..

't

'",."'""

'.

Co'nstruction of roads
has not only created
employment
unities on

opporta wst

scale but also helped

in strengthening the
rural infrastructure;

National rural employment programme

Objectives
National Rural Employment Programme is the revised version of the Food for Work
Programme with suitable modifications.
Started in 1980 with the aim of creating
additional employment opportunities in rural areas particu!arly during lean periods, the
programme has succeeded in making a dent into the problems of rural poverty. The
NREP simultaneously would boost rural economy by creating durable community
assets through taking up programmes of deve!opment in afforestation, land development
and conservation, drinking water supply, rural roads etc. The programme now forms
part of the Sixth Plan.

Keeping and rearing

of milch animals has
a special significance
in our rural economy.

1
1

Vol.xxxi

Editorial

No. 13
March 16, 1983
PhaJguna 25,1904

1,.,j'--"'''''1f,!"io.~'_/.!:,'

_.~.>'

".,
:.

1-

'.'

Hurukshetra

The

ijndia's Journal of rural development)

also of the various regions.

basic objective of fntroducin~ planning in India

is I", achieve a balanced economic development
of the country. A balanced ~onomic
development
implies the growth of all the sectors .of the economy as

I,
1

CONTENTS

A review of the planned economic development in the

HOW AGRO'BASED: INDUSTRIES CAN

PROMOTE RURAL DEVF,LOPMENT

t.~oun!;Y:s.o~f~r indicates numerous features some of

which are not conducive t.o the social and economic
" ' i,'i
y. VCllk~i~~'r ,"weU-being of the mass"'. Despite over three decades
.
.
of planning, the country today has wide disparities in
IRDP IN POVERTY ALL;VIATI~N
the level of development of various regions. Migration
,
I'
A. K. Majumdar
.:0C:
million'soL tural people t.o the towns and cities has
1-.
BAIIIKSCAN HELP IN TRANSFER OF
led to large scale growth of ill-planned and ill-equippTECHNOLOGY
ed :urb.an. centres Ie3;din.g to numerous socia-economic
I
A. R. Patel

11

13

~-'

problems:

,f' .

16

PLANNING FOR VII1LAGE INDUSTRIES

19

NEED TO BRING ABOUT RlJRAL

TRANSFORMATION
I
Ravindra Kumar
I

Fahimuddi/l

,,'"

"'

These itwo unhealthy developments could have. been

avoided if there would have heen 'large scale growth
?f,agro-based industries in and arou'nd rural areas
spread throughout the country.

21

POPULARISINd

BIOGAS PLANTS

Bihari

L. Patel

THEY SHOW THE WAY ...

24

I
'I

;1

EDITOR

'I

RATNA JUNEJA

I
" I

ASSTT. EDITOR
i'
N: N.SHARMA

I
.. I

SUB. EDITOR
' .
'PAP.AMJEET G. SINGH

I,

I
I
r
.'

,JIVAN ADALJA

,j,'

":

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

'Divbio~

Patiala Hous~, New Delhi-IIOOGl

I

Tel, 387983

Editorial Office" Klish! Bhav.h, Ne Delbl.nOOOI

co'-':

Ji :.

relepbone.:
384888 & 38%496
EdIto~ . Reoldelice: 615920
I

SINGLl' COPY: Re. I

SUBSCRlPTIONFOR.

bY

'/

-".

-'

',.,.

COVER

!
.'

By providing employment opportunities near the

villages, the growth of agro-based industries will lJe1p
in 'eliminating the main reason of migration of run;1
people to the, urban centres. 'This 'will also help ill
keeping the' socio-ecotiomic setting' of the rural fami.lies intact and act' as an incentive to the farmers to
p;od~ce mo;e
:e~suring ~Wrpri~e
for 'th~ir pto;
.t.
.
..,
,
..
duce., In. due, course, ,this will enable them to enjoy
both 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~titUtiOnsand
sh6pping :c~~t~es etc. which' are a ne~e~sary adjunct ~f
...
.. ".
.
the gr.owth 'of, agro'based industrial celltres.

()NE YEAR: Its. 20

1
1

we

In' this iss~e

carty a'n'enlighieneD study on this
imborta~t sU"biect'of agro'bd~ed i~dll;tties. We are
sure
thit otrreaders
wilL fi~d
,it very useful and in
,...
"'1
formative.
: .,-'

,".

, "
"
1.<. i

('II

,.'nft."'.'~tl

~ I '-I \ \

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

,,::>.If,

,,' l
,

Faculty

.,

'

Member; ~Institu,te of Public

"

GRo-BASEDINDUSTRIEShave 'assumed crucial importancein the economic planning and prd~ds~~j~f

our country due to the defects in the spatial and ~
struCtuval aspects of o.ur economy, .t.h.~'ico~spicuours
feature of which has so far been the concentration of I
inqustries in a v~ry fe~ {egio~'s, lhat 190 in la. fe~
urban centres, The overcrowding of population and
congestion of industries in a few' regioris' Mve' 'given
rise to numerous problems some of which, such as
lwusi~g, transport,
wa~c-r_ s,~,?,P~.l :d-,~ai,nag~.al1~
slum~, have b,ec9,!"e v~ry aCllte and have adversely
affected the urban life. In the light 'of these problems and in view of the fact that the country is'rich
iri v~'ri6us types of 'eash crops and,dther.materials .fe- I
quircd for indus,tries, the importanc~ of. ~gr(),Qased
industries in the economy of the country need, not be ,I
over-emphasized,,' Agro-based industries are linked
up' with agricultural ~ctivity and have~ consequ~_ntly,
an inherent tendency towards' decentralisation . an'd I
dispersal. 'Development of a network of small-scale
'and agro-based industries, as in s.ome States, like
Punjab an\! Haryana, may be 'expected to not only
.result in rapid industrial growth but', also to reduce
the ine.quitabie distrib~tion -Of b~tJiinc~me and
nomic opportunities in different parts :;{ the "co'urttrY'1
and among different'sections: of the popiJllitioi" '?

i
r
f

'ec.~-,

!.'it'II;!'

Enterprise,

'fn ~-...tr,-}

Osmania

)~1'.#'

t;

V _VENKAIAH

'

t,

Univcrsit)' Campus,

Hydcrah:l.~

+.

,:7

}('f,f.',ll,!

village society are not merely economic e1Jtitiesbut also

sp~,!~lan? )~\t~tl!~~I
,c.~t!.!~~s,
.. indi~ati!1g.distin~t wa'ys
of hfe and' characterIstIcs, Family umts and sO~JaI
con.-ncc-,ti~ns' are usually stronger, mor~ sympathetic
and bealthy in a village than in a city, In cities, not
91iJy~th~
rgmJIY:lun}ts
wdlken~d, but also the fqrni.lY'de's,' Mart's Ipneliriess in. a city'has become a
seriou's problem' (or himself as well as the . society,
though it is unavoidable product of urbanisation.
A~(is
known, I a' number' of "urban problem's,
whi~h arc referred to earlier, have adversely affected' .~
not only the productivity of industries but also the
morale of the 'work,,"rs. (' J I !
J

~re~

'well

1/

The technological revolution, industrialization and

high 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
.,~grtculture ate ,.:~'thelevel of relative incomes and
,the. opportunities for non-agricultural
employment".'
There is a great pressure of population on land and
Ihe same', wi]] increase further with the advance of
'agro;tec~rioiogy an? ,higher levels of productivity, It
I

is,

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
i "'centre'"of' an area comprising a score- or more vil. ,Balanced economic growth' through .tbe. develop- 'I
ment .of aliro-based industries, ism;t ';"~r'ely
ecO- . lages that the surplus rural population will then be
n.omic problem but als~ ~- social
'a :~~lt~hil a~le~p en.iOJl"",ot,~,,the benefits of the village-life,
pariieuJarly
healthy atmosphere,
and the amenities
problem, This is so because'the urban sd2iety.and the
.: ~".
_, -,,' ..4.'. :',.- -, _l~.."
.

arid

The

a~

author takes this opportunity to thank Professor

Dean, Faculty of Commerce, Osmania
University Hyderabad for his valuable and inspiring 'guidance
in completing the thesis work.

J. Satyanarayana,

IP!J1;Le"~rbav--1ife,,, su~h. as schools,

t,!

cinemas,

shops

,and' hotels, Development on these lines will go a long.

,way. ill."preserving "the' decp-ro'oted and'. closely'knit
t~rural ~ociety";' which'rJ'las at present a :more definite
f; ~m!l:ge.tharr~.~'the_
-amorphous urban conglomerate"o'"
, I

11~' ".

.. ~
-.

l'f . ,KkJRUKSHETRA

M:lreh 16, 1983.

I
I
tt is In this' context thai Ithe agro'b:1serl industries
assume paramount 'significarlce:' Agro"based iridustries are the cOrner-stone ,of kconohiies of developing
countries such as India as !tiev ,stiike deep-roOts for
further
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~~rYJ

therefore, that atieast an impbrtant part of the deve-,

lopment effort should hypa?s (he pig Cities ~nd.' be
directly 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 ,that
the, primary need is wQl:k placts" literally millions of
\,;orkp'lac'es'.. N~
of cour~e, would s~~ges~that
output per-man is unimportant;
but the pnmary
considera-ti~-n can nbt b-e to ma:kimise 'output tk"i'man;
it must be to maximise work ~pportunities' Jar the
Ul]emp]oyed' and under"employ~d,,1 FOf' a 'poor 'man
the ,chance' to work is tbe grelitbst of all needs," and
. c;'cn poorly paid iind re1ative-l)/~.U11Ptodtictive: v.'ork is
better than idleness"'.
I

one,

"

~";i

the present investigation, which

'Yc'.fiE otosdtCTivES ofnature,
are
,

-is

;,1
,

.'

cnipirjca!

i'o

A'

'

"

\'"

11On-agro-oased

industries

jn~; An4hra' Pradesh.

Fur...i

ther, the share of agr~based inaustries in tlie value

added is much higher than their Ish'are' inpfod'uctive
(capita!.
Obviously" the ratio I of. yalue added; to
tapital is much higIier in the case' of agto-bosed industries 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 indust
tries aild are characterised by',h igl1 labour-intensity
"
'I'
and' high-labour, productivity,.
'I' '
"

The State of Andhra Pradesh accounted for a relatively high share in the case of agro-based industries
in teHns of factories and 'CmployJl1~ntil] 1969,' , Trie
State j~lproved its position ,sigl]ificeiiitly'in terms of.its
share'. 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 was
disproportionaiely'Iess at Dotli' poiiif~ 'of: iime;', more'
particularly in 1979.
I
/

'

\
_ "I

0- ...

