6

RURAL
DEVELOPMENT

After studying this chapter, the learners will

understand rural development and the major issues associated with it

appreciate how crucial the development of rural areas is for Indias overall
development
understand the critical role of credit and marketing systems in rural
development
learn about the importance of diversification of productive activities to
sustain livelihoods
understand the significance of organic farming in sustainable
development.

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 Only the tillers of the soil live by the right. The rest form their train and eat
only the bread of dependence.
Thiruvalluvar

6.1 INTRODUCTION lagging behind in the overall

In Chapter 4, we studied how poverty development of the village economy.
was a major challenge facing India. We Some of the areas which are
also came to know that the majority challenging and need fresh initiatives
of the poor live in rural areas where for development in rural India include
Development of human resources
they do not have access to the basic
necessities of life. including
literacy, more specifically, female
Agriculture is the major source of
livelihood in the rural sector. Mahatma literacy, education and skill
Gandhi once said that the real progress development
health, addressing both sanitation
of India did not mean simply the growth
and expansion of industrial urban and public health
Land reforms
centres but mainly the development of
Development of the productive
the villages. This idea of village
development being at the centre of the resources of each locality
Infrastructure development like
overall development of the nation is
relevant even today. Why is this so? electricity, irrigation, credit,
Why should we attach such significance marketing, transport facilities
to rural development when we see including construction of village
around us fast growing cities with large roads and feeder roads to nearby
highways, facilities for agriculture
industries and modern information
technology hubs? It is because more research and extension, and
than two-third of Indias population information dissemination
Special measures for alleviation
depends on agriculture that is yet to
become productive enough to provide of poverty and bringing about
significant improvement in the living
for them; one-third of rural India still
lives in abject poverty. That is the conditions of the weaker sections
reason why we have to see a developed of the population emphasising
rural India if our nation has to realise access to productive employment
real progress. What, then, does rural opportunities
All this means that people engaged
development imply?
in farm and non-farm activities in
6.2 WHAT IS RURAL D EVELOPMENT? rural areas have to be provided with
various means that help them increase
Rural development is a comprehensive the productivity. They also need to be
term. It essentially focuses on action for given opportunities to diversify
the development of areas that are into various non-farm productive

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activities such as food processing. The impact of this phenomenon can be
Enabling them better and more seen from the growing distress
affordable access to healthcare, witnessed among farmers across
sanitation facilities at workplaces and different parts of India. During 2007-
homes and education for all would also 12, agriculture output has grown at
need to be given top priority for rapid 3.2 per cent. Against this background,
rural development. we will critically look at some of the
It was observed in an earlier chapter crucial aspects of rural India like credit
that although the share of agriculture and marketing systems, agricultural
sectors contribution to GDP was on a diversification and the role of organic
decline, the population dependent on farming in promoting sustainable
this sector did not show any significant development.
change. Further, after the initiation of
reforms, the growth rate of agriculture 6.3 CREDIT AND MARKETING IN RURAL
sector decelerated to about 3 per cent AREAS
per annum during the 1991-2012,
which was lower than the earlier years. Credit: Growth of rural economy
Scholars identify decline in public depends primarily on infusion of
investment since 1991 as the major capital, from time to time, to realise
reason for this. They also argue that higher productivity in agriculture and
inadequate infrastructure, lack of non-agriculture sectors. As the time
alternate employment opportunities in gestation between crop sowing and
the industry or service sector, realisation of income after production is
increasing casualisation of employment quite long, farmers borrow from various
etc., further impede rural development. sources to meet their initial investment
on seeds, fertilisers, implements and
other family expenses of marriage,
Work These Out death, religious ceremonies etc.
At the time of independence,
On a monthly basis, go through moneylenders and traders exploited
the newspapers of your region small and marginal farmers and
and identify the problems raised
landless labourers by lending to them
by them in relation to rural areas
and the solutions of fered. You
on high interest rates and by
could also visit a nearby village
manipulating the accounts to keep
and identify the problems faced them in a debt-trap. A major change
by people there. Discuss this in occurred after 1969 when India
the classroom. adopted social banking and multi-
Preparea list of recent schemes
agency approach to adequately meet
the needs of rural credit. Later, the
and their objectives from the
government website http:// National Bank for Agriculture and
www.rural.nic.in Rural Development (NABARD) was set
up in 1982 as an apex body to

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 Box 6.1: The Poor Womens Bank
Kudumbashree is a women-oriented community-based poverty reduction
programme being implemented in Kerala. In 1995, a thrift and credit society
was started as a small savings bank for poor women with the objective to
encourage savings. The thrift and credit society mobilised Rs 1 crore as thrift
savings. These societies have been acclaimed as the largest informal banks in
Asia in terms of participation and savings mobilised.

