bec~use of irrigation;and from',agricu!turaloc.cupations to a!!fo-based indus-t~i~i '~~"Pati';~;' becaJls~ of agrO-based industries, Inthe latter case, the, nature of. iwpact depended uponthe nature of the agro-based industry. IIi rice milling,tobacco-processing and kha'ndasari sugar, the rural

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population employed earlier in agriculture was subs-tantially. benefited. But in sugar factory,' only thoseemployed in unskilled jobs in the seas~ wete essen-tially drawn ,from agricnltural occupations. It wasnot so with the other workers because of the natureof jobs which required educatiollal qualifications orskills.

. The shift in or increase in the number of occupa-tions depends upon the nature of employment in theagro-based' industries. For instince, in the case ofthose employed in rice milling industry, there was 'ashift in their occupation; whereas in the case of thoseemployed in other industries, i.e., sugar, Khandasarisugar and' tobacco processing, it was -only taking upagro-based industrial occupation as a supplementary..occupation in addition to their. original occupatiou.

.. The role of agriculturists .was pivotal in stm1i'ng theKhandasari sugar factories. and rice mills. It )Vasthe agriculturists, as mentioned em;lier, who took upentrepreJ;leurship of the agro-based industrial, units.However, these agriculturist-entrepreneurs did,. notdissociate. themselves from .a'gricultural occupation.The .participation of agriculturists in the entrepreneur-ship, of tobacco processing establishme'nts is found to. .be minimal..

3.-WAGE STRUCTURE : The setting up of agro-. - .based industries in of' around _ the' rural areasinfluenced the wage levels and structure of workersin rural areas. This was true in the case of all thefour. selected villages irrespective of the nature of theagro-based indmtry concerned. Tht< increase inwages had been more i'n the case of women and child-ren than in that. of .male workers. In other words,the decrease, in the. wage differentials among male,female, and child workers was spectacnlar in the agri-cultural sector during the period of study.

In the case of agricultural annual wage workers,the increase of wages was more in the ca~e of villagescovered by assured canal irrigation and agro-basediJ;ldustries than' in. the case of the villages covered byagro:based iQdustry alone.

, The inipact of irrigation, over a shorter period ofihree years; had been more than that of the agre-based industry, over a 'longer period of seven years,on the agricultural wages for all categories of labour-men, women and children 'and for all types of work.

The 'harvesting and threshing' operation was thehighest paid in both the. years (i.e., 1967-68 and.1977-78) in the villages having agro-based industJjes.'Ploughing' took the next position and 'sowing, weed-ihg and transplantation' were the lowest paid typesof work.

8

A comparison of the wages of agricultural ,,'orkersfrom the selected villages with the wages of unskilledworkers employed in agro-based .industries showsthat the wages of unskilled workers which were thelowest in agro-based industries were perceptiblyo.higher than the. highest wages in agriculture. Further,~the present high wages in agriculture could be anoff-shoot of the setting up of agro-based industries,but for which they would have been lower. Thus,the impact of agro-ba.sed industries on the rural wagestructure is two-fold~irect and iildirect. Firstly,the agro-based industries employed agricnltumlworkers for its unskilled operations and were payi,ngmuch higher wages than the wages paid in agriculture.This is the direct jmpact on the wage levels of agri-cultural workers and their earning capacity. Secondly,the agro-.based industries created pressure of demandfor agricultural workers since they created additionalemployment i'n the farm sector through the cultivationof agro-based industrial crops on the one hand, ana.,drew a considerable number of workers from:. theexisting agricultural labour force of the villages onthe other. A sequel of this was a perceptible in-crease in 'the wage rates for agricultural operations.

4-RURAL INCOMES :, The impact of agro-based• industries on the incomes of agriculturists mainly

depends upon the nature of the crop linked to theagro-basedindustry. Since the cultivation of agro-based industrial crop involved risk and huge capitalinvestment, the farmers were either benefited fromhuge profits or incu;;;:cd losses depending upondifferent factors-natural, marketing, governmentalpolicy of pricing agricultural produce etc. Thefarmers with larger land holdings were either benefitedfrom more incomes or incurred huge -losses becauseof agro-based industries than the farmers with smallsize holdings. It is so particularly because of theirability to cultivate agro-based industrial crops withlarge .cale investment. Further, it is also found thatthere was no definite relationship between the size ofth~ land-holdings ,and the'Tange of income becauseof the unpredictable nature and the risk involved in.the cultivation of crops linked to the agro-based indus-tries. Whatever might be the degree of influene theimpact of agro-based industries ';h the income; ofagricultural is predominant. ""-

The optimal land holding is found to be from 15 t620 acres in the senSe that the average income peracre was the highest in the case of agricnlturists withland holdings of 15-20 acres. The increase in theaverage income per acre was lower in the caSe of theagriculturists with the larger land holdings, say, morethan 20 acres when compared to small bnd holding,;.(i.e., Jess than 10 acres). However, an interesi~gfact is that the farmers with land holdings of 5 acresand below had more average income per acre. This

KURUKSHE'I'RA March 16, 1983

has lieen due to such factors a~ personai sUpervisloIi,c"tracare' and relatively. less irlvestment.

. ..".: .. I. .A coIIipanson of the average mcome'.per acre, ,

between the .agricultmists cultivating agro-based'indUstrial . crops and those 'cliltivating traditionalcrops (i.e., non-agro-based i~dustrial crops) hasproved -that the average income per acre was higherin the case of the former groop than in the latter.Of course, dne to the inherent dharacteristic of riskinvolved in the .cultivation of " agro-based industrialcrops, the per acre incomes of .~ome ofthese.agriclil-tuIists were lower than the pei aere ineomes of theagriculturists cnltivating traditiyal erops.

The agro-based ihdustries led to a significant in-creasein the per eapita incomes of the households ofagricultural workers which implies that the standardof living 'of the lan<iless and the 'near landless workers.iinproved~ The increase is found to be greater in thecase of the households. with lo~ per capita income(i.e., less than Rs. 400) than those with high percapita income. This denotes ttiat there had beenrednction in the ineome disparities among the ruralwage earning households. As a result, ehanges inthe consnmption pattern betteririg the life conditions.of .the rural population could b~ .expected. The in-'crease in' the ineome was due to the high rate of wagesin the agricultural seetor following the creation atadditional. employment in ,the farm sector throughthe eultivation of agro-based in?ustrial crops whichrequired more number of mandays of labOur than thereplaced traditional crops.

,An important finding has beel that the role 01agro-based industries was much, more significant inincreasing the incomes of .the Ihouseholds of theworkers employed in agro-based industries. Mar"signifieant is the faet that the households of lowerincome groupS benefited much apd the nature of the'industry also had influenee over jhe rural-urban com-position of the workers employed lin agro-based ,indus-tries. Considering the rural-urban .eomposition ofthe workers in the mdustries under study, it has beenobserved that the workers hailing from the' ruralareas constituted a major segrne4t of the total workforce in the case of thtee agro-based industries viz.rice milling, tobacco proce,~sing ard khandasari sugarand more so in the case of the latter. It is observed,further, that in the ease of sugar i~dustry, the workershailing from urban areas formed ~ dominant group.It is but natural in the eontext of ! this indnstry thatthe .teehnieal and administrative Ipersonnel requiredfor it are drnwll from urban areas. Since the other. ,three industries are of less technical nature, workerscoming from rural ar~asformed a major thu:llk. TJ:1escempirical findings suggest, beyondl doubt, that" thheis :r direct relationship between ,the nature of the

: . I', ,,-" 1," r-' 1 .•••!:,

~KURUKSHETRA Mareh 16, 1983: ", !~';i::ri~:',,lj, '-..:'\ _/';'

'[' ',i.4.t;/"'1 !•. ~.

agro-hased industry and the nttal-urban compositionof the workers.

5.MIGRATIeJN: Theas]>ect 6£ n:iiib-ati~u.ha;'be~n. • also studied ill tennsof the tenure odhe stay' 'ofworkers at the piace of ~ir';"ba~ed m'duStry. As ~egardsthis aspeet of migration, withreferenee to different kindsof agro-based industries, it has been observed that thereis a close relationship between the permaneney of thejob (i.e., terms of employment) and the nature of theagro-based industry. In the ease of permanent worketsemploye<i in agro-based industries, in geileral, perma-nent migration was conspicuous while in the ease of sea-sonal workers, who were mostly employed in tobaeco,sugar and khandasari sugar industries, seasonal migra-tion had been a predominant feature. .

The setting up of agro-based industries would alsoresuit in the migration of agrieultural workers towardsthe plaees of loeation of agro-based industries seekingemployment in the agricultural sector" This type ofmigration is singularly evident in the ease of sugar andkhandasari sugar industries and Alagadapa and Linga-yapalem villages provide good examples for this. Thesetting up of sugar and khandasari sugar faetories inthese villages resulted in the introduetionof sugarcanecultivation that required special skills for some of itsagricultural operations, which were not loeally avail-able. Henee, agricultural workers with the reqnisiteskills moved from far-off plaees to . these villagesbecause of high rate of wages... Thus,. the setting ill'of agro-based industries resulted in the migration otworkers even within the agriqIltural sector se~sonaUy.

An examination of migration vis-a-vis the 'tertiaryseetor shows an interesting faet that the workershaiiing from urban areas presumably with someexperience in the reievant field migrated to the placeof loeation of agro-based industries. This is evidentin the case of migration of workers in the tertiaryseetor either from witbin the state or outside thestate.

,Ovt;rall impact

THE FINDINGSOF THE present study throw light~n how the rural agro-based industries iilfluenee

the rural eco'nomy in particular .and the national eeo-.nomy in general. These agro-based industries, byraising the income levels of the rural worker~,~sh.erin significant changes in the standard of.l~ving,_ socialand cultural attitudes. of rural population in general.Further, rural agro-based industries cO'ntribute to tbeper capita ineome at the national level. The parti'cular rural areas! investigated refleet aJ micro-levelehange in the economy whereas, the consequences. ofsuch changes covering a much broader area, say, thewhole state. or nation, represent a micro-level tnirtsfor-mation.

