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

Transcription

1 1. What d yu mean by rural develpment? Bring ut the key issues in rural develpment. Rural develpment primarily fcuses n actin t be taken fr the develpment f areas which are backward in the verall develpment f the village ecnmy. Sme f the areas which pse a challenge t the prgress f ur natin include: Land Refrms Human Resurce develpment which includes increasing the literacy levels, especially female literacy, female develpment and als health issues like sanitatin and public health. Develping the prductive resurces f each lcality Infrastructural develpment like electricity, irrigatin, transprt, credit, cnstructin f village rads and cnnectivity t highways, fstering agricultural research, extensin and infrmatin disseminatin. Special measures fr eradicating f pverty and bringing abut significant changes in the standards f living f the weaker sectins f the ppulatin 2. Discuss the imprtance f credit in rural develpment. The rural ecnmy can grw nly if it has peridic investments made int it. It is this capital which will ensure higher prductivity in agriculture. Farmers always have t brrw because the time taken between the time f swing and actual realizatin f cash after prductin is very lng. 3. Explain the rle f micr-credit in meeting credit requirements f the pr. in rder t fill the gap created by the frmal credit delivery system, Self Help Grups (SHGs) have emerged recently. Sme cllateral was required fr getting credit and hence a large prprtin f the pr rural husehlds fund themselves ut f the credit netwrk. SHGs n the ther hand prmte savings and thrift. They encurage savings in small prprtins by having a minimum cntributin frm each member. The mney thus pled, is then given as lans t needy members with reasnable return rates and repayable in easy installments. 4. Explain the steps taken by the gvernment in develping rural markets. In 1969, India adpted scial banking and multi agency apprach in rder t adequately meet the rural credit. This was a majr change. The Natinal bank fr Agriculture and Rural Develpment (NABARD) was set up in 1982 as an apex bdy t crdinate all the activities invlving the finance f the rural sectr. The Green Revlutin als brught in majr change in the credit system and it led t the diversificatin f the rural credit prtfli, making it a mre prductin riented lending. 1

2 A set f multi agency institutins namely reginal rural banks (RRBs), cperative and land develpment banks fr the institutinal structure f rural banking tday. The multi agency system is aimed at dispensing adequate credit at cheaper rates. 5. Why is agricultural diversificatin essential fr sustainable livelihds? The frmal credit delivery mechanism has prved t be inadequate and has nt fully integrated the verall rural scial and cmmunity develpment. Hence in rder t fill the gap created by the frmal credit delivery system, Self Help Grups (SHGs) have emerged recently. Sme cllateral was required fr getting credit and hence a large prprtin f the pr rural husehlds fund themselves ut f the credit netwrk. 6. Critically evaluate the rle f the rural banking system in the prcess f rural develpment in India. The rural farm and nn farm input and utput, incme and emplyment were affected psitively by the expansin f the banking system. The green revlutin and the expanding banking system helped the farmers avail credit facilities, services and a variety f lans t cater t their prductin needs. Famines became nn existent. Tday, we have achieved fd security and we have an abundant buffer stck f grains. The banking system hwever is nt ding well. There has been cnsistent underperfrmance f the frmal credit institutins and high incidence f verdue installments by the farmers. All frmal institutins except the cmmercial banks have failed t find a system f mbilizatin f depsits. They als failed t lend t wrthwhile brrwers and there was a cmplete failure in the recvery f lans. Abut 50% f defaulters amngst the defaulters f agricultural lans have been termed as willful defaulters and this has t be cntrlled as it is a big threat t the banking sectr. 7. What d yu mean by agricultural marketing? The system thrugh which gds reach markets all ver the cuntry depends n the market channels. The prcess f agricultural marketing invlves assembling, strage, transprtatin, prcessing, grading and the distributin f the varius agricultural prducts acrss the cuntry. 8. Mentin sme bstacles that hinder the mechanism f agricultural marketing. Befre independence, farmers suffered because f faulty weighing and manipulatin f accunts while selling their prducts. Farmers generally did nt have infrmatin n the prevailing prices f packaging and transprtatin, hence were frced t sell at lw rates. They als lacked prper strage facilities and s culd nt stre and sell their prduce at a higher price in the future. Even tday 10% f farm prduce is wasted due t imprper strage. 9. What are the alternative channels available fr agricultural marketing? Give sme examples. 2