Considering the cOmpOsition,;of different typ'es of

agro'based'industries in' Andiita- Ptaa~sh:,tIie study haS
showl] that the industry" groUp 'Manufaeture of
beverages; 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 tli industry'
group' 'Nfanuftrclurc' of foo'd 'arid! JoodJ\pfoduds'.I";.
,~

as follows:

st~iW the

impact of agro-based industries

employment;

,'(2,)

to I,examine 'the nature of relationship betwee'll the agro-based'

industries and the
cropping 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, consequent
upori '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 multidimensional aspects; and
"':" '(7) to make a comparative analysis of the
soeio-ecoliomie impaet of different kinds of
" ..
agt~base.d' industries;

' . l

GRO-BASED
INDUSTRiES'
play'a' dominant role in the
, industrial economy of A'ndhJa Pradesh.' The study
(belsed' oli ASI data) reveaied'that tHe agto:based
industries are- more labour-intensive .'as 'compared to

to

.(,,....... on rural

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

Objectives of the
study
,

'"i.
"

,.,1._ r ~ 1-, '

Methodology

'-HISIS
ESSENTIALl'Ya sample study and is eXc!lIT
,
sively based Ollthe empirical data. The critefia'for

I \

I'

the selectioll of sample for the study are as follows:

.- "Selection of Industries,-ln
order to find out the
i~p~ct of' different agro"based industries on the mral
'areas, four agro-based industries arc selected for
the study, These are: (i) sligar industry, (Ii) rice mil.
ling industry, (iii) tobacco proeessing industry and
'(Iv) 'kliiiridasari 'su'.~ar industry, These four indnstries
are'selected in"termsof their predominant place in
tlie, Stallf'of Andlira Pradesh.
. _.,I'

.'

.. "

Selection of "illages and Industries )'Iaees.- This

is mainly an intensive s'tudy of four selected villages
coveie'd'15), fOur"different types of agro-based ind~stties, The,linkage of a'groCbased industries with the
vlIh\ges is shown in the foHowing table.
TABLE 1
, Selection of villages and Industrial

.,

Name and place of agro-based

Industrial. Unit (s)
, E Sugar Factory (NSF) Lid'.)
Alagadapa
~.2: Rice Mills, K(;dad _

places

Name of the Village

selected for the' study .

Alagadapa
Baiajinagar

3: Tobacco Proces'sing Esta~

blishment, Nandigama .

Chandapuram

4. Khandasari Sugar Factory,

, Lingayapalem
-

Lingayapalem

-'-'-'--------~,-----

------

Of the four industrial places selected, two (I.e.,

Nos. ohe and ;four)' are'villages (rural areas),
The
iilipadC df' the"setting' up of agro:based industrial units

I
,'K8RUKSHETRA

Matcn\'lG;i i982"

I
I

.is"studied with reference; W~hese two villages. The

other two industrial places (Le., Nos. two and three)
are .urban areas. The impact of these two industrial
places on the nearest village3 is studied. Tbese two
vil1ages arc Balajinagar and Chandrapuram, eachloeated at a distancc of less than '2 kl)ls. fro,!! the respective industrial places.' The rationale bebind tbe
Selection of villages 1S that they ate either tbe agrobased industrial places tbemselves or the nearest to'
the agro-based industrial places.
Another important f~ctor behind the selection of
t~e .villages is the assured canal irrigation facility. In
.ordcr to d,marcate the, impact of agro-based industries on the rural economy from that of irrigation, two
of. the .villages, (i.e., AIagadapa and Balajinagar) are
s~lected because these two vil1ages are covered by the
a'ssured ~aqal irrigation.' On the ~ther hand, irrigation is of no relevance. in the, ease of the other two
viilages.In
additi6n to the four villagesselecte.d for
the study, as mentioned above, another village viz.
,Sherd'palie Chennaram
of Oevarakonda
TaIuk,
'Nalgorida'OistriCt is 'selected. This village is rieither
covered 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 to
identify 'the impact of agro-based industries ~n the
'rural ~c-onomy.. '
"-,

; Selection of resjJOlldents.-This
study comprises
four 'groups of respondehts. They are': (i) Agriculturists (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 two
categories represent the industrial places. Table 2 give
an idea of the selection of respondents for the study.
-

,,1

"

TABLE

Selection of respondents Cram the villages and Industrial Places .

Name o/the

village.

No. of

agriclt/IUrists

2
1.
2.
. 3.
4.
5,
6.

Alagadapa
Balajinagar
Challdapuram
Lingayapalem
Sherupalle
Challnaram

No. of
No. of
agricu/agrotural
based
wor~ers fndus~
trial
workers

3
60
" 37
28
17

60
34
24
34

149

160

No. of

Total

agro~
hased
industrial
Entrepreneurs

t04 .
150
150
60

1
25

225
246
203
112

I
I

15
464

28

801

,.
, While the selection of respondents in the case of
agticu1turists; '~gricultural :'workers " and agr?-based
,

industrial workers is based on 2Q.:per cent systematie

random sampling technique, the selection of agrobased industrial entrepreneurs
(Le., units) is based
on the census sys~m.
Period of study.-The
study broadly covers the
period of II years i.e., from 1967-68 to 1977-78. It""
is only to maintain uniformity in tbe case of alJ the
villages, tbis period is selected fat the study. That
is, n9ne of the selected villages was covered by agrobased 'industries in 1967-68. ,Hence, it forms the
base year of the study. The year 1977-78 constitutes
thc last year 6f tbe study, being the latest year of
data collection possible for all the villages and industrial places.
Source of Data.-Tbe present study is mainly based
on the primary data. The data were collected by
personal, convassiog of schedules/questionaries in the
concerned villages. Four separate questionaires were
preparcd, onc for each group of the respondents. -

1.

Findings of the study

Rural Employment.- The nature of employment

, agro-based' industries was divers,,' depending upon
the nature' of agro-based, industries under consideration. It is observed in this study that the permanent
employment took pride of place in rice milling industry fol,lowed by the sugar industry. In contrast, the
employment in tobacco processing and Khandasari
sugar industries was more ' of seasonal and casual
nature respectively.
The composition of employment (i.e., white eollar,
skilled and unskilled) depended largely upon, the
nature of ,the' agro-based Industry concerned and the
level of technology involved in it. The study revcals
that wbiJe un,skilled workers constituted a majority in
the ease of rice milling industry, sugar industry and
Khandasari sugar iodustry, almost all were skilled
workers in tbe case of tobacco processing industry.

SETTJNG
UP ~t'fag.ro-based industries brought
agro-based industries was diverse depending upon
lages concerned. At the same time, this new cropping
pattern 'threw open new employment opportunities in
the farm sector (Le. indirect employment).
The relationship between the agro-based industr.ies and the
cropping pattern has been analysed in this light.
HE

Some of the agro-based industries are the result of

irrigation and changes in the cropping pattern. For
c-xample, in :jrrigated areas, it is the cultivation of
paddy that led to the setting up of rice mills and not
vice versa. In some other cases such as tobacco
(F.CY.) and cotton, the setting up of agro-based
industries is not linked up with the provision of irrigation facility. 'Generally, theehanges in the cropping pattern and selling up df agro-based industries

"

KURUKSHETRA ,Mareh 16, 1983 ;

go hand in hand, The setting ~p of ag':o~based,industrial units is not always the sini;le factor that brjngs
abO;;; chang~;kthe
~ropp~g pattern,' Some Of these
ch~ngcs may hi,' due to' (rrigatipn ,also, Thus, the
.Jlro-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 can
ind,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 provided en;tployment opportunities .in the influstrial units
(i,e, dir~t empl0Ymel).t) but 'lIs,? created considerable additional' employment 'opport1Jni.ti~s in, the farn;t
~nd ,te,~!i~ry'sectors, 'Theaddlti,?nal
<;mpl<;>JTIent
in
the farm sector was tbe result, of th, c~anges in. the
croppj~g pattern consequent i'P.on th~' settil'\g up of
ag,O-base(1 indu~trial units., The inqease
in the
volume Of farm, er,nploymj'nt depyn,ded uJ?9n the Dumbef of wandays oflabcmr ~e.qulteg both for the newly
introquced ('lgro~industrial J. crop and th,e replaced
(non-agro-industrial) crop.

"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,pai1icip,ated 'jn th'.' el).trepreneurship of, agro-ba?ed indus'
trips.
The establishment of agro-based industries brought
significant changes in the occupational positions of
agriflll,t\lral workers, Some of the work,ers, who were
eI);lplpyedin agJ'i<;l,lltirialoccupations before the set.
ting up of agro,b,!sed in(1uptries, to<;>kup agro-based
in.justdal. oGcupa1;iopsafter their setting up. Further,
the persons en~ering into. t~~-work,ing-age groups fqr
the firs,t time had, been taking up agro-based industrial
oc<;upatjon? and il)dependent wage work in agricultur.al
sector withol\t going in. for the non-independent wagc
work ];hus. it has ~en inferred ,that there was a
.break in' th~' c~nventional cycle of 'occupation by
age'. -Fo1l9~ing this, th.~re.w~s a s~vere deart!I in
the aVailability of non-independent
v.:orkers in the
a2Ticultural sector, even with incre::).sed -remunerati90.
Ig,othe~ ;";o~dsotbe~e \Va,s'a chN/ge .il),th,e att,i\\Ide
of agricultural work.ers and, they v.:anted to bc inpependent wage-earners rath~r ,tha,n non-il)d,ependent
wage~workers.. Inciden,taIIY, they were neither PU\\CIT!ar ill allyndi,ng to. their \York nor sincere in doing
the work due to the pressure of demand for agricul,tural labour. In short, the role of agro-based industries 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~miurriculturaI 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" selling
up ~f ag,.o,based indus,tries, Depend,~ce' On a sin,iie
oO,cupation declined considerabll,' an~ th<:.re was
p,ansion of, occ;:upations with thy t~k\'1g, up of awo,
based 'industrial occupations in addition'to their earlier occupations. Thus, there' has been improvement
in the occupational ,tatus of the workers engaged
ear.lier ih agrieultural occupations and now employed
in a~ro-based industries.
'
-.'

,-

',.

"x-

A great majoritx of, the workers employed ill agrobased industrial units were drawn frOl1l the agricul.
turalsector a'nd particularly from those of 'wageearning- m;cupations.
The 'local 'agricultur~l w,orkers
too]c up inost of the unskilled, semi-skilled. anil
manual jobs.in agro-based industries .
. One of the important findings is that thcre has 'been
shift from non. remunerative and less prestigious
agric~Hgral 9,cP.1JW,tlon~ t(( mor~ remu':"-eratjve and
b,ett,er agt:i~~I!uralo~cup[J.ti9ns,bec~use of irrigation;
and from',agricu!turaloc.cupations to a!!fo-based indust~i~i '~~"Pati';~;' becaJls~ of agrO-based industries, In
the latter case, the, nature of. iwpact depended upon
the nature of the agro-based industry. IIi rice milling,
tobacco-processing and kha'ndasari sugar, the rural