9

impact at the Mlcro-ievel-Consequent on thesetting up of agro~based industries and the cultivationof agro-based industrial crops, the structure of agri-culfuial'dutputs 'ill llie 'selected. villages has undergonechange, Thegro\vth in the industrial and agricultutalseCiors of tlie 'rnal ateas 'gavea'n impetus to the'groWth 'of 'llie tertiary 'sector, 'viz., banking, transport,'cCiin'riruniGati6n, !hotel business, etc.

Tlie seiiilig 'up 'of agrq.oased 'illdustries resUited ini1ie emergence' of 'imee 'gro\vth 'centres out 6f 'the fourselected. places, As a "resUltof 'the 'settmg up of suglitfaCi<iryof Nizam. Sugar Factory Liriiited '(at A-mruth-nagar), Alifadapa has emerged "as a growth centre,'Similiirly, 'tfie 'developmerit 'of rice 'mills in KbdajiraiiSformed .the 'town into'a 'gtoMh centre. It hasbecome a big marketing centre because of the eXis-tence 'of large bumber of rice mills, Further, anancillary industrial unit, viz., "Vijaya Lakshmi BranOiL Private Limited" has come up, in the wake 01the functioning of 'a number of -rice mills, providingemployment to 75 workers, The transportationrequired for supplyirigpaddy to the rice mills andmarketing rice from the ric~ mills to distant places,-including other States, promoted the development oftertiary .sector, such as ,vorkshbps, 'hot~ls,restaurants,cin.ema houses, etc. A similar acHvity is observedin the case of Nandigama, the place of location 01tobacco processing establishments. Of these fourpla"es, only Lingayapalem, where khandasari sugarfactory located has not shown any signs of develop-ing into a growth centre. It is essentially becausekhandasari sugar factory established here is at presentin its initial stage functioning only in a part of these;,soh.

THE DEVELOPMENT of tertiary sector at the placesof induslrial units again provided further employ-

ment opportunities for the rurnl popnlation. It is noexaggeration to mention that the growth of agro-based'industries has generated employnient opportunities forthe educated and skilled people in the secondary'ahdtertiary sectors of these rural . areas. Employmentopportunities were also created for the unskilled'woiKers 6f'i'ur£1 areas (i.e" agricultural workers) inthe agricultural sector consequent upon the cultivationof agro-industrial crops.The expansion of sugarcane cultivation encouraged

the inter-state and inter-districl migration of popula-tiol). A nurliber' of people have been migrating fromother states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh tothese areas of agricultural and industrial developmentfor jobs. Even agricultural labonrers from neighbour-ing districts migrated to the places of agro-basediildustries.Agro-base~ industrial uriits have furiher acce!,tuated

the development of roads and communication facilitiesin 'the couritri'side. A majority of the villages have

been linked by roads, with the piaces of agro-basedindustrial units. this d.evelopment of roads has heennecessitated by the need to 'transport agricuftural rawmaterials (i.e., sugarcane, tobacco and paddy in theselected places) ,from villages to the agro~based indus-trial units, on'ihe one 'hand, and to provide agriciittural',inputs 'to agiicuIturists in viiJages on the either. More-"over, the means of transport have 'changed. :r~'airi:lershave been increasingly replacirfg bullock-carts withtr~ctor trailors 'for transporting agricultural output.Because of the "improvement in transport and ca"mmu-nication, the rural people have increased access to thegrowing toWllS.

Through the operation of the demonstration effect,the affluent section of the rural population has beenswitching over to a new way of .life-"urbanised rurallife." Some -of the 'cultivators of ',!gro-industrialcrops,in'the Villages'have 'aCqUircd'motor-cycles and scootersana -frequently 'Visit.the nearby towns 'fodhoppirig anrecreation. 'Many 'cultivators have constriJctoo -modernbuildings 'in -their villages for -reSideritial purposes.These villagers are sendiIig and 'are aspiring to'send.their children 'for higher 'education, 'espeCially ,forcollege ':ilid '.'university"education.

The agricultural workers of the selected villages areable to find employ_ment almost throughout the year.The seasonal movement 10 other places for employ-ment has ceased after the setting up of agro-basedindustries. They. do not have to striJggle any more fortheir minimum requirements of life. Further, there isa considerable change in their way of life. They nowtake rice as staple food instead of using traditionalfoodgrains such as jowar and bajra, Above all, theyown consumer durables like .bicycles, wrist watche~;and radios. Thus, there has been a -lot of improve-ment in the standard of living of these agriculturalworkers.

Tliis sort of change, among agriculturists ano agri-ciiltural woikers, may be considered as 'an 'indicationof economic change brought about by the shift 'fromtrliClilional crops to the agro-based industrial crops,which "is an -effect ofagroCiiJdiiSirialdevelopment inthe fUl'al economy.

'Impact at the Micro-level-Establishment of agro-based industries is mainly based on the availability ofraw materia!. As such, agro-based industries ought to beset 'up iri rliral areas where raw material is available inplenty. Since the rural 'folk form a major chunk ofpopulalio'n, ,the' employmcnt opportunities 'provided bythe 'agro"based iridustries are'also 'equally large-in .pro-porlion. This helps in the upliftment of the ruraleconomy. In essence, setting up of agro-based indus-tries in'Iural areas .generate 'income ,thereby improvingthe. economic' condition of the people which in turn

.(COlild.on page 2})

10 KURUKSHETRA: March 16, 1983

.. '. 1. . .

INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IS

'. a 'n{ajor instrument' for povetty alleviation in theSiXth'Five Year Plan and it 'i~ a logical next stepfrom' the programme for smallI . farmers, marginal'f"rmcrs' and agriciIltural labourers,.. implementedthroughout the seventies, The stnall farmers develop-ment prograinme (SFDA) was in~endedto improve theviability of small and marginall/armers andagricul-tural labourers and to enhance their incomes mainlythrough produ"ctive' investment~.'''::'The~. cooperatives~played a very major r61e in the implementation' of thesmall' ,farmers' programme by p1roviding credit andcreating an organisational basis' for providing'supportto' the actlVities of the target grlouP.

The problem ,oJ p,overty contiimes to haunt thecountry and alleviation' of poverty is the' principalobjective of ,the Si~th Plan and Ithe revised 20-pointprogramme. announced' by. the Prime Minister.Gi:ven ilre oyercrowding 9n land I and continuing riseip. the' size of rural popnlation, it is inconceivable't4~t agricl!ity.re, in a n~rrow .sellse, . equId pro"ide:employment and 'income to milli\msof poor peoplein the runil areas. It was, therefore, felt that a pro-

. - . . I .

gramme to provide assistance t~ the .rur~1 poorirre~pective of whether they nre Ifarmers or artisansor craftsmen was required and the Integrated RuralD~v~lopment Programme is a re~ponse to this need.IRq is aimed at the poorest among the poor, mainlyScheduled Castes. and Scheduled ITribes, agriculturalHibourers, small farmers, margimli farmers, ruralar:tisans and craftsmen, etc, The Ita'rget is to provideassistance to 15 milliOllfamilies during the Sixth.Planperiod to enable them to enhance I their income' sothat they go above the "Povertv line". This is___ '_ - -.1-'" ,"

From th~ K~y~not~ adrtresserl by gec'retary to Government')flndia, Ministry of Rural DeveloPment at th~ Conferenceon Integrated Rural DevelOPment Programm.e t~rough Co". operatives. i

"'KtJRUKSHETRA"Ma'r~1116;198~'

"1

!

II!

I

II

\

I

" '--

.•. , r

[R.D.P. in povertyalleviation

A. K. MAJUMDARSecre,tary, tJ:nion . Ministry of Rural Development

sought to' be achieved by providing to 'identifiedoe'nefieiaries 'produCtive assetS, traiuing and back~upservices' for raising' their', incomes. On an' average",600 families are being provided assistance under th'"progranrme in a develop,rient block in a' year.' Inthis maimer, '3000 .families would be covered nilderthis' programme in a block during the Sixth Plan.

'Sinc~ iii;' Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribesac~o;mt for a sizeable proportion of the rural poor,special efforts are being, made to ensure that theIRD programm:eproVides benefits,to these categories,Ii has been laid down that at least 30 per cent ofthe beneficia~ies assisted' under the IRD prcWanuneshould be dmwn from the SCs'& Sfs. It has beenfurther iaid down that at least 30 per cent of thesubsidies and loans' channelled through this pro-grnmine 'should also go to SCs and ST,;,".The IRD :programme is financed through a combi-nation of. subsidies and -loans. . Small farmers areprovided assistance to the extent of 25 per cent ofthe capital cost. Marginal. farmers, agricuItnrallab~ui:ers rural artisans and others are provided

. ' - ' .subsidy to the extent of 33t. per cent of the capItalcost. The, programme. envisages, an outlay orRs 1500 crores in the Sixth Plan meant mainly forpr~viding, subsidies and meeting_the',cos.t of adminis-tration and development of essential mfrastructur::it is estm;ated that credit to the p,xtent of Rs. 3000'erores would bE required to finance this programme.Thns ihe lotal investment on the IRD programme,isof lhe' order ~f Rs~ 4500crores and it is easily one~f 'the largest single investment programme in thisSjxth PI~n, ' '. '-' j

',.' ' Role of cooperatives

W'.HEN WE THINK about the cooperatives in the, ".' context'!lf the IRD program1Jle, it' is' the r61e. ..,... _. ". -' . ~