Source: www.kudumbashree.com. Visit this website and explore various other

initiatives undertaken by this organisation. Can you identify some factors
which contributed to their successes?

coordinate the activities of all the gap in the formal credit system
institutions involved in the rural because the formal credit delivery
financing system. The Green mechanism has not only proven
Revolution was a harbinger of major inadequate but has also not been fully
changes in the credit system as it led to integrated into the overall rural social
the diversification of the portfolio of and community development. Since
rural credit towards production- some kind of collateral is required, vast
oriented lending. proportion of poor rural households
The institutional structure of rural were automatically out of the credit
banking today consists of a set of network. The SHGs promote thrift in
multi-agency institutions, namely, small proportions by a minimum
commercial banks, regional rural contribution from each member. From
banks (RRBs), cooperatives and land the pooled money, credit is given to the
development banks. They are expected needy members to be repayable in
to dispense adequate credit at cheaper small instalments at reasonable interest
rates. Recently, Self-Help Groups rates. By March end 2003, more than
(henceforth SHGs) have emerged to fill seven lakh SHGs had reportedly been

Work These Out

In your locality/ neighbourhood, you might notice self-help groups providing

cr edit. Attend few meetings of such self-help groups. Write a report on the
profile of a self-help group. The profile may include when it was started,
the number of members, amount of savings and type of credit they provide
and how borrowers use the loan.
You might also find that those who take a loan for starting self-employment
activities but use it for other purposes. Interact with few such borrowers.
Identify the reasons for not starting self employment activities and discuss
in the classroom.

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credit linked. Such credit provisions are With the possible exception of the
generally referred to as micro-credit commercial banks, other formal
programmes. SHGs have helped in the institutions have failed to develop a
empowerment of women. It is alleged culture of deposit mobilisation
that the borrowings are mainly confined lending to worthwhile borrowers and
to consumption purposes. Why are effective loan recovery. Agriculture
borrowers not spending for productive loan default rates have been
purposes? chronically high. Why farmers failed
to pay back loans? It is alleged that
Rural Banking a Critical farmers are deliberately refusing to
Appraisal: Rapid expansion of the pay back loans. What could be the
banking system had a positive effect on reasons?
rural farm and non-farm output, Thus, the expansion and promotion
income and employment, especially of the rural banking sector has taken a
after the green revolution it helped backseat after reforms. To improve the
farmers to avail services and credit situation, it is suggested that banks
facilities and a variety of loans for need to change their approach from
meeting their prodution needs. Famines just being lenders to building up
became events of the past; we have now relationship banking with the
achieved food security which is reflected borrowers. Inculcating the habit of
in the abundant buffer stocks of grains. thrift and efficient utilisation of financial
However, all is not well with our resources needs to be enhanced among
banking system. the farmers too.

Work These Out

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

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6.4 AGRICULTURAL MARKET SYSTEM lack of storage? Therefore, state
intervention became necessary to
Have you ever asked yourself how food
regulate the activities of the private
grains, vegetables and fruits that we
traders.
consume daily come from different parts
Let us discuss four such measures
of the country? The mechanism
that were initiated to improve the
through which these goods reach
marketing aspect. The first step was
different places depends on the market
regulation of markets to create orderly
channels. Agricultural marketing is a
process that involves the assembling, and transparent marketing conditions.
storage, processing, transportation, By and large, this policy benefited
packaging, grading and distribution of farmers as well as consumers. However,
different agricultural commodities there is still a need to develop about
across the country. 27,000 rural periodic markets as
Prior to independence, farmers, regulated market places to realise the
while selling their produce to traders, full potential of rural markets. Second
suffered from faulty weighing and component is provision of physical
manipulation of accounts. Farmers infrastructure facilities like roads,
who did not have the required railways, warehouses, godowns, cold
information on prices prevailing in storages and processing units. The
markets were often forced to sell at low current infrastructure facilities are quite
prices. They also did not have proper inadequate to meet the growing demand
storage facilities to keep back their and need to be improved. Cooperative
produce for selling later at a better marketing, in realising fair prices for
price. Do you know that even today, farmers products, is the third aspect of
more than 10 per cent of goods government initiative. The success of
produced in farms are wasted due to milk cooperatives in transforming the

