STRATEGY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde
BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune 411 058
Despite significant advancement in industrial development, Indian economy is dependent on agrobased activities. Over 70% of the population living in rural areas is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. A majority of these families spend over 90% of their earnings on basic needs such as food, fuel and health care. Over 50% of the rural families who are not able to meet even these essential needs fall under the category of the poor. Thus, in an agrarian country like India, for improving the economic status of the population it is not enough to enhance the per capita GNP, but it is also necessary to ensure prosperity among the poor. Industrial development and adoption of modern technologies are likely to generate additional employment in urban areas and pay rich dividend to elite and rich investors. This in turn might widen the gap between the urban and rural as well as the rich and the poor, with respect to wealth accumulation, resulting in further hardship to the poor. Therefore, we need to address the problems of the poor to ensure social justice and better quality of life.
Rural development also deserves priority for maintaining selfsufficiency in food supply. Our food security is under severe threat because of the growing population. No doubt, India has tripled her food production over the last four decades, to reach the present level of 195 million tons/year. However, with over 1.8% annual birth rate, our growing population is bound to raise the annual demand for food to 250 million tons by 2010 A.D. As food security is a prerequisite for economic progress, agrobased rural development deserves attention.
Fortunately, the Government of India has been giving top priority to rural development. However, in the absence of well planned development programmes and efficient delivery systems, most of these resources do not benefit the target groups. It has been reported that only 18% of the rural development budget reaches the target families, while the rest is wasted due to inefficient delivery systems or drained out. In the process of assisting the poor, a significant portion of the budget is spent on relief and subsidies. Poor families have received sympathy instead of motivation which has resulted in a dependency syndrome. As a result, most of the poor have lost confidence, initiative and entrepreneurship. The inputs and cash distributed for investment in development are being diverted for household consumption. In such a situation, free distribution of inputs may not help the rural poor any more.
The time is now ripe for a change in the strategy. The rural development programme should identify the problems of the poor and address the local needs, instead of forcing them to accept preconceived plans. The participating families should take active part in the programme. There should be equal opportunity for the weaker sections of the society and women. The programme should facilitate sustainable management of natural resources and environmental protection and lead to better quality of life.
Problems of the Poor
Rural poor pass through series of problems which affect their survival and quality of life. These problems can be grouped into four broad categories namely livelihood, health, education and social development. These four components can be referred to as 4 A's `Anna', `Arogya', `Akshar' and `Acharan'. Various problems falling under these categories are presented in Fig. 1. Problems such as scarcity of food, fodder, fuel, shelter, small holdings, poor crop yields, poor quality livestock, lack of irrigation, unemployment and underemployment affect the income generation and hence fall in the category of livelihood problems.
Problems of livelihood are more serious and need immediate attention of the development agencies. The other problems are also serious and interrelated, but can be handled by the villagers, simultaneously with the livelihood programme. Health and education problems can be solved at a greater pace when the villagers start improving their livelihood. In the absence of assured livelihood, other development programmes may not sustain in the long run. Good moral values and commitment for upliftment of the community are also essential to ensure better quality of life.
Setting the Priority
The problems of the rural poor throughout the country appear to be common. But the intensity of these problems vary widely and a few of them need to be addressed on priority. The cause of these problems also vary, due to the family size, employment status, ownership of various resources, socioeconomic background and religious beliefs. These restrictions need to be taken into consideration, while proposing suitable solutions for tackling the problems of rural development. Hence basic data on the target community will be useful for planning the programme.
Baseline Data:
The information needed for preparing a development plan are the nature of problems and their causes, resources available, type of technologies presently adopted and their capacity to absorb new activities for generating income. Village level information on the following aspects will be useful for project formulation.
1. Social background of the families: SC, ST, BC and poor and their employment status (men and women);
2. Literacy status (men, women and children). Anganwadis, balwadis and school facilities;
3. Land holding pattern with water resources, type of crops and levels of production (average yields) and inventory of livestock;
4. Demand and supply of essential commodities such as fodder, fuel, food, agricultural commodities and per capita consumption;
5. Prevailing diseases and community health problems, social problems, if any.
It is not feasible to conduct house to house survey in the initial stage as it is time consuming. Any survey without concrete project support may also demoralise the local population, who in turn may not cooperate in the future. Apart from the collection of secondary data, it is also advisable to conduct Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). RRA can be carried out by a team of multidisciplinary specialists who can discuss with prominent people and office bearers of various organisations, local health officials, village sarpanch, school teachers, members of Youth and Women's clubs and cooperatives. PRA involves discussion with various socio economic groups who can come up with their problems and possible solutions. It is an effective tool for identifying local problems and setting a priority for implementation.
Development of Project Proposals
Based on the local needs and available opportunities, it is preferable to prepare a project proposal for raising financial resources and implementation. The proposal should cover various aspects such as infrastructural needs, identification of the target groups and the activities to be undertaken. All these details can be systematically presented in the proposal.
Local Infrastructure: It is necessary to plan for various activities, identify the resources and manpower for proper management with time schedule and budgetary control. The community should be involved in project implementation right from the beginning. The domination of the implementing agencies may result in loss of initiatives among the beneficiaries. Subsequently, at the termination of the project, even the most successful projects may fail to sustain the programme due to inability of the local people. To avoid such a situation, formation of local organisations to implement the programme is helpful. It is not necessary in the initial stage to determine the type of the organisation to be established for implementing the project. The community can be mobilised through Self Help Groups (SHGs) to initiate the development activity. Subsequently, a formal organisation can be registered to manage the programme.