H

of the cooperatives in providing credit which wonldcome to our mind first The cooperatives arc pro-viding credit to the IRD beneficiaries but what causesanxiety is the steadily declining share of cooperntivcsin thc credit support being provided to the IRDprogramme. According to the information furnishedby the District Rural Development Agencies, co-operatives provided only about 28 per cent of thetotal term credit mobilised for IRD in i98l-'82. Thisis far below the share of over 60 per cent that co-operatives had in' the financing of the SFDA pro-gramme. It is, of course, not practicable to laydown.a rigid .proportion between cooperative creditana .'credit fr(lln' other' sources for financing' the IRDprogramme, but one would normally expect coopera-tives'with their distinct' aavantage of rural biasi andlocal leadership to play a vital role in the 'financingcif' a'l programme aimed at the alleviation of ruralpoverty. The cooperatives would,' therefore; haveto consider the factors responsible for their de-clining-role in financing this programme. It wouldnot be practicable to go in-depth into the manifoldcircumstances and casual factors responsible forthis. predicament. of the .cooperatives. One, of themore obyious reasons is the. existing overduesposition in the cooperative sector. ,Owing to the.outstanding dues, many cooperative societies are notin .a gosition to .provide loans. Even new and non-defa)llting"members are often finding it difficult toobtain finances through cooperatives.Much of the lending required for the IRD pro-

gramme would be for medium-term purposes. Toecooperatives havc generally been previding shert-term' finances and crop loans. We have. to evolve.a strategy for meeting the entire credit requirementsof the rural poor including medium and long-termloans. An integrated structure for provision offinances on short, medium and. long-term wi1l haveto be evolved within the cooperative fold. The roleof the land mortgage and land development bankS!will also h~v~ to be redefin~d and dh'ersified andt1leysho~ld be enCouraged to piay a significant partin the financing of programmes like IRDP. Nec:<;s-sary' statutory changes wi!(have to be introducedfor this purpose and eventually we should .have a"single window" for providing all manner of creditto'the' rural ~oor under' the cooperative umbrella.

, • . i • '

IT.WOULD BE a grave elTor to confine t~e:role' ofcooperatives in rural development merely to one of

providing loans.,;The cooperatives lJave a' vel)1important role in providing organisational. andmanagement inputs .for improving the living condi"lions or 'the rural poor. It is. increasingly,. beingrecognised that the poorest among the poor wouldfind' it diffictilt to' 'sUrviv~ in the prevailing ruralmilieu in the absence of organised efforts ;by -andjonbehalf' of the rural' poor: Coeperative '.-orglipisatiob!

for marketing, processing and in the field of pO,st-harvest technology in general is essential for accele-rated rural development and poverty alleviation.Under the IRD programme, we are providing assist-a~ce to se.veral mill.ion families m"!,,ly. on an indi- .~VIdual basl~. The mdlVldual beneticmnes may not ",'always be able to derive significant benefits in theabsence of strong support, particularly for rawmateriaL~supplies, marketing, etc., The cooperativeforin of organisation has great advantages in provid.ing these supporting ser"ices and infrastructure.Certain categories of the rural poor and their trades.and occupation can flourish only if 'activities areorganised on a group basis and strong managemen~inputs' are ensured. Leather workers, fishermen,and rural artisans will be able to raise their incomesthrough programmes like IRDP all a lasting basisonly when proper arrangements are made for supplyof raw materials, quality control and marketing. Veryoften, tuey may require a state-wide organisation forproviding this kind .of support. The methodologyfor. the IRD programme based on systematic locallevel planning, lays cmphasis on the need for identi-.fying gaps in the existing infrastructnre and for iden-tifying agencies which, will fill' these gaps in theinfrastructure. 'INs exercise is to be undertaken:with sufficient vigour so that nothing is left to.chance. I"

THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT in the country re-quires a new dynamism and discipline for meeting

the challenges of the 80s. Opportunities for participa-tion in programmes of a wide-variety are now opeRto the' cooperatives. What. is needed is a resolve toseize these opportunities and to take the cooperativesto new heights of acllievement by deeper involve-ment.in -tI,e.lives of the common people. The pro-grammes of the Ministry of Rural Development .like):RDP, rural godown scheme, agricultural marketingscheme, etc, offer an excellent opportUliity for thecooperatives to play an increasingly important andexpanding role in rural development and in the.life.of the rural populati,?n. It would serve a veryimportant purpose if the key Iimitilig. factors areiden.tifiedf<;>raction in the near future; and systematicefforts are made to remove these impcdiments. More •than .anything else, the competence and commitmentiof cooperative workers and their leadership would bevery' vital. It was said in the past that cooperatives!ha"e failed but they must succeed. We still have ,,;long way to go before cooperatives can succeed in;playing a truly significant role. in the development ofour ru",1 areas and in mitigating the poverty of therural masses. It is never too late to make a begin-ning and it is in spirit thatwould'addreSs ourseh'es tothe tasks before us.

(COURTESY: The Cooperator)

KURUKSHBTRAMriXch 16, 1983

,

i "II

I, I

Banks can aiso helptntransfer of technology

A.R. PATELBank of Baroda, ~central Office; Bombay

tions conducted throughout the length and breadth ofthe country' provide ample evidence of this possibility.

The yield (GA:P)

ACCORDING TO Dr. M. S, Swaminathan, formermember, Planning Commission, there has been

a vast untapped production reservoir in 'our fatmingsystem at current levels of technology. The. IRRI,Philippines has recognised the difference between .theyield obtained at the Experimental Station and theactuaJ.farm yield,as the. ~¥ield gap' and the factorsresponsible for such a gap as 'yield constraints'.This gap 'is very conspicuous in respect of many ofotfr 'field crops. As for instance, the ratio betweenthe 'average yield obtaiIled by' farmers and the yieIa'Ulider national ilemonstration plots ranged 'from 2 to04 in different parts of ti,e country in case of wheat.'While, 'the raLio in case of rice between the' actualand "potehtial farm yields ranges from 2 to over 5 atdifferent places, the ratio' in ease of jowar, goes npto8 in Some places in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In'Case of gram, arhar and groundnut, the size of thelintapped yield reservoir, has been found to. varyfrom 40.to 70 'per centln sevetal ttacls. Thus, -it is'obvious that even with the technology available atpresent 'there is a consideruble scope for increasing'production and productivity provided the constraintsate identified and removed. .

" A shadow hf despondency looms large; and wide;over vast. tIatts of our good arable lands in as many'as '.84 districts of the country-about. 47 million'Iiectares.or 'nearly 36 'per'cent 'of 'the net area sowninostly in Tamil Nadu, Karnafaka, 'Ai"jhra Pradesh,Punjab .and HaryaJia:; .In .these regions 'all agriculturral 'prOduction .is whollydictnted'by the . wayward

High

22510.2.29.9

2058.3

24.0

10.4

IDerria'ndPattern byI 2000A. D.

LowCommodity

GROWTH RATE in agricultural production per, ;. ," annum. was. 0,3 per cent during the first halfof this century which marked almost a stagnation inOur farming, However, after independence,. jlhCj.period cfrOittl1950 to 1980 has been marked "by'consideruble'breakthrough in ,thb process 'of moderni-sation of agriculture. As a re~ult 'Of .scientific andtechnological revolution (STR) 'backed by' a' widerange 'of service-s and public I policies, agriculturalproduction recorded an annual cOmpound ~row1h,tate of 2.8 .per cent during 1967"68 Lo 1978-79.

I

The dem'and patten! of' prinCipal crops 'as worked,olit by the National COIliil1issiqnon Agriculture by2000 'A.D., taking into consideration 'two assump-tions' of iI;tome growth (viz. . (high' assuming .an'annuia' growth rate 'of 5 per cent and 'low' assummg

,

the contiIfuation of past trends) IS given in th"fo1I6wi;lg'table: '

TABLE 1

(1) foodgrains (million tonne:s)(2) Oils (roiHion tonnes)(3) Sugar and gur (million tonnes)(4)-.Cotton (million ba'lesof 180 kg.

each).(5) .Jute and mesta (million bales of

180kg. each) 8.6 Jl '8.(G) Toba~o (thousand leones) 479.590

The attainment of the envisag~d demand .patternwould not be .at all difficultif we appreciate the massiveinvestment being made by,lhe.public .and privatesectOrs in agriculture and endeavour to utilise theassets already created optimally fbr production. 'Theresults of the researches and the Inational ,demanstta-'

'It KURUKsHETRA 'March '16, ,1983 13

monsoon rains which are not only meagrc (400 to1000 rom. annually) but are extremely Ciratic as totheir onset, amount, frequency, duration and cessa-'. tion. However, recent researches in the area of dry-land agriculture have clearly cstablished that byfollowing appropriate farm,management techniques:sach as proper prcparation of seed-bed, selection ofappropriate varieties, timely sowing, optimum use ofmanures and fertilizers, control of pests, diseases andweeds, adjustment of crop-plans to' suit the season,maintaining optimum plant-population, adoption ofsuitable post-harvest technology; yields of very highorder can be obtained. TIle following table revealsthe difference in the magnitude of yields achieved bythe progressiv(>farmers in' India under the guidancermd supenision of the extension"offic~~ls.r l :~~

TABLE 2

Crop State in 'which National demans- Netthe highe,st tration Profit Rs./yield was 00- "a (1971,

.rained }.{ean yield Highest:' 1972Pri.Qlha. yieid ","ate

QI"a. level)

1. Bajra' Rajasthan 27 70 13382. Jowar Maharashtra '42 97 15523. Maize Karnataka 39 93 1539. 4. Paddy .Tamil Nadu 55 130 2318