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

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 Work These Out

Visit a nearby vegetable and fruit market. Observe and identify different
characteristics of the market. Identify the place of origin of at least ten
different fruits and vegetables and distance travelled to reach the market.
Further, look at the modes of transport and its implication on prices.
Most small towns have regulated market yards. Farmers can go to these
markets and sell their produce. They can also store their goods in the yard.
Visit one regulated market yard; collect the details of its functioning, kind
of goods coming to the yard and how prices are fixed.

social and economic landscape of Agricultural marketing has come

Gujarat and some other parts of the a long way with the intervention of the
country is testimony to the role of government in various forms. Some
cooperatives. However cooperatives have scholars argue that commercialisation
received a setback during the recent past of agriculture offers tremendous scope
due to inadequate coverage of farmer for farmers to earn higher incomes
members, lack of appropriate link provided the government intervention
between marketing and processing is restricted. What do you think about
cooperatives and inefficient financial this view?
management. The fourth element is the
policy instruments like (i) assurance of Emerging Alternate Marketing
minimum support prices (MSP) for Channels: It has been realised that if
agricultural products (ii) maintenance farmers directly sell their produce to
of buffer stocks of wheat and rice consumers, it increases their incomes.
by Food Corporation of India and Some examples of these channels are
(iii) distribution of food grains and sugar Apni Mandi (Punjab, Haryana and
Rajasthan); Hadaspar Mandi (Pune);
through PDS. These instruments are
Rythu Bazars (vegetable and fruit
aimed at protecting the income of the
markets in Andhra Pradesh and
farmers and providing foodgrains at a
Telangana) and Uzhavar Sandies
subsidised rate to the poor. However, (farmers markets in Tamil Nadu).
despite government intervention, private Further, several national and
trade (by moneylenders, rural political multinational fast food chains are
elites, big merchants and rich farmers) increasingly entering into contracts/
predominates agricultural markets. The alliances with farmers to encourage
need for government intervention is them to cultivate farm products
imminent particularly when a large (vegetables, fruits, etc.) of the desired
share of agricultural products, is quality by providing them with not only
handled by the private sector. seeds and other inputs but also assured

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procurement of the produce at pre- season, in areas where there are
decided prices. It is argued that such inadequate irrigation facilities, it
arrangements will help in reducing the becomes difficult to find gainful
price risks of farmers and would also employment. Therefore expansion
expand the markets for farm products. into other sectors is essential to
Do you think such arrangements raise provide supplementary gainful
incomes of small farmers. employment and in realising higher
levels of income for rural people to
overcome poverty and other
Work This Out
tribulations. Hence, there is a need to
focus on allied activities, non-farm
Visit one such alternative employment and other emerging
marketing system which farmers alternatives of livelihood, though
in your locality, or in the there are many other options available
neighbourhood rural areas, use.
for providing sustainable livelihoods
How are they different from
in rural areas.
regulated market yards? Should
they be encouraged and supported As agriculture is already
by the government? Why and how? overcrowded, a major proportion of the
Discuss. increasing labour force needs to find
alternate employment opportunities in
other non-farm sectors. Non-farm
6.5 DIVERSIFICATION INTO PRODUCTIVE economy has several segments in it;
ACTIVITIES
Diversification includes two aspects -
one relates to change in cropping
pattern and the other relates to a shift
of workforce from agriculture to other
allied activities (livestock, poultry,
fisheries etc.) and non-agriculture
sector. The need for diversification
arises from the fact that there is
greater risk in depending exclusively
on farming for livelihood.
Diversification towards new areas is
necessary not only to reduce the risk
from agriculture sector but also to
provide productive sustainable
livelihood options to rural people.
Much of the agricultural employment
activities are concentrated in the Fig. 6.2 Jaggery making is an allied activity
Kharif season. But during the Rabi of the farming sector