'KURUKSHETRA

March 16, 1983

population employed earlier in agriculture was substantially. benefited. But in sugar factory,' only those
employed in unskilled jobs in the seas~ wete essentially drawn ,from agricnltural occupations. It was
not so with the other workers because of the nature
of jobs which required educatiollal qualifications or
skills.
. The shift in or increase in the number of occupations depends upon the nature of employment in the
agro-based' industries. For instince, in the case of
those employed in rice milling industry, there was 'a
shift in their occupation; whereas in the case of those
employed in other industries, i.e., sugar, Khandasari
sugar and' tobacco processing, it was -only taking up
agro-based industrial occupation as a supplementary
..occupation in addition to their. original occupatiou.
.. The role of agriculturists .was pivotal in stm1i'ng the
Khandasari sugar factories. and rice mills. It )Vas
the agriculturists, as mentioned em;lier, who took up
entrepreJ;leurship of the agro-based industrial, units.
However, these agriculturist-entrepreneurs
did,. not
dissociate. themselves from .a'gricultural occupation.
The .participation of agriculturists in the entrepreneurship, 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 areas
influenced the wage levels and structure of workers
in rural areas. This was true in the case of all the
four. selected villages irrespective of the nature of the
agro-based indmtry concerned. Tht< increase in
wages had been more i'n the case of women and children 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 agricultural 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 villages
covered by assured canal irrigation and agro-based
iJ;ldustries than' in. the case of the villages covered by
agro:based iQdustry alone.
, The inipact of irrigation, over a shorter period of
ihree years; had been more than that of the agrebased industry, over a 'longer period of seven years,
on the agricultural wages for all categories of labourmen, women and children 'and for all types of work.
The 'harvesting and threshing' operation was the
highest 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, weedihg and transplantation' were the lowest paid types
of work.
8

A comparison of the wages of agricultural ,,'orkers

from the selected villages with the wages of unskilled
workers employed in agro-based .industries shows
that the wages of unskilled workers which were the
lowest in agro-based industries were perceptiblyo.
higher than the. highest wages in agriculture. Further,~
the present high wages in agriculture could be an
off-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 wage
structure is two-fold~irect
and iildirect. Firstly,
the agro-based industries
employed agricnltuml
workers for its unskilled operations and were payi,ng
much higher wages than the wages paid in agriculture.
This is the direct jmpact on the wage levels of agricultural workers and their earning capacity. Secondly,
the agro-.based industries created pressure of demand
for agricultural workers since they created additional
employment i'n the farm sector through the cultivation
of agro-based industrial crops on the one hand, ana.,
drew a considerable number of workers from:. the
existing agricultural labour force of the villages on
the other. A sequel of this was a perceptible increase 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 the
agro-basedindustry.
Since the cultivation of agrobased industrial crop involved risk and huge capital
investment, the farmers were either benefited from
huge profits or incu;;;:cd losses depending upon
different factors-natural,
marketing, governmental
policy of pricing agricultural produce etc. The
farmers with larger land holdings were either benefited
from more incomes or incurred huge -losses because
of agro-based industries than the farmers with small
size holdings. It is so particularly because of their
ability to cultivate agro-based industrial crops with
large .cale investment. Further, it is also found that
there was no definite relationship between the size of
th~ land-holdings ,and the'Tange of income because
of the unpredictable nature and the risk involved in.
the cultivation of crops linked to the agro-based industries. Whatever might be the degree of influene the
impact of agro-based industries ';h the income; of
agricultural is predominant.

""-

The optimal land holding is found to be from 15 t6

20 acres in the senSe that the average income per
acre was the highest in the case of agricnlturists with
land holdings of 15-20 acres. The increase in the
average income per acre was lower in the caSe of the
agriculturists with the larger land holdings, say, more
than 20 acres when compared to small bnd holding,;.
(i.e., Jess than 10 acres). However, an interesi~g
fact is that the farmers with land holdings of 5 acres
and below had more average income per acre. This
KURUKSHE'I'RA

March 16, 1983

agro-hased industry and the nttal-urban

of the workers.

has lieen due to such factors a~ personai sUpervisloIi,

c"tracare' and relatively. less irlvestment.

. ..".:

..

I.

Theas]>ect 6 n:iiib-ati~u.ha;'be~n
5. . also studied ill tennsof
the tenure odhe stay' 'of

MIGRATIeJN:

A coIIipanson of the average

, mcome'.per acre
between the . agricultmists
cultivating agro-based
'indUstrial . crops and those 'cliltivating traditional
crops (i.e., non-agro-based
i~dustrial crops)
has
proved -that the average income per acre was higher
in the case of the former groop than in the latter.
Of course, dne to the inherent dharacteristic of risk
involved in the .cultivation of " agro-based industrial
crops, the per acre incomes of .~ome ofthese.agricliltuIists were lower than the pei aere ineomes of the
agriculturists cnltivating traditiyal
erops.
,

workers at the piace of ~ir';"ba~ed m'duStry. As ~egards

this aspeet of migration, withreferenee to different kinds
of agro-based industries, it has been observed that there
is a close relationship between the permaneney of the
job (i.e., terms of employment) and the nature of the
agro-based industry. In the ease of permanent workets
employe<i in agro-based industries, in geileral, permanent migration was conspicuous while in the ease of seasonal workers, who were mostly employed in tobaeco,
sugar and khandasari sugar industries, seasonal migration had been a predominant feature.
.

The agro-based ihdustries led to a significant increasein the per eapita incomes of the households of
agricultural workers which implies that the standard
of living 'of the lan<iless and the 'near landless workers
.iinproved~ The increase is found to be greater in the
case of the households. with lo~ per capita income
(i.e., less than Rs. 400) than those with high per
capita income. This denotes ttiat there had been
rednction in the ineome disparities among the rural
wage earning households. As a result, ehanges in
the 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 wages
in the agricultural seetor following the creation at
additional. employment in ,the farm sector through
the eultivation of agro-based in?ustrial crops which
required more number of mandays of labOur than the
replaced traditional crops.

The setting up of agro-based industries would also

resuit in the migration of agrieultural workers towards
the plaees of loeation of agro-based industries seeking
employment in the agricultural sector" This type of
migration is singularly evident in the ease of sugar and
khandasari sugar industries and Alagadapa and Lingayapalem villages provide good examples for this. The
setting up of sugar and khandasari sugar faetories in
these villages resulted in the introduetionof sugarcane
cultivation that required special skills for some of its
agricultural operations, which were not loeally available. Henee, agricultural workers with the reqnisite
skills moved from far-off plaees to . these villages
because of high rate of wages... Thus,. the setting ill'
of agro-based industries resulted in the migration ot
workers even within the agriqIltural sector se~sonaUy.

,An important finding has beel that the role 01

agro-based industries was much, more significant in
increasing the incomes of .the Ihouseholds of the
workers employed in agro-based industries. Mar"
signifieant is the faet that the households of lower
income groupS benefited much apd the nature of the
'industry also had influenee over jhe rural-urban composition of the workers employed lin agro-based ,industries. Considering the rural-urban . eomposition of
the workers in the mdustries under study, it has been
observed that the workers hailing from the' rural
areas constituted a major segrne4t of the total work
force in the case of thtee agro-based industries viz.
rice milling, tobacco proce,~sing
khandasari sugar
and more so in the case of the latter. It is observed,
further, that in the ease of sugar i~dustry, the workers
hailing from urban areas formed ~ dominant group.
It is but natural in the eontext of ! this indnstry that
the .teehnieal and administrative Ipersonnel required
.for it are drnwll from urban areas. , Since the other
three industries are of less technical nature, workers
coming from rural ar~asformed a major thu:llk. TJ:1esc
empirical findings suggest, beyondl doubt, that" thhe
is :r direct relationship between ,the nature of the

ard

~KURUKSHETRA

I', ,,-"

Mareh 16, 1983: ",

1,"

r-'

!~';i::ri~:',
,lj, '-..:'\ _/';'

'['
'1

',i.4.t;/"
!. ~.

composition

An examination of migration vis-a-vis the 'tertiary

seetor shows an interesting faet that the workers
haiiing from urban areas presumably with some
experience in the reievant field migrated to the place
of loeation of agro-based industries. This is evident
in the case of migration of workers in the tertiary
seetor either from witbin the state or outside the
state.

,
Ovt;rall impact
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, by
raising the income levels of the rural worker~,~sh.er
in significant changes in the standard of.l~ving,_ social
and cultural attitudes. of rural population in general.
Further, rural agro-based industries cO'ntribute to tbe
per capita ineome at the national level. The parti'
cular rural areas! investigated refleet aJ micro-level
ehange in the economy whereas, the consequences. of

HE

such changes covering a much broader area, say, the

whole state. or nation, represent a micro-level tnirtsfor-

mation.

.
!:,

impact at the Mlcro-ievel-Consequent

on the
setting up of agro~based industries and the cultivation
of agro-based industrial crops, the structure of agriculfuial'dutputs 'ill llie 'selected. villages has undergone
change, Thegro\vth in the industrial and agricultutal
seCiors 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 in
'imee 'gro\vth 'centres out 6f 'the four
selected. places, As a "resUltof 'the 'settmg up of suglit
faCi<iryof Nizam. Sugar Factory Liriiited '(at A-mruthnagar), Alifadapa has emerged "as a growth centre,
'Similiirly, 'tfie 'developmerit 'of rice 'mills in Kbdaj
iraiiSformed .the 'town into'a 'gtoMh centre. It has
become a big marketing centre because of the eXistence 'of large bumber of rice mills, Further, an
ancillary industrial unit, viz., "Vijaya Lakshmi Bran
OiL Private Limited" has come up, in the wake 01
the functioning of 'a number of -rice mills, providing
employment to 75 workers, The transportation
required for supplyirigpaddy to the rice mills and
marketing rice from the ric~ mills to distant places,
-including other States, promoted the development of
tertiary .sector, such as ,vorkshbps, 'hot~ls,restaurants,

i1ie emergence'

of

cin.ema houses, etc.

A similar acHvity is

observed
in the case of Nandigama, the place of location 01

tobacco processing establishments. Of these four

pla"es, only Lingayapalem, where khandasari sugar
factory located has not shown any signs of developing into a growth centre. It is essentially because
khandasari sugar factory established here is at present
in its initial stage functioning only in a part of the
se;,soh.
DEVELOPMENT
of tertiary sector at the places
of induslrial units again provided further employment opportunities for the rurnl popnlation. It is no
exaggeration to mention that the growth of agro-based
'industries has generated employnient opportunities for
the educated and skilled people in the secondary'ahd
tertiary sectors of these rural . areas. Employment
opportunities were also created for the unskilled
'woiKers 6f'i'ur1 areas (i.e" agricultural workers) in
the agricultural sector consequent upon the cultivation
of agro-industrial crops.