Proper farm management'n RYFARMINGEXPERTSnow feel iliat the weather. . .cannot be h"ld responsible for all crop failures."It is truc that traditional dry farming techniques.cannot neutralise the elIcct of erratic' weather, butwith modern technology at their command, the'farmers can certainly deal with the vagaries of themonsoon without significant losses. An. analysiS:made by the research scientists of the. sorghum:'improvement project in 1972-73-a drought year-revealed that jowar yields, for example, are affectedadverscly more by farm management techniques thanby paucity of moisture. They attribute only 20 per.:.centof thc yield variation to adverse climatic factors.The rest is due to controllable factors; such aschoice of variety, date of sowing, incidence of weeds,adoption of cnltivation practices etc. These conclu-sions had been further corroborated in Maharashtfa.During the kharif season in 1\174-75 while localvarieties of .iowar occnpying roughly 50 per cent. ofthe entire area covered by this crop in the state faileddue to the lack of vital rains, the new high yieldinghybrids produced a normal crop. This.was .chieflybecause, being early maturing, the hybrids had ahnostripened. by. thc time. the rains abated.. The scientists

..14'..

therefore. suggested that tlIe first step in improvingdry farming is to replace the traditional crop vari~tieswitlI high yielding strains of appropriate maturityperiods. Most of ihe new varieties specially bredfor imirrigated areas, are very efficient users ofmoisture and can therefore withstand drought to-;.some extent. With the advancements in agronomy,the new crop varieties are capable of spectacularyields under rainfed copditions. During performancetests, some of the strains have out-yielded the esta-blished local varieties by 50 to 80 per cent. Apartfrom judicious selection of crops, various other. factors also help in boosting yields and providedreasonable insulation/insurance against weather aber-rations. Some of these facto~s are : proper'prepam-tion of the seed-bed, timely sowing, use of manuresand fertilizers, control of pests and' diseases andadjustments in crop plants to suit the season whichare equally useful for irrigated areas and the dry:lands.

Irrigated farming

HUGE FINANCIALINVESTMENTShave been and. are being made to develop the irrigation poten~

tial:. The cOlll1Uandareas have the highest potential'for maximising farm output. However, this has sofar not been fully exploited. This would have beenpossible when a full package of recommended prac-tices were adopted by all the farmers of this area.As such, management of. non-monetary practiceshitherto adopted may havc to be reinforccd soon by ,a full package of recommended practices in the ex-tension work. There is, therefore, an urgent needfor efficient 'farm-planning and budgeting' for allthe farmers in the command area which requires a'sound, system of .field-oriented operational research.The research scientists and the extension workers[should work hand in hand to develop and get adopt-ed suitable cropping patterus and farm managementtechniques in the command area. Research supportis very essential to introduce/develop an .integratedagricnltural technology for maximising production inthese areas.' The most important input in com-mand areas is water. Its rational use cannot be deler- "mined till a packagc of water management practicesare worked oui by the irrigation research workers.Provision of credit and the infrastructurc ensuringthe timely availability of agricultural inputs is a must.It has, however, been realised that the success' ofagricultural development/production project, in addi-.tion to meeting the physical and economic require"merits, largely uepends upon the existence of a well'selected, properly trained and higWy motivatedextension staff and therefore rcquires more emphasison' Ibis aspect. .

KURUKSHETRA March .16,.1983

Agricultural methpdology

THE AGRICULTURAL METHODoLOGY initiated in the: area rccognises thc impbrtance of knowhow of

practices as a'significant and jcontributory factor in:farm production. The prospects of agricultural pro-duction improve with the scicrltificusc of inputs suchas irrigation, sceds of high yielWngor hybrid varicties,fertilizers, plant protection mcasures etc. However, inmany of the places all over the country, it has beenobscrved that yields have continued to be low in spiteof availablity of these inputs.l The close scrutiny ofthe data indicated that the farmers did not possess thefC<luir!'<\know-haw in agricultrire. A large number of. .fields in the command area where availability of water. ,

was not a problem, were found to have a plant standof less than 40 to 50 per cent.! This thin plant standper unit area resulted into drastic reduction in satisfac-tory kllow-howincluding practi.ceslike good field pre-p~ration, seed treatment, appropriate sowing time, effi-cient placement of seed and proper interjintra-l'ow.spacing. These practices do nbt cost much but could'make all thc difference in plant population in a givenfield. , IThe new extension methodology provides for an

effective in-built coordination Ibetween research andextcnsion, facilitating transfer of know-how from theresearch specialists to extension workers and th~fanners on the one hand and fded-back of informationfrom the farmers through ext~nsioll workers to re"search peoplc on the other. I

Tbc succcss and the cffectivencss of the extension. ,

service depends on acquiring by all the participantsthe latest knowledge on the I developments takingplace in their respective fields. There are manysources of 'know-how; bniversities, researchstations, . ~a~ers" fie:1ds, accumulated experience.of . the, ~xtension personnel. I themselves mid the.vanous ' SpecIalists posted. m the area. In orderto update the knowledge of the extensiOJipersODnel,intensive in-servic~ training is Inecessary. The aim'ofsuch training is to equip thein with the knowledee. I.... ,tools and motivation that will enable them to contri-bute to their utmost to the subcess of the project iuha?d. These aims can be achieved through devisingpractical-oriented methods of lfiining of interpretingthe technology to farmers ~sl well. as pragmaticmethods of programme plannmg and unplementation.All tcaching methods should be!based on participativeinvolvement.

,

The role of banks.' , I ,. ' .W HILE GOVER~MENT has 9~~.endeavouring . to'. . strcngthen the extension wing for effective

, i '-KURUKSHETRA:March 16, 1983

I!

transfer ot available proven technology at the gtasli-root level, block-level, district level and staterlevel,'theneeds of the farming community of whom 73 per centhold 23 per cent of cultivated area in the country arcso complex in nature and vast in magnitude that therole of nationalised banks becomes all the moreimportant. Nationaliscd banks have'also been follow-ing a developmental role rather than role of purveyingcredit only. It is against this background thaI it maybe of interest to appreciate that banks can effectivelyplay this role of popularising new technologies andthen transfer to farmers and others thro;>ughthe follow-ing ways:

1 Bank's operational staff and field officers may haveto remain in close touch with the extension staffof the Government appointed under 'Training andvisit system' in command area development pro-jects, special extensiOnstaff appointed under specialprojects viz. development of oilseeds, pulses, cotton,sugar cane, IRDP etc. They should jointly orga-'mse training camps ,foc farmers in the villages andhold discussions on practical aspects of farming.Bank's staff being located in the villages is in anadvantageo,us position to test the suitability of thenew technology and provide a feed-back due to thefarmers in this, regard to the experts for re-'orienting their approach. Advantages of bank'sstaff to work with Government extellSion staffwould bc that the latter would be able to appreciatethe technicalities involved ill the formulation of the'bankable schemes. Siuiilarly, bank's staff would beable to identify the technical constraints withinwhich fariners work. This type of associationwould not involve fimincial support. However, thesiaff should be made free to do tI,is type of exten-sion work aud deputed for attending refrcshe~programmes being held by the Agricultural Univer"sities, Research' Institutes etc. for the purpose.They should also be allowed to visit the research~entres, institutes, or the Agricultural Universities,iu order to understand the latest technological,developments. It may be pointed out that techno-logy is fast "hanging and, hence they should haveacccss to the scientific literature relevant to theagro-climatic zones in which they are working.

2 Banks may consider deputing operational staffto undergo short-term courses orgauised by theAgricultural Universities in specific disciplines sothat the staff maybe able to extend the technical'.know-how to the' farmers in the command area of 'the "branch. This pIau based on area'specific needs.could be worked out and the nature, of MaIicial. support can be assessed.

(Con/d. on p. 18)

IS

• •. t .

, '

T.HE. economic condition which has emerged. hi the, ,country has brought about a paradoxical situation

in the form of increased agriculture and industrial pro-duction on one hand and growing unemployment andinequalities on the other, particularly in the rural areas,Dver 72 per cent of our population depends on agri-culture and despite the long years of intensive econo-m'ic activities, its per capita income decIined from Rs.210,20 in 1960-61 to Rs. 195.50 in 1976-77, althoughthe investment in this sector has increased from Rs.254 crores in 1961-62 to Rs. 510 crores in 1976,77.Similarly although India is the tenth largest iudustrialis-cd power in the world, yet according 'to the estimateof the Planning Commission, 48.13 per cent of thecountry's total population or 305.2 million people were

'b~low the poverty linednring 1977-78. There is abacklog of aronnd 20 million persons who arc fullyunemployed,and if the annual increase of 5 million isadded, the total employment to be generated duringihe 'Sixth Plan will be around 46 million. Added tothis, there is a larger number of persons who are stillbelow the poverty line and need part-time employment.

l\gricultural development,. even assuming to berapId, cannot absorb the additional labour force in anyproductive way, because it is historically unique factthatbver the iast six decennial census, in spite of theimpressive development of the large scale manufactur-ing .and 'infrastructure sectors, the share of agriculture'iiI the work force has not diminished at all. It was73 'per ccnlin 1921, 73 per cent again in 1961 'and73,8 per.cent in 1971. ,The organised industrial sec-tor inherently has'low employment absorption capacitybecause ,of the intensity of capital and sophistication'of(echtlOlogy. Between 1961 'and 1976, for example,in the modem factory sector, illveSlinetit increased byJ 39 per ceM and ,output by 161 per cent but employ-

.16

Planning for villageindustries

FAHlMUDDINGiri Institute of Development Studies, Lu~ow

,.ment increased only by 71 per cent. Therefore, em-'Ployment per unit of groS3 output decreased by 34per Cent and employinent per unit of capital decreasedby 28 per cent. The growth of industrial production,a~suming to be only 5 per cent per year, as at present,the organised sector will absorb only 2.7 million of the29,5 million new workers ,md if the growth rate in-creases to 7 per cent, the extra absorption in the wholeorg"nised sector will be only 0.26 million, In view ~fthe lesser employment absorption capacity of agricul-ture and tlie organised sector, the only hope of absorb-ing most of our annnal increase of labour force lies in.the development of rural industries, which will boostthe ,earnings of village artisans; small and marginalfarmers.