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 Box 6.2: Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture (TANWA)
Tamil Nadu Women in Agricultur e (TANWA) is a project initiated in T amil Nadu
to train women in latest agricultural techniques. It induces women to actively
participate in raising agricultural productivity and family income. At a Farm
Womens Gr oup in Thiruchirapalli, run by Anthoniammal, trained women are
successfully making and selling vermicompost and earning money from this
venture. Many other Farm Womens Groups are cr eating savings in their group
by functioning like mini banks through a micro-credit system. With the
accumulated savings, they promote small-scale household activities like
mushroom cultivation, soap manufacture, doll making or other income-
generating activities.

some possess dynamic linkages that production provides increased stability

permit healthy growth while others are in income, food security, transport, fuel
in subsistence, low productivity and nutrition for the family without
propositions. The dynamic sub-sectors disrupting other food-producing
include agro-processing industries, activities. Today, livestock sector alone
food processing industries, leather provides alternate livelihood options to
industry, tourism, etc. Those sectors over 70 million small and marginal
which have the potential but seriously farmers including landless labourers. A
lack infrastructure and other support significant number of women also find
include traditional home-based employment in the livestock sector.
industries like pottery, crafts, Chart 6.1 shows the distribution of
handlooms etc. Majority of rural livestock in India. Poultry accounts for
women find employment in agriculture the largest share with 58 per cent
while men generally
look for non-farm Chart 6.1: Distribution of Poultry and
employment. In recent Livestock in India, 2012
times, women have
also begun looking
for non-farm jobs (see
Box 6.2).

Animal Husbandry: In
India, the farming
community uses the
mixed crop-livestock
farming system
cattle, goats, fowl
are the widely held
species. Livestock

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 important productive sectors for
diversification.

Fisheries: The fishing community

regards the water body as mother or
provider. The water bodies consisting
of sea, oceans, rivers, lakes, natural
aquatic ponds, streams etc. are,
therefore, an integral and life-giving
source for the fishing community. In
Fig. 6.3 Sheep rearing an important income India, after progressive increase in
augmenting activity in rural areas
budgetary allocations and introduction
followed by others. Other animals which of new technologies in fisheries and
include camels, asses, horses, ponies aquaculture, the development of
and mules are in the lowest rung. India fisheries has come a long way.
had about 300 million cattle, including Presently, fish production from inland
108 million buffaloes, in 2012. sources contributes about 64 per cent
Performance of the Indian dairy sector to the total fish production and the
over the last three decades has been balance 36 per cent comes from the
quite impressive. Milk production in marine sector (sea and oceans). Today
the country has increased by more than total fish production accounts for
five times between 1960-2012. This 0.8 per cent of the total GDP. In India,
can be attributed mainly to the West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,
successful implementation of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
Operation Flood. It is a system are major fish producing states. A large
whereby all the farmers can pool their share of fishworker families are poor.
milk produced according to different Rampant underemployment, low per
grading (based on quality) and the capita earnings, absence of mobility of
same is processed and marketed to labour to other sectors and a high rate
urban centres through cooperatives. In of illiteracy and indebtedness are some
this system the farmers are assured of of the major problems fishing
a fair price and income from the supply community face today. Even though
of milk to urban markets. As pointed women are not involved in active
out earlier Gujarat state is held as a fishing, about 60 per cent of the
success story in the efficient workforce in export marketing and 40
implementation of milk cooperatives per cent in internal marketing are
which has been emulated by many women. There is a need to increase
states. Meat, eggs, wool and other by- credit facilities through cooperatives
products are also emerging as and SHGs for fisherwomen to meet the

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working capital requirements for
marketing.

Horticulture: Blessed with a varying

climate and soil conditions, India has
adopted growing of diverse horti-
cultural crops such as fruits,
vegetables, tuber crops, flowers,
medicinal and aromatic plants, spices
and plantation crops. These crops play
a vital role in providing food
and nutrition, besides addressing
employment concerns. Horticulture
sector contributes nearly one-third of
Fig. 6.5 Women in rural households take up bee-
the value of agriculture output and six keeping as an entrepreneurial activity
per cent of Gross Domestic Product of
India. India has emerged as a world harvesting, nursery maintenance,
leader in producing a variety of fruits hybrid seed production and tissue
like mangoes, bananas, coconuts, culture, propagation of fruits and
cashew nuts and a number of spices flowers and food processing are highly
and is the second largest producer of remunerative employment options for
fruits and vegetables. Economic women in rural areas.
condition of many farmers engaged in Though, in terms of numbers, our
horticulture has improved and it has livestock population is quite impressive
become a means of improving livelihood but its productivity is quite low as
for many unprivileged classes. Flower compared to other countries. It requires
improved technology and
promotion of good
breeds of animals to
enhance productivity.
Improved veterinary care
and credit facilities to
small and marginal
farmers and landless
labourers would enhance
sustainable livelihood
options through livestock
production. Production
of fisheries has already
increased substantially.
However problems
Fig. 6.4 Poultry has the largest share of total livestock in India related to over- fishing and