HE

The expansion of sugarcane cultivation encouraged

the inter-state and inter-districl migration of populatiol). A nurliber' of people have been migrating from
other states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to
these areas of agricultural and industrial development
for jobs. Even agricultural labonrers from neighbouring districts migrated to the places of agro-based
iildustries.
Agro-base~ industrial uriits have furiher acce!,tuated
the development of roads and communication facilities
in 'the couritri'side. A majority of the villages have
10

been linked by roads, with the piaces of agro-based

industrial units. this d.evelopment of roads has heen
necessitated by the need to 'transport agricuftural raw
materials (i.e., sugarcane, tobacco and paddy in the
selected places) ,from villages to the agro~based industrial 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:lers
have been increasingly replacirfg bullock-carts with
tr~ctor trailors 'for transporting agricultural output.
Because of the "improvement in transport and ca"mmunication, the rural people have increased access to the
growing toWllS.
Through the operation of the demonstration effect,
the affluent section of the rural population has been
switching over to a new way of .life-"urbanised rural
life." Some -of the 'cultivators of ',!gro-industrialcrops,
in'the Villages'have 'aCqUircd'motor-cycles and scooters
ana -frequently 'Visit.the nearby towns 'fodhoppirig an
recreation. 'Many 'cultivators have constriJctoo -modern
buildings 'in -their villages for -reSideritial purposes.
These villagers are sendiIig and 'are aspiring to'send
.their children 'for higher 'education, 'espeCially ,for
college ':ilid '.'university"education.
The agricultural workers of the selected villages are
able to find employ_ment almost throughout the year.
The seasonal movement 10 other places for employment has ceased after the setting up of agro-based
industries. They. do not have to striJggle any more for
their minimum requirements of life. Further, there is
a considerable change in their way of life. They now
take rice as staple food instead of using traditional
foodgrains such as jowar and bajra, Above all, they
own consumer durables like .bicycles, wrist watche~;
and radios. Thus, there has been a -lot of improvement in the standard of living of these agricultural
workers.
Tliis sort of change, among agriculturists ano agriciiltural woikers, may be considered as 'an 'indication
of economic change brought about by the shift 'from
trliClilional crops to the agro-based industrial crops,
which "is an -effect ofagroCiiJdiiSirialdevelopment
in
the fUl'al economy.
'Impact at the Micro-level-Establishment
of agrobased industries is mainly based on the availability of
raw materia!. As such, agro-based industries ought to be
set 'up iri rliral areas where raw material is available in
plenty. Since the rural 'folk form a major chunk of
populalio'n, ,the' employmcnt opportunities 'provided by
the 'agro"based iridustries are'also 'equally large-in .proporlion. This helps in the upliftment of the rural
economy.
In essence, setting up of agro-based industries in'Iural areas .generate 'income ,thereby improving

the. economic' condition of the people which in turn

.(COlild.on page 2})
KURUKSHETRA: March 16, 1983

I
I!

"

'--

.. , r

I
I

[R.D.P. in poverty

"1

alleviation

I
..

NTEGRATED

RURAL

'.

A. K. MAJUMDAR

Secre,tary, tJ:nion . Ministry of Rural

1.

DEVELOPMENT

.
PROGRAMME

IS

'. a 'n{ajor instrument' for povetty alleviation in the

SiXth' Five Year Plan and it 'i~ a logical next step
from' the programme for small I . farmers, marginal'
f"rmcrs' and agriciIltural labourers,.. implemented
throughout the seventies, The stnall farmers development prograinme (SFDA) was in~endedto improve the
viability of small and marginall/armers andagricultural labourers and to enhance their incomes mainly
through produ"ctive' investment~.'''::'The~. cooperatives~
played a very major r61e in the implementation' of the
small' ,farmers' programme by p1roviding credit and
creating an organisational basis' for providing'support
to' the actlVities of the target grlouP.
The problem ,oJ p,overty contiimes to haunt the
country and alleviation' of poverty is the' principal
objective of ,the Si~th Plan and Ithe revised 20-point
programme. announced' by. the Prime Minister.
Gi:ven ilre oyercrowding 9n land and continuing rise
ip. 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 people
in the runil areas. It was, therefore, felt that a programme to provide assistance t~ the .rur~1 poor
irre~pective of whether they nre farmers or artisans
or craftsmen was required and the Integrated Rural
D~v~lopment Programme is a re~ponse to this need.
IRq is aimed at the poorest among the poor, mainly
Scheduled Castes. and Scheduled I Tribes, agricultural
Hibourers, small farmers, margimli farmers, rural
ar:tisans and craftsmen, etc, The ta'rget is to provide
assistance to 15 milliOllfamilies during the Sixth.Plan
period to enable them to enhance their income' so
that they go above the "Povertv line". This is
I

..

I
I

___

From

'_

th~ K~y~not~ adrtresserl

-.1-'"

,"

by gec'retary to Government

')flndia, Ministry of Rural DeveloPment at th~ Conference

on Integrated Rural DevelOPment Programm.e t~rough Co"
. operatives.

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

Development

sought to' be achieved by providing to 'identified

oe'nefieiaries 'produCtive assetS, traiuing and back~up
services' for raising' their', incomes. On an' average",
600 families are being provided assistance under th'"
progranrme in a develop,rient block in a' year.' In
this maimer, '3000 .families would be covered nilder
this' programme in a block during the Sixth Plan.
'Sinc~ iii;' Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
ac~o;mt for a sizeable proportion of the rural poor,
special efforts are being, made to ensure that the
IRD programm:e proVides benefits,to these categories,
Ii has been laid down that at least 30 per cent of
the beneficia~ies assisted' under the IRD prcWanune
should be dmwn from the SCs'& Sfs. It has been
further iaid down that at least 30 per cent of the
subsidies and loans' channelled through this progrnmine 'should also go to SCs and ST,;,
". The IRD :programme is financed through a combination of. subsidies and -loans. . Small farmers are
provided assistance to the extent of 25 per cent of
the capital cost. Marginal. farmers, agricuItnral
lab~ui:ers rural artisans and others are provided
.
'
.
subsidy to the extent of 33t. per cent of the capItal
cost. The, programme. envisages, an outlay or
Rs 1500 crores in the Sixth Plan meant mainly for
pr~viding, subsidies and meeting_the',cos.t of administration 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,is
of lhe' order ~f Rs~ 4500crores and it is easily one
~f 'the largest single investment programme in this
Sjxth PI~n, '
'.
'-'
j
-

',.'

'.
W
, ".' context'!lf
.
HEN

' Role of cooperatives

about the cooperatives in the
the IRD program1Jle,
it' is' the r61e
. ~

THINK

WE

..,...

'

_.

".

-'

of the cooperatives in providing credit which wonld

come to our mind first The cooperatives arc providing credit to the IRD beneficiaries but what causes
anxiety is the steadily declining share of cooperntivcs
in thc credit support being provided to the IRD
programme. According to the information furnished
by the District Rural Development Agencies, cooperatives provided only about 28 per cent of the
total term credit mobilised for IRD in i98l-'82. This
is far below the share of over 60 per cent that cooperatives had in' the financing of the SFDA programme. It is, of course, not practicable to lay
down.a rigid .proportion between cooperative credit
ana .'credit fr(lln' other' sources for financing' the IRD
programme, but one would normally expect cooperatives'with their distinct' aavantage of rural biasi and
local leadership to play a vital role in the 'financing
cif' a'l programme aimed at the alleviation of rural
poverty. The cooperatives would,' therefore; have
to consider the factors responsible for their declining-role in financing this programme. It would
not be practicable to go in-depth into the manifold
circumstances and casual factors responsible for
this. predicament. of the .cooperatives. One, of the
more obyious reasons is the. existing overdues
position in the cooperative sector. ,Owing to the.
outstanding dues, many cooperative societies are not
in .a gosition to .provide loans. Even new and nondefa)llting"members are often finding it difficult to
obtain finances through cooperatives.
Much of the lending required for the IRD programme would be for medium-term purposes. Toe
cooperatives havc generally been previding shertterm' finances and crop loans. We have. to evolve.
a strategy for meeting the entire credit requirements
of the rural poor including medium and long-term
loans. An integrated structure for provision of
finances on short, medium and. long-term wi1l have
to be evolved within the cooperative fold. The role
of the land mortgage and land development bankS!
will also h~v~ to be redefin~d and dh'ersified and
t1leysho~ld be enCouraged to piay a significant part
in the financing of programmes like IRDP. Nec:<;ssary' statutory changes wi!(have to be introduced
for this purpose and eventually we should .have a
"single window" for providing all manner of credit
to'the' rural ~oor under' the cooperative umbrella.
,

T. WOULD BE

i '

a grave elTor to confine t~e:role' of

cooperatives in rural development merely to one of

providing loans.,;The cooperatives lJave a' vel)1
important role in providing organisational. and
management inputs .for improving the living condi"
lions or 'the rural poor. It is. increasingly,. being
recognised that the poorest among the poor would
find' it diffictilt to' 'sUrviv~ in the prevailing rural
milieu in the absence of organised efforts ;by -and jon
behalf' of the rural' poor: Coeperative '.-orglipisatiob!

for marketing, processing and in the field of pO,stharvest technology in general is essential for accelerated 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 the
absence of strong support, particularly for raw
materiaL~ supplies, marketing, etc., The cooperative
forin 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 are
organised on a group basis and strong managemen~
inputs' are

ensured.

Leather

workers,

fishermen,

and rural artisans will be able to raise their incomes

through programmes like IRDP all a lasting basis
only when proper arrangements are made for supply
of raw materials, quality control and marketing. Very
often, tuey may require a state-wide organisation for

providing this kind .of support. The methodology

for. the IRD programme based on systematic local
level planning, lays cmphasis on the need for identi-.
fying gaps in the existing infrastructnre and for identifying agencies which, will fill' these gaps in the
infrastructure. 'INs exercise is to be undertaken:
with sufficient vigour so that nothing is left to.
chance.
I"

HE

COOPERATIVE

MOVEMENT

in the

country re-

quires a new dynamism and discipline for meeting

the challenges of the 80s. Opportunities for participation in programmes

of a wide-variety

are now opeR

to the' cooperatives. What. is needed is a resolve to

seize these opportunities and to take the cooperatives
to new heights of acllievement by deeper involvement.in -tI,e.lives of the common people. The programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development .like
):RDP, rural godown scheme, agricultural marketing
scheme, etc, offer an excellent opportUliity for the
cooperatives to play an increasingly important and
expanding role in rural development and in the.life.
of the rural populati,?n. It would serve a very
important purpose if the key Iimitilig. factors are
iden.tifiedf<;>raction in the near future; and systematic
efforts are made to remove these impcdiments. More
than .anything else, the competence and commitmenti
of cooperative workers and their leadership would be
very' 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 of
our ru",1 areas and in mitigating the poverty of the
rural masses. It is never too late to make a beginning and it is in spirit thatwould'addreSs ourseh'es to
the tasks before us.
(COURTESY:
The Cooperator)

KURUKSHBTRAMriXch

16, 1983

i "
I

,I

Banks can aiso helptn

transfer of technology
Bank of Baroda, ~central

ROWTH
RATE in
agricultural production per
, ;. ," annum. was. 0,3 per cent during the first half
of this century which marked almost a stagnation in
Our farming, However, after independence,. jlhCj.
period cfrOittl1950 to 1980 has been marked "by
'consideruble'breakthrough in ,thb process 'of modernisation of agriculture. As a re~ult 'Of .scientific and
technological revolution (STR) 'backed by' a' wide
range 'of service-s and public policies,
agricultural
production recorded an annual, cOmpound ~row1h
tate of 2.8 .per cent during 1967"68 Lo 1978-79.
The dem'and patten! of' prinCipal crops 'as worked,
olit by the National COIliil1issiqnon Agriculture by
2000 'A.D., taking into consideration 'two assumptions' 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:
'
I

TABLE

Commodity

IDerria'ndPattern by
2000A. D.

(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)
(G) Toba~o (thousand leones)

Low

High

205
8.3

225
10.2.

24.0

29.9

10.4
8.6
479.590

Jl '8.

The attainment of the envisag~d demand .pattern

would not be .at all difficultif we appreciate the massive
investment being made by,lhe.public
.and private
sectOrs in agriculture and endeavour to utilise the
assets already created optimally fbr production. 'The
results of the researches and the national ,demanstta-'

'It KURUKsHETRA 'March '16, ,1983

A.R. PATEL
Office; Bombay

tions conducted throughout the length and breadth of

the country' provide ample evidence of this possibility.