Apart from mobilising people, infrastructure is also necessary to organise input supply, finance, post production processing and marketing of the produce. In livelihood projects, realisation of benefits in the form of cash and kind is the indicator of success. Hence market plays a very crucial role in sustaining the development programme. Marketing is a dynamic process which is influenced by demand and supply as well as information on new products and processes. Hence, the proposed infrastructure should also provide market information services required to enhance profits. For the success of any rural development programme, there is a need for a strong local organisation having a strong linkage with technology centres, financial institutions and marketing network. Fig. 2 indicates an ideal linkage of the local organisation with various institutions at various levels. Close relation with the Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha is necessary, as most of the government sponsored development projects are implemented through the Gram Panchayat.
Target Groups: The development inputs in general consist of technology and resources. As there is no constraint in acquiring technology from various sources, it is neither feasible nor necessary to restrict the dissemination of technology. However, the poor who cannot mobilise adequate resources to adopt appropriate technologies need financial assistance as well.
It has been observed that the programmes focussed on the development of common properties and local infrastructures have mostly benefited the rich families. In the absence of assured support to weaker sections, the advantages of infrastructural development and technology transfer are enjoyed by the welltodo and elite members of the society, while the illiterate and poor families lag behind. Hence special attention on family based development programme can ensure the participation of the poor in development programmes.
Empowerment of women should cut across all these development activities, as women play a significant role in building the community. Although the women represent 50% of the population, they share an additional responsibility of bringing up their children. With empowerment of women, their drudgery will be reduced and they will be able to utilise their time effectively in shaping their children and family.
Programme Components : Establishing a good rapport with the local community before launching the development programme is helpful. However, livelihood programme may not be the correct entry point even among the poor communities. The entry point activity should be such that a majority of the local population will be able to take part. In certain situations like postcalamities, relief measures can be the best entry point. Health camps and drinking water resource development can also be considered for entry point activity.
Water is the lifeline of all human activities. Water is not only needed for survival but also for generating employment in rural areas. Therefore rural development projects involving water resources development may primarily aim at providing drinking water and subsequently for livestock and crop production.
The selection of villages for development can cover the entire area under a watershed. With the development of water resources, various income generation activities can be initiated. The strategy should be to conserve and make sustainable use of the denuded natural resources through appropriate technologies. Activities which provide employment at the doorsteps of local families particularly the women, deserve priority.
For successful economic development, the programme should focus on the following aspects:
1. Equal distribution of natural resources, particularly water.
2. Good extension network for transfer of technology.
3. Infrastructure for timely distribution of inputs.
4. Marketing network to procure, process and distribute the produce.
The development programme during the past few decades included free distribution of inputs to the poor. This however did not succeed in motivating the poor to take active part in development. Subsequently in 90's, many donor agencies changed their strategy and provided critical inputs in the form of loan. The response again was poor as the farmers were hesitant to avail loan, due to lack of confidence to generate adequate income and repay the loan. Therefore it is better to initiate the development programme with an aid component and subsequently encourage the families to avail of loans.
Income Generation Activities
The opportunity for employment generation in rural areas can be grouped into onfarm and offfarm activities. Initially, the agrobased activities cannot provide adequate opportunities for the landless. Subsequently, with optimum use of resources and enhanced productivity, demand for labour will rise and even the landless will have increased employment opportunities. With improvement in agricultural production, job opportunities for ancillary services will also increase and the landless can take advantage of this situation. Nevertheless, land based activities have a serious limitation of maintaining the carrying capacity beyond a certain period. Hence it is advisable to initiate the development programme through onfarm and offfarm activities, simultaneously.
While implementing the programme through a particular sector such as crop production, cattle breeding, forestry or kitchen garden or any such activities, it is necessary to estimate the expected benefits. The objective behind this analysis is to ensure that the families can earn adequate income to come out of poverty. If the development programme under implementation is not able to provide sufficient income to meet their basic needs, the beneficiaries may keep on looking for other opportunities, while ignoring the trickling benefits, from the project being implemented.
Therefore, the development strategy should aim at helping the rural families to come out of poverty by making use of the available resources and idle labour force. However, as the quality and quantity of natural resources owned by families within the community vary widely, their priorities also vary among the families. Therefore, it is preferable to undertake a microlevel planning before undertaking various development activities. This planning should address all the problems of the families and the community.
Criteria for Selection of Livelihood Activities
In the absence of assured jobs in industries, self employment is the best alternative in rural areas. To enhance people's participation in rural development through self employment, priority should be given to the activities having the following criteria:
* Social acceptability of the participants;
* Easy availability of natural resources and external inputs;
* Local skill to operate the programme without depending on external technology;
* Ability of the participants to operate at low risk;
* Easy marketability of the produce;
* Economic viability and higher profitability;
* Short gestation period;
* Yearround employment.
Agrobased activities for Income Generation
Crop Production: There are several areas to improve the crop profitability and profitability. These include the introduction of improved varieties and new crops, soil and water conservation, wastelands development, organic farming, use of improved inputs and tools, postproduction processing and marketing of the produce. In many villages, farmers do not have threshing yards and appropriate tools to thresh, clean and dry the produce, before storage. As a result, farmers incur heavy losses due to damage, wastage and pilferage.