Employment opportunities,, THE EMPLOYMENT opportunities to the rural

masses in the villa'ge industries can 'be providedon a number of social and ~conomic considerations:(i) employment in the traditional sector can be provid-ed to the rural masses at the village level itself, thusmaking the organisation of village intact and avoidingthe problems emerging from congestion and urbanisa-tion; (ii) the traditional sector provides self-employ-ment, considered to be the best form of employment inwhich labour is the owner of the unit; (iii) the villageihdustries produce goods and services for the massesrather than mass production. Therefore, marketingand other infrastructutal problems are of lesser employ-ment; (iv) these activities arc best adjusted with thefluctuations in the labour requirements of agricultureand therefore provide full-time and part-time employ-ment to the li'bour force in the rural areas, nsing localraw material and local skills; (v) the capital-labourratio is •"iso low in these industries; (vi) what is heed-ed in 'the present economic situation is not mass pro-

KURUKSHETRAMareh 16, 1983 .

duction, but production by thel masses. In this con-text it is desirable that the women, work forCe shonldalso be provided employment J, the, ruraLateas. The,village industries can provide opportunities by whichthe rnralwomen can effectively' ntilise their spare time.•... ' '-"-.,-c-. .- :' -.

Obj~ctive not fulfilled, ~ IALTHOUGH the emphasis on the development of

. village industries- has beJn 'c~nceived on theGandhian economic philosophy of decentralised pro-duction which found expressioh in the 'Swadeshi'movement in which production: was conceived by the~asses and for the' m~sses, but 1due to the adoption ofnvul Ideology of. cap,tahst rtloiles of producllon and-distribution, the entire system Ihas not been able to'fulfil the needed objective of nlral development. Thethrust of development has beeh in the form of mass

ilr"Tproduction, technological sopllistications and profits.- IThe rural artisans have only crafts and no money to

invest in machinery and to adopt the advanced techno-logy. Consequently, at the village level itself the entiresystem was grabbed by -the mbney-lenders who con-

• , ", I

trolled the cooperatives. In the urban areas, thevillage industries products, beirig inferior in quality,could not stand in competition Iwith products of largescale industries. Thus the rur~l a'rtisans were forcedto leave the traditional crafts atid those who remainedcannot survive longer unless a hew ;pproach of deve-lopment and assistance is adopted .

. 'The most important is~he J;rovement in the levelof technology. Some -basic issues regarding technology

I '

are in terms of measurement of labour-capital ratio,o cost-benefit analysis~ input ou.tptIt "t;lifferences, not onlyin the economic prospectives; bJt in the context of thesocial rate of return. In India, the urgency of creating

Ijobs in millions is well recognised, but there is dangerin a policy which emphasises o~ly an improvement inthe employment statistics, i.e. quantity of employment.This rnay result ill the creation: of a host of low pro-ductivity, dead-end jobs in which individuals hav", littleopportunity for advancement. I Consequently exclu-siveemphasis on the renovation' of skills, technological'

/ improvements and product diverSification may not helpeffectively in the process of rutal development. Theimportance of renovation and improvement of tradi-tional technology. can be realise~ as a new handoperated charkha, recently perfected by the Appro-priate Technology Development iAssociation, Lucknow,and, Intermediate Technology Development Gronp,London, is likely to boost the eatmngs of wool spinnersusing traditional charkha from i Rs 2.50 per day toRs. 8 per day. Thus it is really a serious, matter offinding of appropriate .technology for dealing withevery ordinary maledals and requirements.- iKURUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

, I

\,I

Marketing network

ONE o~ the key ~roble~s i~the snccessful fnnc~on-ing, of village mduslrles 15 the lack of orgamsed

marketing network. In the rural areas, viewed from thepractical-angle, there is absolutely no market in 5 lakh-,our of 5.6 lakh villages in the country. In this co'mext,it is imperative to have sufficient local market in t.herural areas for making available the village industnesproduct~ to the rural"masses. ,Since the prefere~ce pat-,terns of the village people are not matenahsllc, thevillage industries producis suit their tastes and require-ments. The -Gandhian ideology of production by themasses and for the masses will help i'n the develop-ment -of village industries in two ways: (i) TIIe'Pro-du~tion and distribution gap will -be lesser becausethe. majority of population: -will be benefited' and mar-keting problem will be reduced; (ti) The village mdus-tries products will not face tough competition from theproducts of large scale. Thus the emphasis shonld bethat -the majority of the village industdes productsare consumed in rural areas themS'elves~It is consi-derably necessary also to explore the distant marketsfor the products which are not locally 'required. In thiscontext, the export market and its potential' of vadoushandicrafts is well recognised. It is because of the mar-keting strategy along with advanced technology thatthe large' scale sector dominates over the' tradition,a]sectdr.-, .-

Need for credit

T'HE CAPITALrequirement of the village industries is, low and the village artisans have only skills. There

is need for providing credit for starting' and operatingthe units ,without any security deposits, taking into con-sid'<iratio;' the consumption needs of th~ artisans also:The comp~site' ioan scheme introduced in ' December1978, covcring','those units whose total credit require-ments did not exceed Rs. 25,OOD, has not made anYsignificant impact. In fact, the position is So dismalthat banks have not even collected basic informationaoout the functioning of this scheme. By and large,this has been owing to the fact that banks still insiston security ~hereas the basic objective of this schemewas':to relea"se. finances for smallest artisans vrithout anY'security deposit" Moreover, ,the benefits of suchtypes 'of 'schemes are generally shared by the beller offunits rather than by,the rural artisans. It is, therefore,imperative to evolve a scheme of -financin.g of villageindustries totally "applying different norms, 'thus makinga' clear distinction between the credit requirement ofvillage industries and small-scale industries.

Lack of facilities for artisans

T HE R~AL- ARTISANS are scattered in remote, , ,villages and it becomes difficnlt for them to obtaiIiinputs which are not locally available and market out-put becau.", or lack of inp-l\structural facilities like:

111

roads, electricity and cemmunicatiens. The impertanceof such infrastructural facilities can be realised,as onlyrurill electrification programme is 'expected' to.'JlIovideempleyment to. more than three lakh people by the',end ef the Sixth Plan. The provision ofvarieus com-mon facilities like raw material, appropriate technicalknew-hew and marketing assistanc;: at block level cansolve .the problem ef industrial infrastructure en enehand and reduce the gap between productien and con-snmption en the ether. The rural artisans will easilyavail themselves ef such facilities if made available atthe block level and at the same time goods producedby the masses will be sold fer the masses locally andthus making marketing and other infrastruetural faci-lities ef lesser importance for the village iudustries. .

The policy ef DICs seeks to. shift the focal point 0.1development from cities to towns, serving the need~ otsm,all scak. and village industries, but the entire stra-tegy of development of village industries requires thereorientation from cities to the block level. It is neees-

(Conid. from p. 15)3 Banks may appoint enc or two extension spe-

cialists at the district level/headquarters branchspecially in their Lead Districts so that undi,ideda'ttention can be paid to tbe problems of farmerswiih regard to the acceptance of technology. Ifcircumstances warrant, there should be an ExtensionDivision in the Bank's Zonal or Regional er Divi-

'sienalOffice at the State level where that Balik's,Lead districts are substantial in number. 'ThisDivision should be able to. popularise new technol~'gies in the respective states in close co-ordinatienwith the state government officials.

4 Bank may initiate training ef their staff fromtime-to-time with the respective Agricultural Uni.versities foc specified objectives of transferring theproven technology in the specified districts. Simi-larly, bauks may initiate conducting research-cum-development projects to (i) determine the level of 'acceptability of proven technology by the farmersand (ii) to formulate the bankable scheme as alsodetermine 'the scale ef finance.

S Banks may also consider to work with reputedcompanies, industrial houses or c"operatives whichhave been dealing in various inputs-fertilizers,pesticides, pump.'~ets, farm implements, machineriesfor conducting pilot projects or holding demonstra-tions to test their products and link with advisoryservices for assured production. National SeedsCorporation, IFFCO, GSFC. ,GNFC Agra-indus-'tries Corporations, State Farming Corporations,pairy Development Corporation, Land Develop--

'ment Corporation, Irrigation Development Corpo.ra-'tion and' the like may, be asso.ciated with!Janks;.staff In. specified areas'. TeChnical know-how in relation to operation pf Pt!mf'-s~ts at' the

sary to identify the potential village industries at theblock level. ,On -the basis ef. this identificatien, theDIC and block, should' formulate a coordinatect sira-tegyof development of village industries in which agri-cultural development will also be a part. This type of,coordination of DIC and block, agricultural develop--,Ament and village industries will create automatic poten- '.tials for the development,of village industries.

In the present economic situation, the policy for thedevelopment of village industries requir~s reorientationfor providing iricome and employment to. the masses,who have been unaffected from the stream of develop-ment. The development of village industries would bea more direct approach than reliance on the trickledown effects of growth to reach the rural masses. Thefuildamental of such framework is that in which t.hepcople will not be able to absorb the innovations butwill be interested in the idea.

(CeURTESY : Voluntary Action)

dcsired level of efficiency, working of the bia-gasplants, maintenance ,of high-yielding milch animals,reclamation of land, soil and moisture-conservationmeasures etc. is of significant importance to thestaff of these corporations as is to the Governmentand the banks. And, this association would notcost much financially.

6 The concept of sponsoring Farmers' Service'Societies to proVide all the needed inputs, creditand marketing facilities along with extension ser-vices was unique in the area of. developing smallfarmers and inrceasing' agricultural production.However, this approach somehow or the other did'not work satisfactorily. It is this area, where thebaIiks have spOllsoredFSS, in whiCh they shouldinitiate steps to remedy the shortcomings andvigoroUsly pursue the concept. If baliks' staff is'

, :properly trained in the IJistitute of Rural Manage-ment, Anand, perhaps banks would be in a betterposition to develop a rural nmnagement endre so•essential to their rural branches.