The yield (GA:P)

TO Dr. M.
S, Swaminathan, former
member, Planning Commission, there has been
a vast untapped production reservoir in 'our fatming
system at current levels of technology. The. IRRI,
Philippines has recognised the difference between .the
yield obtained at the Experimental Station and the
actuaJ.farm yield,as the. ~ield gap' and the factors
responsible for such a gap as 'yield constraints'.
This gap 'is very conspicuous in respect of many of
otfr 'field crops. As for instance, the ratio between
the 'average yield obtaiIled by' farmers and the yieIa
'Ulider national ilemonstration plots ranged 'from 2 to
04 in different parts of ti,e country in case of wheat.
'While, 'the raLio in case of rice between the' actual
and "potehtial farm yields ranges from 2 to over 5 at
different places, the ratio' in ease of jowar, goes npto
8 in Some places in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In
'Case of gram, arhar and groundnut, the size of the
lintapped yield reservoir, has been found to. vary
from 40.to 70 'per centln sevetal ttacls. Thus, -it is
'obvious that even with the technology available at
present 'there is a consideruble scope for increasing
'production and productivity provided the constraints
ate identified and removed.
.

CCORDING

" 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 sown
inostly in Tamil Nadu, Karnafaka, 'Ai"jhra Pradesh,
Punjab .and HaryaJia:; .In .these regions 'all agricultur
ral 'prOduction .is whollydictnted'by
the . wayward
13

monsoon rains which are not only meagrc (400 to

1000 rom. annually) but are extremely Ciratic as to
their onset, amount, frequency, duration and cessa-'
. tion. However, recent researches in the area of dryland agriculture have clearly cstablished that by
following appropriate farm,management techniques:
sach as proper prcparation of seed-bed, selection of
appropriate varieties, timely sowing, optimum use of
manures and fertilizers, control of pests, diseases and
weeds, adjustment of crop-plans to' suit the season,
maintaining optimum plant-population, adoption of
suitable post-harvest technology; yields of very high
order can be obtained. TIle following table reveals
the difference in the magnitude of yields achieved by
the progressiv(>farmers in' India under the guidance
rmd supenision of the extension"offic~~ls. l :~~

TABLE 2

Crop

State in 'which

the highe,st
yield was 00.rained

National

}.{ean yield

Qlha.

Net
Profit Rs./
"a (1971,
Highest:' 1972Pri.
yieid
","ate
level)
QI"a.

demans-

tration

1. Bajra'

Rajasthan

27

70

1338

2. Jowar

Maharashtra

'42

97

1552

3. Maize

Karnataka

39

93

1539

55

130

2318

. 4. Paddy

'n

. Tamil Nadu

Proper farm management

RY FARMING
EXPERTSnow 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, but
with modern technology at their command, the
'farmers can certainly deal with the vagaries of the
monsoon without significant losses. An. analysiS:
made by the research scientists of the. sorghum:
'improvement project in 1972-73-a drought yearrevealed that jowar yields, for example, are affected
adverscly more by farm management techniques than
by paucity of moisture. They attribute only 20 per
.:.centof thc yield variation to adverse climatic factors.
The rest is due to controllable factors; such as
choice of variety, date of sowing, incidence of weeds,
adoption of cnltivation practices etc. These conclusions had been further corroborated in Maharashtfa.
During the kharif season in 1\174-75 while local
varieties of .iowar occnpying roughly 50 per cent. of
the entire area covered by this crop in the state failed
due to the lack of vital rains, the new high yielding
hybrids produced a normal crop. This.was .chiefly
because, being early maturing, the hybrids had ahnost
ripened. by. thc time. the rains abated.. The scientists

..

..14
'

therefore. suggested that tlIe first step in improving

dry farming is to replace the traditional crop vari~
tieswitlI high yielding strains of appropriate maturity
periods. Most of ihe new varieties specially bred
for imirrigated areas, are very efficient users of
moisture and can therefore withstand drought to-;.
some extent. With the advancements in agronomy,
the new crop varieties are capable of spectacular
yields under rainfed copditions. During performance
tests, some of the strains have out-yielded the established local varieties by 50 to 80 per cent. Apart
from judicious selection of crops, various other
. factors also help in boosting yields and provided
reasonable insulation/insurance against weather aberrations. Some of these facto~s are : proper'prepamtion of the seed-bed, timely sowing, use of manures
and fertilizers, control of pests and' diseases and
adjustments in crop plants to suit the season which
are equally useful for irrigated areas and the dry:
lands.

Irrigated farming
UGE FINANCIAL
INVESTMENTS
have been and
. are being made to develop the irrigation poten~
tial:. The cOlll1Uandareas have the highest potential'
for maximising farm output. However, this has so
far not been fully exploited. This would have been
possible when a full package of recommended practices were adopted by all the farmers of this area.
As such, management of. non-monetary practices
hitherto adopted may havc to be reinforccd soon by ,
a full package of recommended practices in the extension work. There is, therefore, an urgent need
for efficient 'farm-planning and budgeting' for all
the 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 adopted suitable cropping patterus and farm management
techniques in the command area. Research support
is very essential to introduce/develop an .integrated
agricnltural technology for maximising production in
these areas.' The most important input in command areas is water. Its rational use cannot be deler- "
mined till a packagc of water management practices
are worked oui by the irrigation research workers.
Provision of credit and the infrastructurc ensuring
the timely availability of agricultural inputs is a must.
It has, however, been realised that the success' of
agricultural 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 motivated
extension staff and therefore rcquires more emphasis
on' Ibis aspect.
.

KURUKSHETRA March .16,.1983

Agricultural methpdology
HE 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 production improve with the scicrltificusc of inputs such
as irrigation, sceds of high yielWngor hybrid varicties,
fertilizers, plant protection mcasures etc. However, in
many of the places all over the country, it has been
obscrved that yields have continued to be low in spite
of availablity of these inputs.l The close scrutiny of
the data indicated that the farmers did not possess the
fC<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 stand
of less than 40 to 50 per cent.! This thin plant stand
per unit area resulted into drastic reduction in satisfactory kllow-howincluding practi.ces like good field prep~ration, seed treatment, appropriate sowing time, efficient 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 given
field.
,
I

The new extension methodology provides for an

effective in-built coordination Ibetween research and
extcnsion, facilitating transfer of know-how from the
research specialists to extension workers and th~
fanners on the one hand and fded-back of information
from 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 participants
the latest knowledge on the I developments taking
place in their respective fields. There are many
sources of 'know-how;
bniversities,
research
stations, . ~a~ers" fie:1ds, accumulated
experience
.of . the, ~xtension personnel. themselves mid the
.vanous ' SpecIalists posted. m the area. In order
to 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 contribute to their utmost to the subcess of the project iu
ha?d. These aims can be achieved through devising
practical-oriented methods of lfiining of interpreting
the technology to farmers ~sl well. as pragmatic
methods of programme plannmg and unplementation.
All tcaching methods should be!based on participative
involvement.
,

.'

The role of banks

I ,.

GOVER~MENT

'.

'

has 9~~.endeavouring . to

W . strcngthen the extension

HILE

wing for

-KURUKSHETRA:March 16, 1983

I

'

effective

transfer ot available proven technology at the gtasliroot level, block-level, district level and staterlevel,'the
needs of the farming community of whom 73 per cent
hold 23 per cent of cultivated area in the country arc
so complex in nature and vast in magnitude that the
role of nationalised banks becomes all the more
important. Nationaliscd banks have'also been following a developmental role rather than role of purveying
credit only. It is against this background thaI it may
be of interest to appreciate that banks can effectively
play this role of popularising new technologies and
then transfer to farmers and others thro;>ughthe following ways:
1 Bank's operational staff and field officers may have
to remain in close touch with the extension staff
of the Government appointed under 'Training and
visit system' in command area development projects, special extensiOn staff appointed under special
projects viz. development of oilseeds, pulses, cotton,
sugar cane, IRDP etc. They should jointly orga'mse training camps ,foc farmers in the villages and
hold discussions on practical aspects of farming.
Bank's staff being located in the villages is in an
advantageo,us position to test the suitability of the
new technology and provide a feed-back due to the
farmers in this, regard to the experts for re'orienting their approach. Advantages of bank's
staff to work with Government extellSion staff
would bc that the latter would be able to appreciate
the technicalities involved ill the formulation of the
'bankable schemes. Siuiilarly, bank's staff would be
able to identify the technical constraints within
which fariners work. This type of association
would not involve fimincial support. However, the
siaff should be made free to do tI,is type of extension 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 technology is fast "hanging and, hence they should have
acccss to the scientific literature relevant to the
agro-climatic zones in which they are working.
2 Banks may consider deputing operational staff
to undergo short-term courses orgauised by the
Agricultural Universities in specific disciplines so
that 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 .

Planning for village

industries

'

FAHlMUDDIN
Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lu~ow

,.

.
T, ,country
HE.

economic

condition which has emerged. hi the

has brought about a paradoxical situation

in the form of increased agriculture and industrial production on one hand and growing unemployment and
inequalities on the other, particularly in the rural areas,
Dver 72 per cent of our population depends on agriculture and despite the long years of intensive econom'ic activities, its per capita income decIined from Rs.

210,20 in 1960-61 to Rs. 195.50 in 1976-77, although

the 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 iudustrialiscd power in the world, yet according 'to the estimate
of the Planning Commission, 48.13 per cent of the
country's total population or 305.2 million people were
'b~low the poverty linednring 1977-78. There is a
backlog of aronnd 20 million persons who arc fully
unemployed,and if the annual increase of 5 million is
added, the total employment to be generated during
ihe 'Sixth Plan will be around 46 million. Added to
this, there is a larger number of persons who are still
below the poverty line and need part-time employment.
l\gricultural development,. even assuming to be
rapId, cannot absorb the additional labour force in any
productive way, because it is historically unique fact
thatbver the iast six decennial census, in spite of the
impressive development of the large scale manufacturing .and 'infrastructure sectors, the share of agriculture
'iiI the work force has not diminished at all. It was
73 'per ccnlin 1921, 73 per cent again in 1961 'and
73,8 per.cent in 1971. ,The organised industrial sector inherently has'low employment absorption capacity
because ,of the intensity of capital and sophistication
'of(echtlOlogy. Between 1961 'and 1976, for example,
in the modem factory sector, illveSlinetit increased by
J 39 per ceM and ,output by 161 per cent but employ.16

ment increased only by 71 per cent. Therefore, em'Ployment per unit of groS3 output decreased by 34
per Cent and employinent per unit of capital decreased
by 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 the
29,5 million new workers ,md if the growth rate increases to 7 per cent, the extra absorption in the whole
org"nised sector will be only 0.26 million, In view ~f
the lesser employment absorption capacity of agriculture and tlie organised sector, the only hope of absorbing most of our annnal increase of labour force lies in
.the development of rural industries, which will boost
the ,earnings of village artisans; small and marginal
farmers.

Employment opportunities
,
EMPLOYMENT opportunities
to the rural
masses in the villa'ge industries can 'be provided
on a number of social and ~conomic considerations:
(i) employment in the traditional sector can be provided to the rural masses at the village level itself, thus
making the organisation of village intact and avoiding
the problems emerging from congestion and urbanisation; (ii) the traditional sector provides self-employment, considered to be the best form of employment in
which labour is the owner of the unit; (iii) the village
ihdustries produce goods and services for the masses

, THE

rather than mass production.