3 It has been fund ut that whenever the farmers sell their prducts directly t the cnsumer, their prfits increase because their share in the price paid by the cnsumer increases. Sme examples f such channels which prmte the direct selling by the farmers themselves are: Apni Mandi (Punjab, Rajastan and Haryana), Hadaspar Mandi (Pune), Rythu Bazars( fruit and vegetable markets in Andhra Pradesh) and Uzhavar Sandies ( the farmer markets f Tamilnadu). Als, several multinatinal and natinal cmpanies are signing cntracts with the farmers directly and encuraging them t cultivate farm prducts like vegetables and fruits. They encurage them t prduce gds f the desired quality by prviding the farmers with seeds and ther essentials. Further the farmers are assured f the prduce getting sld at a pre decided price. Such arrangements reduce the risk f the farmer since he des nt have t wrry abut selling the prduce. It als leads t the expansin f farm prducts. 10. Explain the term Glden Revlutin. The perid between the year 1991 and 2003is termed the Glden Revlutin due t many reasns and the main reasn being the planned investment in hrticulture. This sectr shwed high prductivity and emerged as a sustainable ptin fr thse wh had pted in it. India emerged as a wrld leader in prducing different varieties like manges, bananas, ccnuts, cashews alng with plenty f spices. India als is the secnd largest prducer f vegetables and fruits. Farmers have imprved their livelihd by adpting hrticulture. Amng the ther areas where hrticulture has lent its hand are flwer harvesting, hybrid seed prductin and tissue culture, prpagatin f fruits and flwers and fd prcessing. These have prved t be remunerative t farmers and have ffered emplyment t the wmen f the respective areas. 11. Explain fur measures taken by the gvernment t imprve agricultural marketing. Sme f the measures that were taken in rder t imprve the marketing scenari were: The initial step taken was t regulate the markets t create rderly and transparent market cnditins. This was very beneficial fr the farmers as well as the cnsumers but there still arund rural peridic markets as regulated market places is required in rder t realize the full ptential f the rural market. Next, the prvisin f physical infrastructural facilities like railways, rads, warehuses, gdwns, cld strage and prcessing units were being intrduced but the current infrastructural facilities are quite inadequate. The third initiative taken was t intrduce cperative markets s as t realize fair prices fr the farmer s prduce. The success f the milk cperatives in Gujarat is a testimnial f the success f this initiative taken. The milk cperatives have transfrmed the scial and the ecnmic landscapes f Gujarat and have made a big impact n the standard f living f the farmers. The cperatives have had a setback during the recent past due t lack f prper cverage f farmer members, imprper and insufficient links between the marketing and prcessing cperatives and inefficient management f the finances. The furth initiative taken is the intrductin f plicy instruments like: Assurance f minimum supprt price (MSP) fr 24 agricultural prducts. 3