7 There are a large number of areas which requiretr:lnsfer of technology viz. new and renewable 'sources of energy, inland fisheries, rural' industriesetc. where demenstration of technology by banks

, may require; (i) capital investment on equipment,(ii) recurring expenses to operate the scheme,(iii) sponsoring the project for detailed malady-remedy analysis, (iv) undertaking research pro-.leet' on' reehimation of usaf land, etc. of .nationalimportance, (v) training officials in advanced'technology and managemeni of resources etc. 'The

, source of funds inay have to 00 found out from theBank's R aridD fund which may have to be created.

KuRUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

IIIIII

Neeq '10 'brii'lg :aboutruraitransformation

RA VINDRA 'KUMARI.-I;T. "Centre Jor "Runi.IIDeyeJopment 'and Appropriate TeChnology, -New nCiliiI

I,,. , I'T~a~~_:~~-':~e~:a~~f6~11~~~~ra~~~i::~~Ii;~~~~~~=

v . _~ ',l. ' .1i:ntriitY'as a 'whole, 'iilcItfdinglhe 'poorest 'ofthep0{)f(ih"Ghndlliji's 'Wotds. jlfe'la~t 'nian') 'through 'theapplication of the 'achievements niade in 'the 'fields ofs~ienc'e aha teeIitlblogy is quite 'a fashionable phrasetolIay to talk abolit. 1t is 'inclieasingly becmlling 'thefreull' bf 'the' dav to -aiscuss ih various national 'a.nd!interilatioiial 'lcV~l ;meetLtigs, i semimifS: workshops)

<conference-s, congresses etc. about "various "facets of'turaldevelopmcnt--'the probldms of 'rural areas. thetedirtidh 'ana 'Jfifiancial -itiputs! neeoed 'to provide at'!east a ',subsistence 'kvel' oeliVln!:"(iCnot more, 'to theii\iilions 6f the 'poj:>tilatiOn,'lh~ scientific niana-gementand other measures to 'improvb,the 'living standard 'of. ,the people with focus on the down-trodden, The plan-'hers and 'administrators 'throJgJj ,their various' tplansare 'trying to see a totally n~;v 'face of rural InOiawithout :poverty, illiteracy, ln~ense' bunge-rand mal-nutrition rand .diseaSe, :rhey,also visualised, a 'healthyse1f~sustaijjed rural economy Having multiplier effects,A [number of, programmes ,-boav& been' introdud:~d 'sincemaependence, Ifor achieving thb 'pla"nners' dreams, 'yetmuch-reniainso!o be done, Ndw,the'question is :

, I ', 1. 'What :for 'the 'transformation stands (Con-

ceptUalc1arity)' I2, How it should be brought about (tools ,and

me~~ani~DlS); •and J,3, What "will )be 'lls 'Impact on society (after-

effect):. ITransformillion (change) in. general denotes the

substitution or succession of otie :bing in place of an-other. Putting in the words df Heraclitus, the philo-sopher 'All things are in probess and nothing sta'\'sstill. .. you could not step twite into the same river'.

I, KURUKSHETRA March 16, rS3

. '

Change in rural context 'not only refers to the _physicalor .material chal}ges but-it also -refers to .the .psycholo-giciiJ attributes 'of human ,pers6nality~attitudes',values, nonns etc. The inputs to, a-system-wbetherit ~be an organisation, society, .cDi11munity, .family andeven.a..human being are expected to.bring a'.,change inthe .p:r:.~seritstate of the receiver i.e. the'system.

'Q:h:itige ~ffeGts ,lifferent cpeop1e'in 'different ways,The specific 'impact ,of change is the function 'of ,its.imignituCie mid ~type df -change. and the -pe'fson~s' capa-Cibilityto'lolerate it.

'People genenilly resist change (it 'seems to be,morein rural ,areas) ,particularly when the impendingchange threatens their financial _or :e.motional securityin one way-or the othef." They are.passive generally,and even resent- any change in their'correct -beliefs .or.existing ,behavioural fpattern. Resentment is themanIfestation of resistance to change.

Bow to bring about tr.ansfmmation

DOES THE CHANGE stands only for creation of phy-sical infrastructures on gaining of material pros-

perity.in rural area:s? . Or il1id"the-r!words, is urbani--. sationot' vill~ges or ruralisation of~cities the end-all

of change? -It- is thej.point where there is,a.lack ofconcensus :in ,those who ,are working in or ~are.ton-cetned with the' task of rural dev;lopment, SOrnead,:o~ate ...that r.the. cr:-e-ationof .!physiGal iilfrastfllcturalfa~ilities .in -rural areas through the industri;:i.lisationof the ,area, building, roads, ,schools •• hospi~als j etc"cr.eating ...growth centres ..,,~jth.their,ttrickle ~down ..effectwill serve the purpose, white others argues that creat-ing more and more employment opportunities throughcreating orgattlised employment ]11. nu'al areas withreasonable facilities will automatically Ie-ad to their

19/

development. obviously, it is one sehool of thoughtwhich emphasise on morc and more use of techoicalinputs in the existing framework and exploring newavenues of employment potential by conducting basicrcsearches should be the goal of planning. Theother school of thought agrees more or less with thisbut is more worried about the basic nature of ruralareas,-the rural ethos-that should be protectedin any ,process of transformation. They come ont withtheir strong views that the rural characteristics whichwe have inherited like the' community living, proxi-mity to nature, joint family pattern, basic producerscharapteristics withou~, any employer-employee rera- 'tionship' (self-employm~nt), the God-fearing attitude,respect to elders, communal harmony etc. should beprotected and preserved. After all, human being isgregarious by nature, for he cannot function smoothly,efficiently and happily for a longer time in isolation.He has a stronger urge to come to the society, tomeet with his 'own', because he gets satisfaction,m,,:tivation.only from the society. He is not a part, of"physical machine 'or a machine himself (though hehas a very comp'lex physiological system) and there-fore, carinot detach himself from the society. Anydevelopmental effort which opens new vistas of mass'self-employment opportunity to the family as a whole,reduces the gap between the rich and the poor, useslocally available raw materials and skills, increasesper capita productivity and in turn more aggregateproduction. It not only motivates the people to con-tribute their best in developmental efforts but alsoenables them to get their due share in the fruits ofdevelopment (growth with social jnstice). The Consti-tutional' objective of 'growth with social justice' ismore in keeping with the third world developingcountries like India where more than three-fourth ofthe population reside in rural areas and about half ofthe total population is still living below the povertyline. The poverty striken people of third worldcountries have painfully realised that the only tellinganswer to the hunger is food; not clever argumentsor catchy slogans.

',The main concern-the people

To BRING oU'I~such a charige, the 'people' must bein the centre of all plannings. The apathy of

public servants, the top' to down communication, thered-tapism, the everywhere prevailing 'I am not res-ponsible' attitude, rapidly erosing 'dignity of labour'and 'human values'-this present state' of affairs can-not. be 'expected to' produce tangible results, forgetabout miracles. Any approach which is based on

20

the prindples of people's planning requmng scienceand techoology a6 inputs alongwith finance provided, well in time through' their own organisations has betterchances of success than an approach or plan formul-ated by sitting in an air-conditioned hall and theplanner cannot be held responsible for the adverseeffects. It calls for the NGOs (Nori-GovernmentalOrganisations), voluntary organisations and enligh-tened individuals to initiatc the iProcessin those. areaSwherc it has more chances to take off and to accele-rate the process where it needs further momentum.

Mauy learned scholars feel that if: everything isleft to the people alone, it will be difficult for thegovcniment to work. But this' is not so. History hadproved that with the people's participation in deve-lopmental planning, execution, monitoring a.TIdevalu-ation, there will be better' socio-economic order andhardly any category of 'have nots'. The people no';only created various infrastructural fa~ilities but alsomaintained their order without any outside support.It wa,s a real democratic, set-up with thc maximumdecentralisation of power. As lhis was the state somehundred years' ago, why cannot the same be rehabili-tated whilewe seem to be on a higher stage of civili-salion and better equipped with latest sophisticatedscientific and technical know-how. It is possibleonly if such a system is devised which has the in-built mechanisms of identifying and making availablethe means of 'production to individual families, fi.'{ingup the investment priorities, collecting eac~l 'farnHy'scontribution, invest it into the developmental projects, ,monit-::>fand evaluate it," ensure everyones' due sharein its froits and above all have its own reward andpunishment in the system. ":'

IT IS A .WELC01HNG fealure that more' and morehighly educated, energetic youths are coming lip and

working in close association with the local people ,incountry side. This process of. migrating the scienti-fic and technical talents into the field will certainlyboost the transfer of relevant technologies from lab:to land and it wi)Jprove a challenge for'those whoare working.in the research laboratories and technicalinstitutions to provide solution of the problems posedby them by these field workers. It will provide an"excellent opportunity to the farmers, the field 'levelworkers, the scientists and technocrats to come iO-gather on a common platform and analyse, synth~sise.and providc solutions to the various problems facedby them in day to day work. Definitely it will bea ~igniJicant achievement and every possible effortmust' bc made to crystallise it. '"

KURUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

.,

I,

r.\

Popularising biogas plantsBIHARIL. PATEL

Asstt. Prof. of Engg:, Gujarat Agrl. University, Navsari

Target for sixth plan

OBSERVINGTHESVCC;:;.58achieved during the FifthFive Year Plan, the Government of India has

decided to install 400,000 biogas plants in the countryduring; the sixth five year plan. The yearwise breakuphave been presented in' Table-I.

TABLEIYearWise pbasing of biogas units during sixth plan

tion was. to' accelerate construction of family size biogasplarits with credit support from the banks. The bankshave since then been actively engaged in promotingbioga, teclinology by' providing the requisite creditsupport.