Therefore,

marketing

and other infrastructutal problems are of lesser employment; (iv) these activities arc best adjusted with the
fluctuations in the labour requirements

of agriculture

and therefore provide full-time and part-time employment to the li'bour force in the rural areas, nsing local
raw material and local skills; (v) the capital-labour
ratio is "iso low in these industries; (vi) what is heeded in 'the present economic situation is not mass proKURUKSHETRAMareh

16,

1983 .

duction, but production by the masses. In this context it is desirable that the women, work forCe shonld
also be provided employment , the, ruraLateas.
The
village industries can provide opportunities by which
the rnralwomen can effectively' ntilise their spare time.

J,

...
.,-c-

'-"-

'

:'

. .-

-.

Obj~ctive not fulfilled

,
~I
LTHOUGH the emphasis on

the development of
. village industries- has beJn 'c~nceived on the
Gandhian economic philosophy of decentralised production 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 of
nvul Ideology of. cap,tahst rtloiles of producllon anddistribution, the entire system I has not been able to'
fulfil the needed objective of nlral development. The
thrust of development has beeh in the form of mass
ilr"Tproduction, technological sopllistications and profits.
I
The rural artisans have only crafts and no money to
invest in machinery and to adopt the advanced technology. Consequently, at the village level itself the entire
system was grabbed by -the mbney-lenders who controlled the cooperatives. In the urban areas, the
village industries products, beirig inferior in quality,
could not stand in competition I with products of large
scale industries. Thus the rur~l a'rtisans were forced
to leave the traditional crafts atid those who remained
cannot survive longer unless a hew ;pproach of development and assistance is adopted .

",

.'The most important is~he J;rovement

in the level
of technology. Some -basic issues regarding technology
are in terms of measurement of labour-capital ratio,
I

'

cost-benefit analysis~ input ou.tptIt "t;lifferences,

not only

in the economic prospectives; bJt in the context of the

social rate of return. In India, the urgency of creating
I
jobs in millions is well recognised, but there is danger
in a policy which emphasises o~ly an improvement in
the employment statistics, i.e. quantity of employment.
This rnay result ill the creation: of a host of low productivity, dead-end jobs in which individuals hav", little
opportunity for advancement. Consequently exclusiveemphasis on the renovation' of skills, technological'
/ improvements and product diverSification may not help
effectively in the process of rutal development. The
importance of renovation and improvement of traditional technology. can be realise~ as a new hand
operated charkha, recently perfected by the Appropriate Technology Development iAssociation, Lucknow,
and, Intermediate Technology Development Gronp,
London, is likely to boost the eatmngs of wool spinners
using traditional charkha from Rs 2.50 per day to
Rs. 8 per day. Thus it is really a serious, matter of
finding of appropriate .technology for dealing with
every ordinary maledals and requirements.

KURUKSHETRA ,March 16, 1983

I
\,

Marketing network

the key ~roble~s i~the snccessful fnnc~oning, of village mduslrles 15 the lack of orgamsed
marketing network. In the rural areas, viewed from the
practical-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.he
rural areas for making available the village industnes
product~ to the rural" masses. ,Since the prefere~ce pat-,
terns of the village people are not matenahsllc, the
village industries producis suit their tastes and requirements. The -Gandhian ideology of production by the
masses and for the masses will help i'n the development -of village industries in two ways: (i) TIIe'Produ~tion and distribution gap will -be lesser because
the. majority of population: -will be benefited' and marketing problem will be reduced; (ti) The village mdustries products will not face tough competition from the
products of large scale. Thus the emphasis shonld be
that -the majority of the village industdes products
are consumed in rural areas themS'elves~It is considerably necessary also to explore the distant markets
for the products which are not locally 'required. In this
context, the export market and its potential' of vadous
handicrafts is well recognised. It is because of the marketing strategy along with advanced technology that
the large' scale sector dominates over the' tradition,a]
NE o~

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 operating
the units ,without any security deposits, taking into consid'<iratio;' the consumption needs of th~ artisans also:
The comp~site' ioan scheme introduced in ' December
1978, covcring','those units whose total credit requirements did not exceed Rs. 25,OOD, has not made anY
significant impact. In fact, the position is So dismal
that banks have not even collected basic information
aoout the functioning of this scheme. By and large,
this has been owing to the fact that banks still insist
on security ~hereas the basic objective of this scheme
was':to relea"se. finances for smallest artisans vrithout anY'

security deposit" Moreover, ,the benefits of such

types 'of 'schemes are generally shared by the beller off
units rather than by,the rural artisans. It is, therefore,
imperative to evolve a scheme of -financin.g of village
industries

totally "applying different norms, 'thus making

a' clear distinction between the credit requirement of

village industries and small-scale industries.

Lack of facilities for artisans

HE R~ALARTISANS
are scattered in remote
, , ,villages and it becomes difficnlt for them to obtaiIi
inputs which are not locally available and market output becau.",
lack of inp-l\structural facilities like:

or

111

roads, electricity and cemmunicatiens. The impertance

of such infrastructural facilities can be realised,as only
rurill electrification programme is 'expected' to.'JlIovide
empleyment to. more than three lakh people by the',
end ef the Sixth Plan. The provision ofvarieus common facilities like raw material, appropriate technical
knew-hew and marketing assistanc;: at block level can
solve .the problem ef industrial infrastructure en ene
hand and reduce the gap between productien and consnmption en the ether. The rural artisans will easily
avail themselves ef such facilities if made available at
the block level and at the same time goods produced
by the masses will be sold fer the masses locally and
thus making marketing and other infrastruetural facilities ef lesser importance for the village iudustries. .
The policy ef DICs seeks to. shift the focal point 0.1
development from cities to towns, serving the need~ ot
sm,all scak. and village industries, but the entire strategy of development of village industries requires the
reorientation from cities to the block level. It is neees-

(Conid. from p. 15)

3 Banks may appoint enc or two extension specialists at the district level/headquarters branch
specially in their Lead Districts so that undi,ided
a'ttention can be paid to tbe problems of farmers
wiih regard to the acceptance of technology. If
circumstances warrant, there should be an Extension
Division in the Bank's Zonal or Regional er Divi'sienalOffice at the State level where that Balik's
,Lead districts are substantial in number. 'This
Division should be able to. popularise new technol~'
gies in the respective states in close co-ordinatien
with the state government officials.
4 Bank may initiate training ef their staff from
time-to-time with the respective Agricultural Uni.
versities foc specified objectives of transferring the
proven technology in the specified districts. Similarly, bauks may initiate conducting research-cumdevelopment projects to (i) determine the level of '
acceptability of proven technology by the farmers
and (ii) to formulate the bankable scheme as also
determine 'the scale ef finance.
S Banks may also consider to work

with reputed
companies, industrial houses or c"operatives which
have been dealing

in

various

inputs-fertilizers,

pesticides, pump.'~ets, farm implements, machineries

for conducting pilot projects or holding demonstrations to test their products and link with advisory
services for assured production. National Seeds
Corporation, 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 knowhow in relation to operation pf Pt!mf'-s~ts at' the

sary to identify the potential village industries at the

block level. ,On -the basis ef. this identificatien, the
DIC and block, should' formulate a coordinatect sirategyof development of village industries in which agricultural development will also be a part. This type of,
coordination of DIC and block, agricultural develop--,A
ment and village industries will create automatic poten- '.
tials for the development, of village industries.
In the present economic situation, the policy for the
development of village industries requir~s reorientation
for providing iricome and employment to. the masses,
who have been unaffected from the stream of development. The development of village industries would be
a more direct approach than reliance on the trickle
down effects of growth to reach the rural masses. The
fuildamental of such framework is that in which t.he
pcople will not be able to absorb the innovations but
will be interested in the idea.
(CeURTESY

Voluntary Action)

dcsired level of efficiency, working of the bia-gas

plants, maintenance ,of high-yielding milch animals,
reclamation of land, soil and moisture-conservation
measures etc. is of significant importance to the
staff of these corporations as is to the Government
and the banks. And, this association would not
cost much financially.
6 The concept of sponsoring Farmers' Service'
Societies to proVide all the needed inputs, credit
and marketing facilities along with extension services was unique in the area of. developing

small

farmers and inrceasing' agricultural production.

However, this approach somehow or the other did
'not work satisfactorily. It is this area, where the
baIiks have spOllsored FSS, in whiCh they should
initiate steps to remedy the shortcomings and
vigoroUsly pursue the concept. If baliks' staff is'
, :properly trained in the IJistitute of Rural Management, Anand, perhaps banks would be in a better
position to develop a rural nmnagement endre so
essential to their rural branches.
7 There are a large number of areas which require
tr:lnsfer of technology viz. new and renewable '
sources of energy, inland fisheries, rural' industries
etc. 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 maladyremedy analysis, (iv) undertaking research pro.leet' on' reehimation of usaf land, etc. of .national
importance, (v) training officials in advanced
'technology and managemeni of resources etc. 'The
, source of funds inay have to 00 found out from the
Bank's R arid D fund which may have to be created.
KuRUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

I
I
I
I
I

Neeq

'10

'brii'lg :aboutrurai

transformation
RA VINDRA 'KUMAR

I.-I;T. "Centre

II

,,. ,

Jor "Runi.IIDeyeJopment

'and Appropriate

TeChnology,

-New

nCilii

'T~a~~
_:~~-':~e~:a~~f6~11~~~~r
a~~~i::~~Ii;~~~~~~=
v

',l.

_~

'

1i:ntriitY'as a 'whole, 'iilcItfdinglhe 'poorest 'ofthep0{)f

(ih"Ghndlliji's 'Wotds. jlfe'la~t
'nian')
'through 'the
application of the 'achievements niade in 'the 'fields of
s~ienc'e aha teeIitlblogy is quite 'a fashionable phrase
tolIay to talk abolit. 1t is 'inclieasingly becmlling 'the
freull' bf 'the' dav to -aiscuss
various national 'a.nd!
interilatioiial 'lcV~l ;meetLtigs, semimifS:
workshops)
<conference-s, congresses etc. about "various "facets of
'turaldevelopmcnt--'the
probldms of 'rural areas. the
tedirtidh 'ana 'Jfifiancial -itiputs! neeoed 'to provide at
'!east a ',subsistence 'kvel' oeliVln!:"(iCnot more, 'to the
ii\iilions 6f the 'poj:>tilatiOn,'lh~ scientific niana-gement
and other measures to 'improvb,the
'living standard 'of
,
the people with focus on the down-trodden, The plan'hers and 'administrators 'throJgJj ,their various' tplans
are 'trying to see a totally n~;v 'face of rural InOia
without :poverty, illiteracy, ln~ense' bunge-rand
malnutrition rand .diseaSe, :rhey,also visualised, a 'healthy
se1f~sustaijjed rural economy Having multiplier effects,
A [number of, programmes ,-boav& been' introdud:~d 'since
maependence, Ifor achieving thb 'pla"nners' dreams, 'yet
much-reniainso!o be done, Ndw,the'question
is :

ih
i

I '

I
J,

2, How it should be brought

effect):.

stands

about (tools
on society

Transformillion
(change) in. general denotes
substitution or succession of
:bing in place
other. Putting in the words df Heraclitus, the
sopher 'All things are in probess and nothing
still. .. you could not step twite into the same

otie

, KURUKSHETRA

March 16,

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

Bow to bring about tr.ansfmmation

stands only for creation of physical infrastructures on gaining of material prosperity.in rural area:s? . Or il1 d"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
of
concensus :in ,those who ,are working in or ~are.toncetned with the' task of rural
dev;lopment,
SOrne
ad,:o~ate ...that r.the. cr:-e-ationof .!physiGal iilfrastfllctural
fa~ilities .in -rural areas through the industri;:i.lisation
of the ,area, building, roads, ,schools hospi~als etc"
cr.eating ...
growth centres ..,,~jth.their,ttrickle ~down ..effect
will serve the purpose, white others argues that creating more and more employment opportunities through
creating orgattlised employment ]11. nu'al areas with
reasonable facilities will automatically Ie-ad to their
OES THE CHANGE

1. 'What :for 'the 'transformation

ceptUalc1arity)'
me~~ani~DlS); and
3, What "will )be 'lls 'Impact

Change in rural context 'not only refers to the _physical

or .material chal}ges but-it also -refers to .the .psychologiciiJ attributes
'of human
,pers6nality~attitudes',
values, nonns etc. The inputs to, a-system-wbether
it ~be an organisation, society, .cDi11munity, .family and
even.a..human being are expected to.bring a'.,change in
the .p:r:.~seritstate of the receiver i.e. the'system.