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pollution need to be regulated and technologies and its applications,
controlled. Welfare programmes for the prices, weather and soil conditions for
fishing community have to be reoriented growing different crops etc. Though IT
in a manner which can provide long-term is, by itself, no catalyst of change but
gains and sustenance of livelihoods. it can act as a tool for releasing the
Horticulture has emerged as a successful creative potential and knowledge
sustainable livelihood option and needs embedded in the society. It also has
to be encouraged significantly. potential of employment generation in
Enhancing its role requires investment rural areas. Experiments with IT and
in infrastructure like electricity, cold its application to rural development are
storage systems, marketing linkages, carried out in different parts of India
small-scale processing units and (see Box 6.3).
technology improvement and
dissemination. 6.6 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
ORGANIC FARMING
Other Alternate Livelihood Options:
The IT has revolutionised many sectors In recent years, awareness of the
in the Indian economy. There is broad harmful effect of chemical-based
consensus that IT can play a critical fertilisers and pesticides on our health
role in achieving sustainable is on a rise. Conventional agriculture
development and food security in the relies heavily on chemical fertilisers
twenty-first century. Governments can and toxic pesticides etc., which enter
predict areas of food insecurity and the food supply, penetrate the water
vulnerability using appropriate sources, harm the livestock, deplete the
information and software tools so that soil and devastate natural eco-systems.
action can be taken to prevent or Efforts in evolving technologies which
reduce the likelihood of an emergency. are eco-friendly are essential for
It also has a positive impact on the sustainable development and one
agriculture sector as it can disseminate such technology which is eco-friendly
information regarding emerging is organic farming. In short, organic

Box 6.3: Adoption of Village by Parliamentarians

In October, 2014, The Government of India introduced a new scheme called
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Under this scheme, Members of India's
Parliament need to identify and develop one village from their constituencies. To
begin with, MPs can develop one village as a model village by 2016, and two more
by 2019, covering over 2,500 villages in India. According to the scheme, the village
can have a population of 3,000-5,000 in the plains and 1,000-3,000 in the hills
and should not be MPs' own or their spouse's village. MPs are expected to facilitate
a village development plan, motivate villagers to take up activities and built
infrastructure in the areas of health, nutrition and education.
Source: www.pib.nic.in accessed on 24 October 2014

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 Box 6.4: Organic Food
Organic food is growing in popularity across the world. Many countries have
around 10 per cent of their food system under organic farming. There are
many retail chains and supermarkets which are accorded with green status
to sell organic food. Moreover, organic foods command higher price of around
10-100 per cent than conventional ones.

agriculture is a whole system of is on a rise. Studies across countries

farming that restores, maintains and have shown that organically grown food
enhances the ecological balance. There has more nutritional value than
is an increasing demand for chemical farming thus providing us
organically grown food to enhance with healthy foods. Since organic
food safety throughout the world (see farming requires more labour input
Box 6.4). than conventional farming, India will
find organic farming an attractive
Benefits of Organic Farming: Organic proposition. Finally, the produce is
agriculture offers a means to substitute pesticide-free and produced in an
costlier agricultural inputs (such as environmentally sustainable way (see
HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, Box 6.5).
pesticides etc.) with locally produced Popularising organic farming
organic inputs that are cheaper and requires awareness and willingness on
thereby generate good returns on the part of farmers to adapt to new
investment. Organic agriculture also technology. Inadequate infrastructure
generates income through exports as and the problem of marketing the
the demand for organically grown crops products are major concerns which

Box 6.5: Organically Produced Cotton in Maharashtra

In 1995, when Kisan Mehta of Prakruti (an NGO) first suggested that cotton,
the biggest user of chemical pesticides, could be grown organically, the then
Dir ector of the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, famously
remarked, Do you want India to go naked? At present, as many as 130
farmers have committed 1,200 hectares of land to grow cotton organically on
the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements standards.
The produce was later tested by the German Accredited Agency, AGRECO,
and found to be of high quality. Kisan Mehta feels that about 78 per cent of
Indian farmers are marginal farmers owning about less than 0.8 hectare but
accounting for 20 per cent of Indias cultivable land. For such farmers, organic
agriculture is more profitable in terms of money and soil conservation in the
long run.
Source: Lyla Bavadam, A Green Alternative, Frontline, 29 July 2005.