. The Govermnent of India fixed the target of settingup 100,000 biogas plants by the end of the Fifth FiveYear Plan, which was more or less fulfilled by everystate. A review of the Fifth plan scheme indicates thatit was necessary to make provision for the following

, .( ....,. /

to ~ccelerate the progress bf the biogas programme:-(i) Subsidies to the benefiCiaries for setting 'up'

of biogas un~ts;(ii) Organisational staff support to state govern-

ments and programme implem~nting agen-cies;

(iii) Demonstration and training support;(iv) Technical support;(v) Arrangement for supply of constructioh

materials; and(v) Extension and publicity.

HE NEED FOR developing new and renewablesources of energy has become necessary in view

of the' fact that the existing f6ssil {uel resources arefast depleting and the present Pattern of .consumptionof' 'energy' resources can' not be "Sustained too long.All over the world, the eff0l1sIare heing' made tod~velopmature technologies for harnessing renew-able s.ources of energy suiteq to the local conditions.We' are proud of our scientists who have developedaIi appropriate technology for Imeeting; the' fuel re-quirements of the rural people by recycling locallyavailable orgauic resources, which are available in theform of farm wastes 'such -as ~owdung, weeds, etc.

I. . I . .How biogas plants are useful

B.IOGASTECHNOLOGY,based Ion the phenomenon ofanaerobic decomposition of orgauic materials re-

I .

conciles two apparently conflicting aims at getting fuelfrom cattle-dung; and agricultural resi?ues. ;-(i)cheaper and belter fueI which could be used for cook-ing, '"lighting, lunnmg diesell. engines .for irrigationpumping, etc.. (ii) good quality manure to supple-ment and optimise the use 6f chemical fertilisers.Besides, there are some oth~r ibene.fits also su~h !:l~:

I . • . .

Reduction in indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel~"altd the consequent deforest1ation; improvement in'"niral sanitation; reduction irl the incidence of eyedisei!ses among village won\.en and children; . andeasy and efficieut cooking, Ithereby reducing thedrudgery of the daily cho!es of rural WOmen thussp3.rlng their time for other ~ctivities tlnd adding in-directly to the family incomb.

S~~cethe prices.of petroleum !Producls and chemical. fertIlisers regIstered a steep file; the Government bCIndia have decided for. promoting. the scheme for'developing locally available mJnurial resources andsimultaneously develop altern~te ener~v resources

. especially cooking fuel. The fitststep i~this direc-

'KURUKSHETRA March 16, 11983

iI

Year

1981-821982-831983-84t984-85

Total----------~-

Numberof units

35,00075,000

125,000175,000

400,000

21

Unfortunately. during the ycar 1981-82 and 1982-83, the progress being very slow, a study was con-ducted by ARne to find out the causes that had heldup the progress of the biogas"programme. The Com-mission found 011tthat some of the causes for theslow pace of programme were:-

1. Shortage of fabrication materials such as cement,bricks, melal shects. etc.2. InsuffLcicncyof hank loans due lo subsequentescalation in unit costs) resulting in hesitation on the, part of farmers.3, Lack of proper publi~ity and motivation by thepromotional agencies. . - . \ ~

. 4. 'Lack, of proper technical advice for the cons-lr~ction or pJ~ants and: _p'ost.,con~tr~ctjon'mainte-nance.5. Delay in reJease of capital subsidy.

, 6.' inadequacy o'f supervisor; ane!te~hnically traiuedst!l~ wiihKVIC."'Z,,'Poor:recQvery'performance of'most of.the baJ:Ucs,in regard to loans., .8, Unwillingness of small farmers, to take up these.investments--owilfg tQ:" high cost,. absem;c; of ther r~-, quired:nUln1;lerofauimals .and enougll1and site, ab-S~1)ce--ot incremental income -etc.

'Measure& for 'popu1l1risatian

T','ljERE ISAN urgent need tota,k,e sOll).epract~calpur-poseful measures to popularise the biogas move-

men!)n rural areas. Some of these'lllay.be.,'1: ,Thiere should. be an agency defined as the coreagency for the promotion of ~iogas plants in the statewhich 'should exercise fun control over this pro-gramme. The organisatiol)al .strllcture_and the func-. lions .of the various agencies/departments iuvolvedin the execution,of thcpro'grammc and their respon-sibilities should be f\llly.defined and fixed.

2. Planning for the biogas development should not"be collJrnedto the allocation of the fargets alone. It,should also i~clude identification of problems, tech-riical "guida~ce,.work supervision etc. A ~~s Cellshould' be ~rganised at district, level tor coordinating~'~d'monitori'M of the progress of the biogas pro-

'0-- - _

. gramme.

3. A team of trained technical staf! should be pro-vided at each district headquarter to execute theprogramme. The efficiency '6f the expertise shouldbe' Judged on the basis cf the efficient operation ofbiogas plants and number of plants insta1led. Oneshould be made properly answerable for each ma~u"facturally deficient plahl.

4. Specific quota 'of cement, should be allocated toeach district for this project in accordance with the

, targets fixed for them. Provision should also be'made for the repairs and maintenance of the plants.5. There is tremendous scope for popularising thescheme amongst the farmers and also the urbanpopulation by improving upo'n the design and cons-truction technique in such a way that its cost is -'Ireduced considerably and efficiency increased appre-ciably.6. The high capital cost could be brought down bydrastically reducing the retention period of the diges-ter to 20 days for the regions of Maharashtra, Kar-nataka, and Goa. It is reported that ahnost 80 per

'.j -cent 0[ the total biogas is derived during this period.KVlC allows 55 days for the purpose.7. The initial construction of the plant rnay ,bebrought down little more by providing further subsidy,support for weaker sections. This would enable the."S.mall,fanners" to. adqpt this teChnqlogyat a,'taster,. ra.te,,' - -.~,~~,,

8. Loan and: subsidy for the revival of siCk bi@glls. plants on acconnt of, deficient and faulty insi,lJ1a-tions should' also be provided asis admissible in the"

. case of failed well boring.

<) •. Pi.sPQsalof human, excretashou1dalsobe;;~o~~j-dered On par. with cattle, d\ln!!._SubSklY.sho\~,4.be'qfi'ered,for construction of latrine, units. also., 'Pay-;.ing,c;at1kS!I~gsaJIdcO,ll1pqstpits should.also ge su,b,,~~.sigi~<!, .

10. Number of ideal' and effiCientfairri house dus~'ters with gobar gas plant aUts centre should beestablished and rtrn at approprikte centres for de-

. 1ll0l)Stratiqn' pUrPose.: The fanner- win learn,' the'science <;Ifgqbar gas scheme by hinI~elf after. visit"

- ing thc~e__cepITe.s.

11. The '~ooper~tive S\lg'!f!llllls'and t.h~ spi~ing"'mills have touilly influenced the' rural life of thepeople living n~ar ' "';est~~l)re~on. It is <!~sirabie'.(liatlhey' should be requested'.to help in constiUCi~ .ing biogas plant~. '.".. '-' , ' ',,'

12. Biogas technolqgy is essentially the art to .bepursued, developed. and J1IaJuredby miCrobrol@gist:It is also the most challenging job tha, the engineer.ing professi~n has to perfor~: Therefore, proiotYi>edeveiopment cell should. be i~me9i.~tely' formedwhere~' design en'gineer, res~~rch rnicrobiQlogistand executive engirieerwould bring the low cost andsucces'sively 'efficient biogas pl~nts..

B IQGA~i.I~_a renewable source of energy. There is no.. 'rnol).Qpolyover. tpis enegry-source of any agency or'Government The"" are about 30 million animals inthe country w\Jicll a'nnually 'produce aboqi 1500mil-lion t.9nnes'of 'gobar.' If this gobai: , can be utilised

KURUKSHE"FRA March 16,"1983'

through biogas plants we will get 43 per cent moremanure and also huge amoun! 'Ofenergy in the formof gas. Utilising the biogas eriergy we can save hugealllount of convehtional energy sources such a~ diesel

"',

(Con/d. from p. 10) .

creates potential demand for goods and scrvices. Thisdemand can be classified into Ithree categories:

i. the demand for non"food goods and services,which would increase a~ rural income increase;

ii. the demand for inputs lnd services for agricul-I

ture (including tools and equipment, repair ser-vices, transport, processjng and supporting in-frastructure and works) J which would increasew:th agricultural develo~ment; and

iii. the demand foc manufa~tured .goods.

. Studies of household expenbitures shows that non-food items occupy a rising shate of a rural household'shudget. as rural incomes ineredse.

. The increase in demand foJ non-food items stenisfrom both 'backward' and 'fbrward' linkages withagriculture. The former inclbdes demands for toolsand equipment repairs and supply services, buildings,and works; tlie lalter includes processing, transport andmarketing of output. . I

Besides the markets generated by agricultural deve-lopment, external markets for fuanufactured goods andhaooicrafts from rural areas earl be a source of employ-ment. Adequate rural infrast'ructure provides manu-facturers ready access, to the I rural labollr market,materials and services. This indicates that agricultural

,

development can not be looked at in isolation; agricul-tural development requires cohtinual improvement of,

infrasructure. Moreover, it is a positive stimulusto the development of agro-ba~ed industries and there-. , .

. by to rural towns. Such towns form the nalural nodalpoints for the expansion of mahufaeturing activity. Fortpis and other reason~, it is i~porlant to consider the

.interaction between rural development and the growthand role of rural towns, the l~tter being the conse-,

quence of <;levelopmentof agrD-"basedindustries in ruralareas.