(Con,and
(after-

the
of anphilosta'\'s

river'.

I
rS3

19
/

'

development. obviously, it is one sehool of thought

which emphasise on morc and more use of techoical
inputs in the existing framework and exploring new
avenues of employment potential by conducting basic
rcsearches should be the goal of planning. The
other school of thought agrees more or less with this
but is more worried about the basic nature of rural
areas,-the
rural ethos-that
should be protected
in any ,process of transformation. They come ont with
their strong views that the rural characteristics which
we have inherited like the' community living, proximity to nature, joint family pattern, basic producers
charapteristics withou~, any employer-employee rera- '
tionship' (self-employm~nt), the God-fearing attitude,
respect to elders, communal harmony etc. should be
protected and preserved. After all, human being is
gregarious 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, to
meet 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 he
has a very comp'lex physiological system) and therefore, carinot detach himself from the society. Any
developmental 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, uses
locally available raw materials and skills, increases
per capita productivity and in turn more aggregate
production. It not only motivates the people to contribute their best in developmental efforts but also
enables them to get their due share in the fruits of
development (growth with social jnstice). The Constitutional' objective of 'growth with social justice' is
more in keeping with the third world developing
countries like India where more than three-fourth of
the population reside in rural areas and about half of
the total population is still living below the poverty
line. The poverty striken people of third world
countries have painfully realised that the only telling
answer to the hunger is food; not clever arguments
or catchy slogans.

',The main concern-the

people

o BRING oU'I~such a charige, the 'people' must be

in the centre of all plannings. The apathy of
public servants, the top' to down communication, the

red-tapism,

the everywhere prevailing

'I am not res-

ponsible' attitude, rapidly erosing 'dignity of labour'

and 'human values'-this present state' of affairs cannot. be 'expected to' produce tangible results, forget
about miracles. Any approach which is based on

20

the prindples of people's planning requmng science

and techoology a6 inputs alongwith finance provided
, well in time through' their own organisations has better
chances of success than an approach or plan formulated by sitting in an air-conditioned hall and the
planner cannot be held responsible for the adverse
effects. It calls for the NGOs (Nori-Governmental
Organisations), voluntary organisations and enlightened individuals to initiatc the iProcessin those. areaS
wherc it has more chances to take off and to accelerate the process where it needs further momentum.
Mauy learned scholars feel that if: everything is
left to the people alone, it will be difficult for the
govcniment to work. But this' is not so. History had
proved that with the people's participation in developmental planning, execution,

monitoring

a.TIdevalu-

ation, there will be better' socio-economic order and

hardly any category of 'have nots'. The people no';
only created various infrastructural fa~ilities but also
maintained their order without any outside support.
It wa,s a real democratic, set-up with thc maximum
decentralisation of power. As lhis was the state some
hundred years' ago, why cannot the same be rehabilitated while we seem to be on a higher stage of civilisalion and better equipped with latest sophisticated
scientific and technical know-how. It is possible
only if such a system is devised which has the inbuilt mechanisms of identifying and making available
the means of 'production to individual families, fi.'{ing
up the investment priorities, collecting eac~l 'farnHy's

contribution, invest it into the developmental projects,

monit-::>fand evaluate it," ensure everyones'

due share

in its froits and above all have its own reward

punishment in the system.

and
":'

that more' and more

highly educated, energetic youths are coming lip and
working in close association with the local people ,in
country side. This process of. migrating the scientific and technical talents into the field will certainly
boost the transfer of relevant technologies from lab:
to land and it wi)J prove a challenge for'those who
are working.in the research laboratories and technical
institutions to provide solution of the problems posed
by them by these field workers. It will provide an"
excellent opportunity to the farmers, the field 'level
T IS A .WELC01HNG fealure

workers, the scientists and technocrats to come iOgather on a common platform and analyse, synth~sise.

and providc solutions to the various problems faced

by them in day to day work. Definitely it will be
a ~igniJicant achievement and every possible effort
must' bc made to crystallise it.
'"

KURUKSHETRA March 16, 1983

I
,

Popularising biogas plants

.,
r

.\

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

HE NEED FOR developing

new and renewable
sources of energy has become necessary in view
of the' fact that the existing f6ssil {uel resources are
fast depleting and the present Pattern of .consumption

of' 'energy' resources

can' not be "Sustained too

long.

All over the world, the eff0l1s are heing' made to

d~velop mature technologies
for harnessing renewable s.ources of energy suiteq to the local conditions.
We' are proud of our scientists who have developed
aIi appropriate technology for meeting; the' fuel requirements of the rural people by recycling locally
available orgauic resources, which are available in the
form of farm wastes 'such -as ~owdung, weeds, etc.

tion was. to' accelerate construction of family size biogas

plarits with credit support from the banks. The banks
have since then been actively engaged in promoting
bioga, teclinology by' providing the requisite credit
support.
. The Govermnent of India fixed the target of setting
up 100,000 biogas plants by the end of the Fifth Five
Year Plan, which was more or less fulfilled by every
state. A review of the Fifth plan scheme indicates that
it, 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 governments and programme implem~nting agen-

.I
..
How biogas plants are useful
I

IOGASTECHNOLOGY,
based Ion the phenomenon of
B.anaerobic
decomposition of orgauic materials reI

cies;

(iii) Demonstration and training support;

(iv) Technical support;
(v) Arrangement for supply of constructioh

conciles two apparently conflicting aims at getting fuel

from cattle-dung; and agricultural resi?ues. ;-(i)
cheaper and belter fueI which could be used for cooking, '"lighting, lunnmg diesell. engines .for irrigation
pumping, etc.. (ii) good quality manure to supplement and optimise the use 6f chemical fertilisers.
Besides, there are some oth~r ibene.fits also su~h !:l~:
I

materials; and

(v) Extension and publicity.

Target for sixth plan

..

Reduction in indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel

~"altd the consequent deforest1ation; improvement in
'"niral sanitation; reduction irl the incidence of eye
disei!ses among village won\.en and children; . and
easy and efficieut cooking, Ithereby reducing the
drudgery of the daily cho!es of rural WOmen thus

BSERVINGTHE SVCC;:;.58
achieved during the Fifth
Five Year Plan, the Government of India has
decided to install 400,000 biogas plants in the country
during; the sixth five year plan. The yearwise breakup
have been presented in' Table-I.

sp3.rlng their time for other ~ctivities tlnd adding in-

TABLE I

directly to the family incomb.

YearWise pbasing of biogas units during sixth plan

S~~ce the prices.of petroleum !Producls and chemical

. fertIlisers regIstered a steep file; the Government bC
India have decided for. promoting. the scheme for'
developing locally available mJnurial resources and
simultaneously develop altern~te ener~v resources
. especially cooking fuel. The fitststep
this direc-

i~

'KURUKSHETRA

March 16, 11983

Year

Number
of units

1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
t984-85

35,000
75,000
125,000
175,000
Total

----------~-

400,000

21

Unfortunately. during the ycar 1981-82 and 198283, the progress being very slow, a study was conducted by ARne to find out the causes that had held
up the progress of the biogas"programme. The Commission found 011tthat some of the causes for the
slow pace of programme were:-

loans due lo

subsequent

escalation in unit costs) resulting in hesitation on the

, part of farmers.
3, Lack of proper publi~ity and motivation by the
promotional agencies. . . \ ~
. 4. ' Lack, of proper technical advice for the conslr~ction
pJ~ants and: _p'ost.,con~tr~ctjon' mainte-

or

nance.
5. Delay in reJease of capital subsidy.

, 6.' inadequacy

o'f supervisor; ane! te~hnically traiued

st!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, abS~1)ce--ot incremental income -etc.

'Measure& for 'popu1l1risatian

','posefulIS measures
urgent need tota, k,e sOll).epract~calpurto popularise the biogas moveT
men!)n rural areas. Some of these'lllay.be.,
ljERE

AN

'1: ,Thiere should. be an agency defined as the core

agency for the promotion of ~iogas plants in the state
which 'should exercise fun control over this programme. The organisatiol)al .strllcture_and the func. lions .of the various agencies/departments iuvolved
in the execution,of thcpro'grammc and their responsibilities should be f\llly. defined and fixed.
2. Planning for the biogas development should not
"be collJrned to the allocation of the fargets alone. It
,should also i~clude identification of problems, techriical "guida~ce,.work supervision etc. A ~~s
Cell
should' be ~rganised at district,level tor coordinating
~'~d'monitori'M of the progress of the biogas pro'0--

5. There is tremendous scope for popularising the

scheme amongst the farmers and also the urban
population by improving upo'n the design and construction technique in such a

1. Shortage of fabrication materials such as cement,

bricks, melal shects. etc.
2. InsuffLcicncyof hank

, targets fixed for them. Provision should also be

'made for the repairs and maintenance of the plants.

. gramme.

3. A team of trained technical staf! should be provided at each district headquarter to execute the
programme. The efficiency '6f the expertise should
be' Judged on the basis cf the efficient operation of
biogas plants and number of plants insta1led. One
should be made properly answerable for each ma~u"
facturally deficient plahl.
4. Specific quota 'of cement, should be allocated to
each district for this project in accordance with the

way that its

cost is

-'I

reduced considerably and efficiency increased appreciably.

6. The high capital cost could be brought down by
drastically reducing the retention period of the digester to 20 days for the regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, 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 ,be
brought down little more by providing further subsidy,
support for weaker sections. This would enable the
."S.mall,fanners" to. adqpt this teChnqlogy at a,'taster,
. ra.te,,'

-.~,~

~,
,

8. Loan and: subsidy for the revival of siCk bi@glls

. plants on acconnt of, deficient and faulty insi,lJ1ations should' also be provided asis admissible in the"
. case of failed well boring.