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need to be addressed apart from an spectacular changes occur, the rural
appropriate agriculture policy to sector might continue to remain
promote organic farming. It has been backward. There is a greater need
observed that the yields from organic today to make rural areas more
farming are less than modern vibrant through diversification into
agricultural farming in the initial years. dairying, poultry, fisheries,
Therefore, small and marginal farmers vegetables and fruits and linking up
may find it difficult to adapt to large- the rural production centres with the
scale production. Organic produce may urban and foreign (export) markets
also have more blemishes and a shorter to realise higher returns on the
shelf life than sprayed produce. investments for the products.
Moreover choice in production of Moreover, infrastructure elements
off-season crops is quite limited in like credit and marketing, farmer-
organic farming. Nevertheless, organic friendly agricultural policies and a
farming helps in sustainable constant appraisal and dialogue
development of agriculture and India between farmers groups and state
has a clear advantage in producing agricultural departments are
organic products for both domestic and essential to realise the full potential
international markets. Do you think of the sector.
food and non-food items cultivated Today we cannot look at the
using organic farming methods will be environment and rural development as
cheaper? two distinct subjects. There is need to
invent or procure alternate sets of eco-
6.7 CONCLUSION friendly technologies that lead to
It is clear that until and unless some sustainable development in different

Work These Out

Make a list of five popular items that are organically produced in India.
Visit a nearby super market, vegetable shop and/or a departmental shop.
Identify a few products. Prepare a chart comparing a few goods that are
produced organically and in the normal way on the basis of their prices,
shelf life, quality and the kind of advertisement through which they are
popularised.
Visit a horticultural farm in the nearby locality. Collect the details of
goods that they cultivate on the farm. They could have diversified their
cropping patterns. Discuss with them the merits and demerits of the
diversification.

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circumstances. From these, each rural illustrations (which means success
community can choose whatever will stories of rural development
suit its purpose. First of all, then, we experiments that have already been
need to learn from, and also try out carried out in similar conditions in
when found relevant, practices from different parts of India), to speed up
the available set of best practice this process of learning by doing.

Recap

Rural development is quite a comprehensive term but it essentially means

a plan of action for the development of rural areas which are lagging
behind in socio-economic development.
There is a need for improving the quantity and quality of infrastructure
in rural areas such as banking, marketing, storage, transport and
communications etc. to realise its true potential.
Diversification towards new areas such as livestock, fisheries and other
non-agricultural activities is necessary not only to reduce the risk from
agriculture sector but also to provide productive sustainable livelihood
options to our rural people.
The importance of organic farming as an environmentally sustainable
production process is on a rise and needs to be promoted.

EXERCISES

1. What do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues in
rural development.
2. Discuss the importance of credit in rural development.
3. Explain the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of the
poor.
4. Explain the steps taken by the government in developing rural
markets.
5. Why is agricultural diversification essential for sustainable
livelihoods?

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 6. Critically evaluate the role of the rural banking system in the process
of rural development in India.
7. What do you mean by agricultural marketing?
8. Mention some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agricultural
marketing.
9. What are the alternative channels available for agricultural
marketing? Give some examples.
10. Distinguish between Green Revolution and Golden Revolution.
11. Do you think various measures taken by the government to improve
agricultural marketing are sufficient? Discuss.
12. Explain the role of non-farm employment in promoting rural
diversification.
13. Bring out the importance of animal husbandry, fisheries and
horticulture as a source of diversification.
14. Information technology plays a very significant role in achieving
sustainable development and food security comment.
15. What is organic farming and how does it promote sustainable
development?
16. Identify the benefits and limitations of organic farming.
17. Enlist some problems faced by farmers during the initial years of
organic farming.

REFERENCES

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Website
www.dahd.nic.in

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