KURUKSHETRA March 16, 1983'

and electricity in irrigation pumpsets in Our country.So every effort made to popularise the biogas techno-

logy amongst the farmers all over the country helps toprovide cheaper and easier cooking.,

A COMPARISONof the profiles of the villages cover-ed by agro-bascd industries with that of the

village not covered by any type of agro-based industryhas revealed that the latter is lagging behind in allrespects. While there was a perceptible improvementin the 'Occupational pasition of rural papulatian resid-ing in the villages covered by agra-based industriesbecause of agro-based industrial employment, therewas practically no change and improvement in the'Occupationalpasition 'Ofthe population residing in thevillages.withaut any agro-based industry. A similartrend has been observed with regard ta the incames ofthe rural population. The agricultural workers livingin the villages eovere.d by agro-based industries areable to lead a better life, in the sense that they no mare .struggle for minimum. necessities of life. It is not soin the case of the' villagcs not covered by any agro-based industry and agricultural workers of this villageare living below subsistence level. A .review 'Of thewage structure of the village having no influence ofagro-based industries with those cavered by agro-basedindustries has confirmed the fact that the increase wasmore substantial in the case of the latter villages thanin that of the former village. It is mainly because ofthe existence of agro-based industries in the lallervillages, the wage rates of different workers-casualand attached-were higher. In brief, it may be con-cluded that the setting up of agro-bascd industries inor around the villages changed the rural economy com-pletely and improved the standard of living of rural.masses.

REFERENCES

1. ••Why labour leaves the Land" : I. L. O. Investigation p.p ..11-14 .

2. "Agro-Industries in Maharashtra": Maharashtra EconomicDeveloPment Council, P. 4.

3. B.F. Schumacher.: "Small is Beautlful" : A study of Econo-mics as if People Mattered," p. 161.

23

."","l"l't,- ..., "... '".

~. ( .,'

This feature is 'based on success stories viz. achievementi gained in':variousspheres .of rural cjevelopment by farme,rs, institutions, experimenters' ~nd.'indivi.,.duals.' There is hardly an argumenl over Ihe tact that 'dedication and zeal~t<J;put iii hard work can achieve anything. And one achievement inspires and 'shows

,:-,"'c.') l.~-,,::~r'.':.tluJilvai:to~qthetsJ. ;-::1' .;. ',.[' " .

, V. Saravana MulhuProject Officer, DRDA

C"ddalore (Tamil Nad,,)

1 ~ •

"

." •••• - .• ". '>-

~'-et.~r:ina.ry.'as~~i~ta!i~i.was.'S-P1Igh.t from the goyernmentin, selectiug the right lype '<if animals, examining themfor diseases ,and giving" ,sugges,ti9llS on how. to. care. forthem. ' .. ,.. ,,". ' " , ..

'Veteri~ariansvisited 'e,j~h'housepcriodically (0 find6~t if 'the f~r;';erii w~re takirligoodcare';;{ the animals.The Tamil Nadu Milk'Producers Cooperative Federa-tion helped the villagers in selling their produce,

The bank and DRDA people made it 'a' point tolTieet each bencficiary'and find out his problems, Theindi'"l/id'uaF sessions lielped motivate the farmers, motethart what would, ha've been- the case in a collectivelecture,

A 'tlig, fatmer was persuaded to raise a demonstrationfarm Of NB 21, an exotic variety of grass, and tnus,created" a'lot of awareness. among the pe-op\~. The dis:"trict foresi 'officer was persuaded' to distribiltefreesaplings, of quick-growing trees.\ Social Forestr.y:, toohas. been-undettaken in a big way and as, 'many as50,000 saplings are being, planted under' a phased pro-,gramme;

''Flie repayment at Mailam has been extcilent'----Dfthe ord'er of 95 PCf cent. Most of tbe beneficiaries ,ha,ve also been able to get an' additional income nptoRs: 250' a montb',

'Constant review of tlie' schellie is made by the Di,{c ,triet Rural Development Agency. Bilt tlie air of'prosperity and ,3 sense of well-being exuded by thebeneficiaries proves that the IRDP is doing well' andhelping the weaker sections in transforming their livesfor the belter.

~ ,'.1 :...} >.:.:.. !:.:! ; ;."~.:'._•. :'( \.

;'.:llIJf,. •... .r - ;.. ;We '~hoiiei.'OiIFesteemed redde;s will s£;I1(1:',us their:' Q.wn.,eXl~r.ri~llces,' ill tlieL" I,; I.""';';fieU's,,' thatothers:cimhenefit"by alent 10 !ls/ler ill "a~beltet',life tor our rural:0 i.. (,""i' '. i)cdple: (EDITOR)"',)' ~.. r:0i.i,,"rjS;~1;,. ~

".' 1 '. •~.,"H;,i"'.':l ~L';~::.,<,l=':

";!, ,t:'<i~'.<~::~.Betterlife through ',IliDP, .. ,~.. ' ~._'.~,.~.. , .

M'fAJ'eAir,/';OFF TJNOJVANAM.Cuddalore in -South. ";\rcol.distticr,"ias humming with aetivilythe' other

day' ',fs:lroidcil<if 6fficial"s descclidedon the hamlet of5000 as, hever' !Jef"i",', , ,

c Strains ofna\iaswaram music competed with amadcrn hand, as it only' can in' a vill<jge.

'Wom6n in their cleanest and brightest clothes scur-ried ..awut in widcceyed, wonder at all the "big shots",who 'had coine from the "city".. ..,

"The, occasion was, the' one-da,y exhibition' organisedby, b"ncficiaries of loans distributed by the State Bankof I11diauI)der the Integrated Rural Development Pro.granjwe, in' collaboration, with District Rural Develop-filent Agency.

",IRDp 'which w3~ilaunched two years ago, aims at up-lifting people below poverty line and creating subSl'lll-tial'opportunities for employment. Under this pro.gramme; the Mailam branch of the SBI had, during thelast two' years given as, much as Rs. 8 lakhs to' over200)~persons for buying milch animals or for improvingtheir business. The bulk of the loans were, for milchanimals. It was thought that with most personsdepending on dryland far,ming, cows and buffaloesw6uld be t1)e best form of investment.

The success of the programme depends primarily inchoosing the right candidate and providing the neces-'saTY.support 'arrangements. But excellent coordinationof DRDA and the bank officials had paid dividends.Each case was examined and stress was laid on theaptitude -of the beneficiary, The loans weregenerally not more than Rs. 2000 and given in theform of animals, or equipment. In case of animals,

""'~~~~'.'O.'""""~"'"""' .-; .'

Milkmen, beneficiaries of bank loans under the IRDP exhibit their prize animals at the exhibition.

Trysem to the rescue

RUPEES EIGHT HUNDRED a year, through one's ownhard labour, may not sound impressive to many.

But for a few tribal girls of village Jodyada inDhule District, Maharashtra, the opportunity to workand earn this much is nothing short of a miracle.

They were all i1'ite,a.tc, deserted by those whoshould have loved and looked after them. Disillusionedwith the life process of their lightless world, they wereat the end of their tether.

Jekha Pawara was one of rhem. She belonged to a~. Scheduled Tribe. Ditched by her husband while she

was very young, she had to depend upon her familyto keep her body and soul together. It was then thatAnand Sadan, a charitable institution of Shirpur, tookher under its wings.

Anand Sadan is aided by the scheme for "Trainingof Rural Youth for Self Employment" (TRYSEM)through the District Rural Development Agency to

i

i<I KURUKSHETRAMoo' l6. "83

help people like Jekha to acquire the necessary skillsso that they could become self-employed.

In Anand Sadan, she learned to read and write'andthe trade of tailoring. The Bank of Baroda advancedher money to buy a sewing machine. She set up tailor-ing on her own, repaying regularly the instalments. ofthe bank loan and contributing about Rs. 800 a yearto the family kitty. •

Bayaja Bhavsing Pawara and Lilabai RupsingPawara were all in the same boat with Jekha Pawarahaving been deserted by their husbands. But forTR YSEM and Anand Bhavan, they would still havebeen at other's mercy. Now that they are earning,they look at life with confidence and hope. .

Shakuntala Pawara should be the happiest of the lot.Educated upto IX standard, she was deserted by herhusband at ] 8. After training in Anand Sadan, shetook up tailoring to cam a living. This brought theestranged husband back to her.

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:KURuKsHEtRA--:M~rch 16; ,1983

l;

'.

National rural employment programmeOutlayA total outlay of Rs. 1620 crore" has be~n provided by the Centre and States for theNational Rural Employment Programme during the Si"th Plan period. It is e"pectedthat effective implementation of this programme would not only raise income levels of tiren/ral poor but would also stabilise the levels of wages of agricultural labour. Moreover,NREP envisagesclose involvement of localpeople and panchayati raj institutions in tireselection of works, their execution and subsequent maintenance of assets created in respectof each block.

Shoemakers at work.Pottery has b~n a tradition~1 handicraf! and keepsour rural craftsm~n busy during lean periods.

(Licensed under U (DN) -54 to post without prepay-ment at Civil Lines Post Office, Delhi).

Regd. No. D(DN)/39RN 702/57

Poultry farming hashelped in adding tofarmers' income.

National rural employment programmeAchievementSNational Rural EmploymenrProgramme h;s seras i/;objective the -creating of 300 to 400mondays of employment in a year. Roughly atleast one member from each poor family ise»pected to secure employment for a minimum period oj 100 days during the -year. Theprogramme has resulted in many other benefits to the _rural poor like price stiJbili.ation offoodgrains ensuring minim.m »ages to the» crk"s and thus increasing their income andimproving their nutritional standards, prol'iding Ifork to the needy poor throughout the yearand thus checkirt"g the exodus oj rural [Ol"loticn to dties. By 1981-82, a totai of

-663.17 jakhs mondays worth oj fTnplo)m<nt »-as gfnerated under the programme.

NREP has helped the ruralartisans in a big way by pro-viding necessary financial andother kinds of assistance.

PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR, PUBLI-

CATIONS DIVISION, NEW DELHI-llOOO,AND PRINTED BY THo MANAGER,.

GOVT. OF INDIA PRESS, FARIDABAD

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