Pi.sPQsalof human, excretashou1dalsobe;;~o~~jdered On par. with cattle, d\ln!!._SubSklY.sho\~,4.be'

qfi'ered,for construction of latrine, units. also., 'Pay-;
.ing,c;at1kS!I~gsaJId cO,ll1pqstpits should.also ge su,b,,~~
sigi~<!, .
<) .

10. Number of ideal' and effiCientfairri house dus~'

ters with gobar gas plant aUts centre should be
established 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
the
people living n~ar ' "';est~~l)re~on. It is <!~sirabie'
.(liatlhey' should be requested'.to help in constiUCi~ .
ing biogas plant~. '."..
'-'
, ' ',,'

of

12. Biogas technolqgy is essentially the art to .be

pursued, developed. and J1IaJuredby miCrobrol@gist:
It is also the most challenging job tha, the engineer.
ing professi~n has to perfor~: Therefore, proiotYi>e
deveiopment cell should. be i~me9i.~tely' formed
where~' design en'gineer,
res~~rch rnicrobiQlogist
and executive engirieer would bring the low cost and
succes'sively 'efficient biogas pl~nts..

IQGA~i.I~_a renewable source of energy. There is no

.. 'rnol).Qpoly over. tpis enegry-source of any agency or'

Government The"" are about 30 million animals in

the country w\Jicll a'nnually 'produce aboqi 1500million t.9nnes'of 'gobar.' If this gobai: , can be utilised
KURUKSHE"FRA March 16,"1983'

through biogas plants we will get 43 per cent more

manure and also huge amoun! 'Of energy in the form
of gas. Utilising the biogas eriergy we can save huge
energy sources such a~ diesel

and electricity in irrigation pumpsets in Our country.

So every effort made to popularise the biogas technology amongst the farmers all over the country helps to
provide cheaper and easier cooking.

creates potential demand for goods and scrvices. This

demand can be classified into Ithree categories:

of the profiles of the villages coverA edCOMPARISON

by agro-bascd industries with that of the

alllount

of

convehtional

"',

(Con/d. from p. 10) .

i. the demand for non"food goods and services,

which would increase a~ rural income increase;
ii. the demand for inputs lnd services for agriculture (including tools and equipment, repair services, transport, processjng and supporting infrastructure and works) J which would increase
w:th agricultural develo~ment; and
I

iii. the demand foc manufa~tured .goods.

. Studies of household expenbitures shows that nonfood items occupy a rising shate of a rural household's
hudget. as rural incomes ineredse.
. The increase in demand foJ non-food items stenis
from both 'backward' and 'fbrward' linkages with
agriculture. The former inclbdes demands for tools
and equipment repairs and supply services, buildings,
and works; tlie lalter includes processing, transport and
marketing of output. .
I
Besides the markets generated by agricultural development, external markets for fuanufactured goods and
haooicrafts from rural areas earl be a source of employment. Adequate rural infrast'ructure provides manufacturers ready access, to the rural labollr market,
materials and services. This indicates that agricultural
development can not be looked at in isolation; agricultural development requires cohtinual improvement of
infrasructure. Moreover, it is a positive stimulus
. to the development of agro-ba~ed industries and there. by to rural towns. Such towns form the nalural nodal
points for the expansion of mahufaeturing activity. For
tpis and other reason~,it is i~porlant to consider the
.interaction between rural development and the growth
and role of rural towns, the l~tter being the consequence of <;levelopmentof agrD-"basedindustries in rural
I

areas.

KURUKSHETRA March 16,

1983'

village not covered by any type of agro-based industry

has revealed that the latter is lagging behind in all
respects. While there was a perceptible improvement
in the 'Occupational pasition of rural papulatian residing in the villages covered by agra-based industries
because of agro-based industrial employment, there
was practically no change and improvement in the
'Occupationalpasition 'Ofthe population residing in the
villages. withaut any agro-based industry. A similar
trend has been observed with regard ta the incames of
the rural population. The agricultural workers living
in the villages eovere.d by agro-based industries are
able to lead a better life, in the sense that they no mare .
struggle for minimum. necessities of life. It is not so
in the case of the' villagcs not covered by any agrobased industry and agricultural workers of this village
are living below subsistence level. A .review 'Of the
wage structure of the village having no influence of
agro-based industries with those cavered by agro-based
industries has confirmed the fact that the increase was
more substantial in the case of the latter villages than
in that of the former village. It is mainly because of
the existence of agro-based industries in the laller
villages, the wage rates of different workers-casual
and attached-were higher. In brief, it may be concluded that the setting up of agro-bascd industries in
or around the villages changed the rural economy completely 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":
DeveloPment Council, P. 4.

Maharashtra Economic

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

23

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

...,

"...

'".

~
.
(

This feature is 'based on success stories viz. achievementi gained in':various

by farme,rs, institutions, experimenters' ~nd.'indivi.,.
duals.' There
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
l.~-,,::~r'.'
:.tluJilvai:to~qthetsJ.
;-::1' .;.
',.['

.,'

spheres .of rural cjevelopment

is

,:-,"'c.')
~ ,'.1

>.:.:..

:...}

!:.:!

;'.:llIJf,. ...

L"

:0

.r - ;..

We

:'(

'~hoiiei.'OiIFesteemed redde;s

(,""i' '.

thatothers:cimhenefit"by
i)cdple: (EDITOR)"

',)' ~.. r:0i.i,,"rjS;~1;,.

"

\.

I.""';';fieU's,,'

I,;

i..

; ;."~
.:'._.

will s;I1(1:',us their:' Q.wn.,eXl~r.ri~llces,' ill tlie

10 !ls/ler ill "a~beltet',life
tor our rural

alent

"

".'

'.

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

,t:'<i~'.<~::~.Better
life 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 of
5000 as, hever' !Jef"i",',
,
,
c Strains ofna\iaswaram
music competed
madcrn hand, as it only' can in' a vill<jge.

with

'Wom6n in their cleanest and brightest clothes scurried ..awut in widcceyed, wonder at all the "big shots"
,who
coine from the "city".
. 'had ..,
"The, occasion was, the' one-da,y exhibition' organised
by, b"ncficiaries of loans distributed by the State Bank
of I11diauI)der the Integrated Rural Development Pro.
granjwe, in' collaboration, with District Rural Developfilent Agency.
",IRDp 'which w3~ilaunched two years ago, aims at uplifting people below poverty line and creating subSl'llltial'opportunities
for employment.
Under this pro.
gramme; the Mailam branch of the SBI had, during the
last two' years given as, much as Rs. 8 lakhs to' over
200)~persons for buying milch animals or for improving
their business.
The bulk of the loans were, for milch
animals.
It was thought that with most persons

depending on dryland far,ming, cows and

buffaloes

w6uld be t1)e best form of investment.

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

."

".

'>-

~'-et.~r:ina.ry.'as~~i~ta!i~i.was.'S-P1Igh.t from the goyernment

in, selectiug the right lype '<if animals, examining them
for diseases ,and giving" ,sugges,ti9llS on how. to. care. for
them.
'
.. ,..
,,".
' "
,
..
'Veteri~ariansvisited
'e,j~h'housepcriodically
(0 find
6~t if 'the f~r;';erii w~re takirligoodcare';;{
the animals.
The Tamil Nadu Milk'Producers
Cooperative Federation helped the villagers in selling their produce,
The bank and DRDA people made it 'a' point to
lTieet each bencficiary'and
find out his problems,
The
indi'"l/id'uaF sessions lielped motivate the farmers, mote
thart what would, ha've been- the case in a collective
lecture,
A 'tlig, fatmer was persuaded to raise a demonstration
farm 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 distribiltefree
saplings, of quick-growing trees.\ Social Forestr.y:, too
has. been-undettaken
in a big way and as, 'many
as
50,000 saplings are being, planted under' a phased pro-,
gramme;
''Flie repayment at Mailam has been extcilent'----Df
the ord'er of 95 PCf cent. Most of tbe beneficiaries ,
ha,ve also been able to get an' additional income npto
Rs: 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 the
beneficiaries proves that the IRDP is doing well' and
helping the weaker sections in transforming their lives
for the belter.

, V. Saravana Mulhu
Project Officer, DRDA
C"ddalore (Tamil Nad,,)

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

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

Trysem to the rescue

UPEES

EIGHT

HUNDRED

a year, through one's own

hard labour, may not sound impressive to many.

But for a few tribal girls of village Jodyada in

Dhule District, Maharashtra, the opportunity to work
and earn this much is nothing short of a miracle.
They were all i1'ite,a.tc, deserted by those who
should have loved and looked after them. Disillusioned
with the life process of their lightless world, they were
at 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 family
to keep her body and soul together. It was then that
Anand Sadan, a charitable institution of Shirpur, took
her under its wings.

Anand Sadan is aided by the scheme for "Training

of Rural Youth for Self Employment"
(TRYSEM)
through the District Rural Development Agency to

i<
KURUKSHETRAMoo' l6. "83

help people like Jekha to acquire the necessary skills

so that they could become self-employed.
In Anand Sadan, she learned to read and write'and
the trade of tailoring. The Bank of Baroda advanced
her money to buy a sewing machine. She set up tailoring on her own, repaying regularly the instalments. of
the bank loan and contributing about Rs. 800 a year
to the family kitty.

Bayaja Bhavsing Pawara and Lilabai Rupsing

Pawara were all in the same boat with Jekha Pawara
having been deserted by their husbands. But for
TR YSEM and Anand Bhavan, they would still have
been 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
Educated upto IX standard, she was deserted by
husband at ] 8. After training in Anand Sadan,
took up tailoring to cam a living. This brought
estranged husband back to her.

lot.
her
she
the

...

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

;
'.

l
National rural employment programme
Outlay
A total outlay of Rs. 1620 crore" has be~n provided by the Centre and States for the
National Rural Employment Programme during the Si"th Plan period. It is e"pected
that effective implementation of this programme would not only raise income levels of tire
n/ral poor but would also stabilise the levels of wages of agricultural labour. Moreover,
NREP envisages close involvement of localpeople and panchayati raj institutions in tire
selection of works, their execution and subsequent maintenance of assets created in respect

of each block.
Shoemakers at work.

Pottery has b~n a tradition~1 handicraf! and keeps

our rural craftsm~n busy during lean periods.

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

Poultry

Regd. No. D(DN)/39

RN 702/57

farming has

helped in adding to
farmers' income.

National rural employment programme

AchievementS
National Rural EmploymenrProgramme h;s seras i/;objective the -creating of 300 to 400
mondays of employment in a year. Roughly atleast one member from each poor family is
epected to secure employment for a minimum period oj 100 days during the -year. The
programme has resulted in many other benefits to the _rural poor like price stiJbili.ation of
foodgrains ensuring minim.m ages to the crk"s and thus increasing their income and
improving their nutritional standards, prol'iding Ifork to the needy poor throughout the year
and 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 rural

artisans in a big way by providing necessary financial and
other kinds of assistance.

PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR,

CATIONS DIVISION, NEW
AND
GOVT.

PRINTED

BY

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OF INDIA PRESS,

BUSINESS MANAGER
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: S.

(p): K.

PUBLI-

DELHI-llOOO,
MANAGER,.
FARIDABAD
L.

JAISWAL,

R, KRISHNAN