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Transcript

Hello friends, we have completed 6 weeks of the course on Fundamentals of Agricultural Extension. By now we have discussed various issues, the concepts and the recent developments related to agricultural extension. Also in many discussions we have come across the concept of rural development and its implications for the benefit of the rural population, and how these efforts were carried out by different individuals in different parts of the country. And the public extension services are also aimed at the rural development, and which we have seen through various programs. May it be IADP, IRDP, IAAP, NATP, NAIP. Good number of such programs. The ultimate goal of these things are, changing the living standards of the rural community. In turn they are adding to the process of rural development.

With this brief background in today’s class we will be making an effort to understand the concept, meaning and definition of rural development. To begin with, as a concept. It connotes overall development of the rural areas with a view to improve. What is that we wanted to improve or bringing in the change? It begins with the quality of life of rural people, which we have been discussing about in different programs. As a part of different programs. And the results are also before us. So how the situation has changed with deliberate interventions from the point of view of rural development. It’s a comprehensive and multidimensional concept and encompasses the development of agriculture and allied activities. In case of Indian context, so it becomes bit difficult to have clear cut differentiation between rural development and agricultural development, because both these concepts are going hand in hand. And we are already aware that the even today, majority of the population is still dependent on agriculture and majority of the population is still living in the rural areas.

Whatever the changes that we would like to bring in, that particular area is aiding to the rural development, and in which agriculture is the predominant profession, wherein we are interested in changing. In addition to this profession of agriculture, the village and cottage industries and the crafts are also the domain areas, wherein the programs like IRDP and various other programs that were planned and implemented were part of this. SFAC and the things that were. Then, so in addition to that development of the socio-economic infrastructure, which are aiding to the change in the quality of life of rural people. That may be in the form of the launching of the programs like ICDS or the infrastructure development programs or the watershed development programs or the typical agricultural development programs. Put together there will be a change in the social conditions as well as the economic conditions, through the village industries, through the enhancing agricultural production, enhancing their income, and diversifying their sources of income. All these are the domain areas of rural development.

Then to come to the community services and facilities and human resources in rural areas are another important areas to be taken up under the concept of rural development. With this brief background. Now let us understand rural development as a phenomena. Because it is the result of interaction between various physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional factors. And all these factors how they are interacting with each other, that we have seen in the various developmental programs. May it be the rural reconstruction program implemented by Daniel Hamilton or Rabindranath Tagore, who started the Shantiniketan attempt or the Etawah Pilot Project, or the Marthandam, Firka Development Scheme. In all these efforts. So there we could see the interaction between the physical resources, the human resources, the technological resources the human resources, the economic institutions, the financial institutions. How they are playing their specific role. And because we cannot look into these institutions in isolation.

So when we talk of agricultural development and rural development as a phenomenon. So there must be harmonious relationship between these institutions and they are going to add to the concept of development. Then rural development as a strategy is designed to improve the economic and the social well-being of specific group of people, that is rural poor. And this poverty is also a relative term. At some point of time, so it had different levels to define the poverty levels. And in the changed situation, there will be changing in the definition of the poverty levels. And because the one cycle of development has taken place and there is change in the living standards and accordingly the standards are also being defined.

So when the program like NREGA it was started. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, it was started. So to begin with the government defined that minimum wage of Rupees 100/- for an employee, and 100 days of wage employment in a year. But over a period of time if we look at the same wages in the year 2005, which it was said that 100 rupees should be the minimum wage. But now the same wage has been enhanced to 250-300/- and in some States it is more than 300/- rupees also. So why this change in the setting up of the minimum wages. So over a period of time whatever the changes that we are visualizing, the thing that we were getting at the rate of rupees 100/- in 2005. So now the cost of living has increased, the standard of living has increased, and because of that it is being redefined as a 250 rupees or 300 rupees or 275 rupees. Every State is having its own trend. So that is what is the strategy. Strategically we are changing these standards looking into the changes that are occurring in that region.

Then rural development as a discipline as a academic profession or as an academic discipline. We can say that it is multidisciplinary in nature, because we cannot think of one particular subject as a subject of rural development. Because rural development itself is a comprehensive subject, wherein we need to involve good number of different subjects, representing an intersection of agriculture, social, behavioral, engineering and management sciences. When all the sciences come together. Then only we can visualize the rural development. And when we study it, so the inputs from all these subjects are going to be essential inputs. So may it be agriculture, may it be engineering may it be social sciences or may it be the behavioral sciences. So that is how it has developed as an academic discipline, wherein we find the good number of engineers as well as social scientists as well as agricultural scientists, coming together to contribute to the academic discipline of rural development.

So now coming to rural development as a process of developing and utilizingthe natural and human resources, technologies, infrastructure facilities, institutions and organizations and government policies, programs to encourage and speed up economic growth in rural areas. To provide jobs to improve the quality of rural life towards the self-sustenance. Whatever the institutions that we discussed as a part of may be thestrategy or as a part of academic discipline. So they are contributing in their own way, ultimately to achieve the concept of development. In addition to economic growth, this process is typically involves the changes in the popular attitudes, and in many cases even the customs and beliefs. So that is what is another area as a part of this academic discipline it’s going to consider.

So over a period of time. From the pre-independence time and till date, if you look at. So good number of superstitions that were existing in the society have been overcome. And good number of social evils. The evil practices in the society have been overcome with the deliberate efforts of the development efforts. In the broader heading you can call them as the rural development efforts. In this context we have already discussed about the concept of the community development under the community development program. Just I am reminding and refreshing your memories of the concept of community development, wherein the definition of United Nations said that “The efforts of the people as well as the efforts of the government should come together to achieve the desired changes”. So just I am refreshing your memories. So this is the inbuilt concept of the rural development in the as a part of community development.

Another definition given by Mukherjee said that so the process of community development is involving the change from the traditional way of living of rural communities to the progressive ways of living, and there is a method, there is a concept, there is a profession. And all these things are leading towards the change in the living standards. May it be the social changes, may it be the economic changes and may it be the technological changes. Ultimately leading towards the living standards of the rural communities. So that is why we are terming it as rural development.

To conclude we can say that understanding the concept as a phenomenon, philosophy, strategy helps in making the concept a reality. And this is what that we are envisaging over a period of time. It should become a reality and we can have the beautiful living standards in the villages also. And the participation of the public institutions along with the end-user is the key to achieve the concept of rural development. So this is what we can understand from this particular discussion. With this we are coming to the close, coming to the end of today’s discussion. And in the next class we will be discussing about the concept of leadership.

Thank You.