Rural Development and Agricultural Business by Dr. Mamata Rathi

1. Introduction
To
Rural
Development

2. Rural Development
As a concept, it connotes overall development of rural
areas with a view to improve the quality of life rural
people.
As a discipline, it is multi-disciplinary in nature
representing an intersection of agricultural, social,
behavioural and management of sciences.
In short, rural development is a process that aims at
improving the standard of living of the people living in
the rural areas.

3. Rural development can be defined as, helping rural people set the priorities in
their own communities through effective and democratic bodies, by providing
the local capacity; investment in basic infrastructure and social services,
justice, equity and security, dealing with the injustices of the past and
ensuring safety and security of the rural population, especially that of women.
Definition of Rural Development
According to Robert chambers, rural development is a strategy to enable a
specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves
and their children more of what they want and need.
It involves helping the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the
rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural development.
The group includes small scale farmers, tenants and the landless.
According to Agarwal (1989), rural development is a strategy designed to
improve the economic and social life of rural poor.
We shall define rural development as
A Process leading to sustainable improvement in the quality of life of rural people,
specially the poor.

4. Concept of Rural Development
The definition or rural development may be centered
around income criterion in which the concept is made to
address the problem of rural poverty.
The rural poor represents a reservoir of untapped talent
a target group that should be given the opportunity to enjoy
the benefits of development through improved education,
health and nutrition.
This is one of the most important definitions of rural
development as the provision of social infrastructures could
provide the catalyst that would transform the rural areas.

5. Rural development may also be seen as an ideology and a
practice.
It may mean planned change by public agencies based outside
the rural areas such as the national Government and
International organization.
Rural development as the improvement in the living standard
of the rural dwellers by engaging them in productive activities
such as the establishment of rural industries that will increase
their income.
It is seen by these scholars as a means of raising the
sustainable living of the rural poor by giving them the opportunity
to develop their full potentials.

6. In essence Rural Development may imply a broad based
re-organization and mobilization of rural masses in order to
enhance their capacity to cope effectively with the daily
task of their lives and with changes consequent upon this.
According to the World Bank Rural Development must
be clearly designed to increase production.
It recognizes that improved food supplies and nutrition,
together with basic services, such as health and education,
not only directly improve the physical well-being and
quality of life of the rural poor, but can also indirectly
enhance their productivity and their ability to contribute to
the national economy.

7. In order to encourage increased production
rural development may offer a package of inputs
and welfare services for the rural masses.
Such inputs and welfare services include
physical inputs (such as the provision of feeder
roads, water and electrification), social inputs—
(namely health and educational facilities) and
institutional inputs such as credit facilities,
agricultural research facilities, rural expansion
services among others.

8. Objectives of Rural Development
The main objective of the Rural Development is improving the
living standards of rural people by utilizing the easily available
natural and human resources.
The other objectives of rural development programmers are as
follow:
1. Development of agriculture and allied activities.
2. Development of village and cottage industries and
handicrafts.
3. Development of socio-economic infrastructure which includes
setting up of rural banks, co-operatives, schools etc.
4. Development of community services and facilities i.e.
drinking water, electricity, rural roads, health services etc.
5. Development of Human resource mobilization.

9. Scope of Rural Development
The scope of rural development is very broad as it encompasses the totality of human life such as:
1. Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and Natural Resources Management
2. Micro, Small and Medium Scale Industries
3. Irrigation Development
4. Domestic Water Resource Development
5. Power and Energy Utilization
6. Educational Programs and Services
7. Health Programs and Services
8. Credit and Financing Institutions
9. Nutrition Programs and Services
10. Human Rights
11. Religious and Spiritual Development
12. Sports and Recreation
13. Tourism Development
14. Environmental Protection
15. Forest Management
16. Trading and Marketing
17. Local Governance
18. Cooperative Development
19. Values Development
20. Infrastructure Development
21. Agrarian Reform

10. Importance of Rural Development
Improvement in the quality of life of rural people is the important
agenda of rural development programme.
In India – a country where the number of people living in rural
areas, rural development programme is necessary aspect.
Rural development implies both the economic betterment of people
as well as greater social transformation.
The basic objective of all rural development endeavors /
programmes has been the welfare of the millions.
With time and experience, it is realized that accelerated and
meaningful development can be achieved only if people of the grass
root are involved, “people’s participation” has become the keyword in
rural development programmes.
To provide the rural people with better prospects for economic
development.