4 wheat. Using the Fd Crpratin f India t maintain a buffer stck f rice and Using the PDS t distribute rice and grains. 12. Explain the rle f nn-farm emplyment in prmting rural diversificatin. The diversificatin int nn agricultural sectrs nt nly reduces the risk frm agricultural sectr but als t prvide the rural peple with sustainable and prductive livelihd ptins. Diversificatin is required because there is a big risk if farming happens t be the lne ptin f livelihd fr a majrity in the rural sectr. Agricultural wrk is seasnal and mst f it is restricted t the Kharif seasn. During the Rabi seasn, the irrigatin facilities are inadequate and it becmes difficult t get gainful emplyment. Hence the expansin int nn agricultural sectrs becmes very imprtant in rder t prvide supplementary emplyment and incme s as t increase the level f incme f the rural sectr and t alleviate pverty in such areas. 13. Bring ut the imprtance f animal husbandry, fisheries and hrticulture as a surce f diversificatin. The farming cmmunity f ur cuntry uses mixed crp-livestck farming system. Cattle, fwl and gats are widely held. Livestck prductin des nt disturb the ther fd prducing activities but it still prvides a mre stable incme, fd security, transprt, fuel and nutritin fr the family. Over 70 millin small and marginal farmers including landless laburers depend n the livelihd sectr t prvide alternate livelihd actins. Water bdy is regarded as the mther f prvider by the fishing cmmunity. Seas, ceans, lakes, streams, pnds etc are examples f water bdies and hence are a life giving surce fr the fishing cmmunity f India. After varius budget allcatins and revenue channeling by the gvernment int the fisheries, technlgical intrductin and research has happened in fisheries and aqua culture. 49% f the ttal fish prductin is cntributed by the inland surces tday. The rest is frm the marine surces like seas and ceans. 1.4% f the GDP is accunted by the ttal fish prductin. Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu are the majr marine prducts prviding states. Cultivatin f diverse hrticulture like fruits, vegetables, tuber crps, flwers, medicinal plants, spices etc is happening in India because f the varying climatic and sil cnditins. Hrticulture plays a majr rle in increasing emplyment and in prviding fd and nutritin. India is the wrld leader in prducing a variety f fruits like bananas, manges, cashew nuts and als a plethra f spices. We are the secnd largest prducer f fruits and vegetables. The financial and ecnmic cnditin f the farmers invlved in hrticulture has turned better and hrticulture has emerged as a sectr which can imprve the standard f living f the under privileged masses. 14. Infrmatin technlgy plays a very significant rle in achieving sustainable develpment and fd security cmment. The IT industry has revlutinized quite a few sectrs f the Indian ecnmy. It is widely 4

5 believed that IT will play a majr rle in achieving sustainable develpment and fd security in this century and the future. T qute an example t justify this belief, the predictin f areas f fd vulnerability and insecurity by the gvernment using sftwares and taking steps s as t prevent r reduce the famine like situatin. IT als can garner infrmatin abut sil, weather, prices, new technlgies fr grwing different crps. It has, very imprtantly, ushered in a knwledge ecnmy which is wrth 1000 times mre than the industrial revlutin. IT is directly nt a catalyst fr change, but it helps in identifying the hidden talents in peple and is used as tll by them t unleash their creative ptential and knwledge. IT is als a livelihd ptin fr the peple in the rural sectr. 15. What is rganic farming and hw des it prmte sustainable develpment? Tday the awareness abut the harmful effects f the pesticides is quite high. Cnventinal agriculture is heavily dependent n chemical fertilizers and pesticides which are txic in nature. These enter the fd supply, penetrate the water resurces, cause harm t the livestck, deplete the sil and destry the ec systems. Evlving ec friendly technlgies are imprtant in rder t achieve sustainable develpment. One such technlgy is rganic farming. Organic agriculture is a whle system f farming which restres, maintains and enhances the balance f the ec systems. The demand fr rganically grwn fd in rder t enhance fd safety is grwing rapidly. 16. Identify the benefits and limitatins f rganic farming. Organic agriculture is a means t substitute cstlier rganic inputs like HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc with dmestically prduced rganic inputs which are cheaper. Hence rganic agriculture generates mre returns than cnventinal agriculture. There are returns frm internatinal exprts t because there is a grwing demand fr rganically grwn crps. Organically grwn fds have been prved t have mre nutritinal value than chemically grwn fd, hence they are much mre healthy. Since rganic farming requires mre labur inputs, we can use it as a way f generating mre emplyment. The prduce is pesticide free and is envirnment friendly. 17. Enlist sme prblems faced by farmers during the initial years f rganic farming. Organic farming will grw and becme ppular nly if the farmers are willing t adpt a new technlgy. Lack f infrastructure and the prblem f marketing rganic prducts are the tw radblcks t the adptin f rganic farming. The yields frm rganic farming in the initial years are less and s small and medium farmers may find it difficult t survive n rganic farming. Organic fd has lesser shelf life. The chice f prductin f crps during the ff seasn is quite limited in rganic farming. Despite all the drawbacks, rganic farming is ec friendly and a sustainable methd. India has a clear advantage in adpting this methd. 5