11. Need and Importance of Rural Development
Rural development is a national necessity and has considerable importance in India because of the following reasons:
1. To develop rural area as whole in terms of culture, society, economy, technology and health.
2. To develop living slandered of rural mass.
3. To develop rural youths, children and women.
4. To develop and empower human resource of rural area in terms of their psychology, skill, knowledge, attitude and
other abilities.
5. To develop infrastructure facility of rural area.
6. To provide minimum facility to rural mass in terms of drinking water, education, transport, electricity and
communication.
7. To develop rural institutions like panchayat, cooperatives, post, banking and credit.
8. To provide financial assist to develop the artisans in the rural areas, farmers and agrarian
unskilled labor, small and big rural entrepreneurs to improve their economy.
9. To develop rural industries through the development of handicrafts, small scaled industries, village industries, rural
crafts, cottage industries and other related economic operations in the rural sector.
10. To develop agriculture, animal husbandry and other agricultural related areas.
11. To restore uncultivated land, provide irrigation facilities and motivate farmers to adopt
improved seed, fertilizers, package of practices of crop cultivation and soil conservation methods.
12. To develop entertainment and recreational facility for rural mass.
13. To develop leadership quality of rural area.
14. To improve rural marketing facility.
15. To minimise gap between the urban and rural in terms of facilities availed.
16. To improve rural people‟s participation in the development of state and nation as whole.
17. To improve scopes of employment for rural mass.
18. For the sustainable development of rural area.
19. To eliminate rural poverty.
20. To solve the problems faced by the rural mass for their development.

12. Problems in Rural Development
As we know the 60-70% of rural population in India lives in
primitive conditions.
There are many obstacles in the rural development
programmes which are as under:
1. In 21st Century, there is no electricity supply in many villages.
2. Now also many rural peoples using primitive methods of
cooking, living and farming and they have trust on these methods.
3. By using primitive cook stoves, around 300,000 death/year
takes plan due to pollution.
4. 54% of India’s population is below 25 years and most of them
live in rural areas with very little employment opportunities.
5. Literacy is the major problem in rural development programme.

13. 6. The poor extension linkage causes slow growth of rural
development.
7. cannot provide satisfactory help to rural
peoplesUntrained, unskilled, inexperienced staff in
extension linkage .
8. Every one want to go to the cities, so that rural
people’s remains as ignores part by the policy makers
also.
9. Privatization concept is useful for rural development
but, government not praying much attention to this aspect.
10. Policy makes prepared policies, programmes for
betterment of rural people but, if these programmes are
not implemented very well then have no used.

14. Problems in Rural Development
1. People related:
1. Traditional way of thinking.
2. Poor understanding.
3. Low level of education to understand developmental efforts and new
technology.
4. Deprived psychology and scientific orientation.
5. Lack of confidence.
6. Poor awareness.
7. Low level of education.
8. Existence of unfelt needs.
9. Personal ego.
2. Agricultural
related problems:
1. Lack of expected awareness, knowledge, skill and attitude.
2. Unavailability of inputs.
3. Poor marketing facility.
4. Insufficient extension staff and services.
5. Multidimensional tasks to extension personnel.
6. Small size of land holding.
7. Division of land.
8. Unwillingness to work and stay in rural areas.
3. Infrastructure
related problems:
1. Poor infrastructure facilities like water, electricity, transport, educational
institutions,
communication, health, storage facility etc.

15. 4. Economic
problems:
1. Unfavourable economic condition to adopt high cost technology.
2. High cost of inputs.
3. Underprivileged rural industries.
5. Social and
Cultural problems:
1. Cultural norms and traditions
2. Conflict within and between groups, castes, religions, regions,
languages.
6. Leadership
related problems:
1. Leadership among the hands of inactive and incompetent people.
2. Malafied interest of leaders.
3. Biased political will.
7. Administrative
problems:
1. Earlier, majority of the programmes were planning based on top
to bottom approach and were
target oriented.
2. Political interference.
3. Lack of motivation and interest.
4. Unwillingness to work in rural area.
5. Improper utilization of budget.

16. Determinants of Rural India
There are many physical, technological,
economic, socio-cultural, institutional,
organisational and political factors that affect
the level and pace of rural development.
These factors operate at all levels: household,
village, district, state, nation and the world as
a whole.

17. Thank You