Develop Farm Sector for Rural Employment

Develop Farm Sector for Rural Employment

Dr Gursharan Singh Kainth
Director
GAD Institute of Development Studies
14-Preet Avenue, Majitha Road
PO Naushera, Amritsar 143 008
(Email Id. idsasr@indiatimes.com, gursharan_kainth@rediffmail.com)
Indian economy in a robust demonstration of its nascent strengths, has witnessed sharp ups and downs in its agriculture sector. Average growth of agriculture sector during the Tenth Plan period is estimated at 2.3 per cent, which is far below the desired level of 4 per cent a year. Furthermore, a country with a large population has to be nearly self sufficient in essential food items, otherwise, supply constraints could up set macroeconomic stability and growth prospects. Punjab is no exception to this; rather the state has been hit hard due to uneconomic farm holdings. Considering the seriousness of the problem, Punjab School of Economics of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar organized a two days National Seminar on ‘Rural Employment in Punjab: Challenges and Strategies’ under Special Assistance Programme(SAP) of University Grant commission inaugurated by Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat, Chairman, Punjab State Farmers’ Commission and former Vice-Chancellor Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Nearly 36 papers were presented by about 50 economists from different parts of the country. The main thrust of the papers was on extent of rural employment and strategies for generation of rural employment which include non-farm employment, agro-industries, agri-business, farm and non-farm linkages, diversification of agriculture, Self-Help Groups and rural employment schemes.
For generating employment in the rural areas as per the needs and aspirations of Punjabis, the economists emphasized the creation of more non-farm employment avenues in the rural areas, by exploiting the backward and forward linkages, involving diversification of agriculture towards horticulture, floriculture, dairy, poultry, fishery, animal husbandry, bee-keeping, sericulture, forestry and medicinal plants. The panelists further suggested the setting up of first and second stage of agro-processing units including flour, rice and dal mills, poultry and dairy feed, fruit and vegetable processing; agro-produce manufacturing, including sugar, textile and straw board mills; agro-input manufacturing; agro-service centres, the third stage of agro-processing, including generation of electricity, ethanol, chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and setting up of agric-clinics for guiding these activities.
Beginning should be made for introducing agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified foods which hold the key for second green revolution in the State in view of declining size of land holding. The different biotechnological developments, aimed at reducing the breeding period, virus and insect-pest free plants, environmentally tolerant varieties under green/polly house and controlled conditions, production of bio-fertilizer and bio-diesel, is to be initiated in the State in the right earnest by allocating more funds for R&D in targeted fields.
More self-employment opportunities needs to be created for the females in the rural areas, through Self Help Groups (SHGs) based upon participatory programme and co-operatives. More Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) be created at the village and block level by involving the retired army and civil officers and other educated personnel of the areas to motivate and guide the programme for the women. Training programme be started for the women in the selected activities and marketing network be created so that the women are able to earn sufficient income in the rural area itself. Self Help Groups (SHGs) will emerge as nurseries for entrepreneurship in the rural areas. A special cell be created to identify the activities, provide finance, training and market facilities for such SHGs.
For the development of agri-business activities in the rural areas, there is need for provision of infrastructure, including good roads, warehouses, cold stores, refrigerated transportation and above all uninterrupted supply of electricity by setting up nuclear power plants. Till such facilities are provided in the entire rural areas of the State, cluster of villages in each tehsil, where such facilities be created, be selected and all possible subsidies be given for their growth. Ultimately, when uninterrupted electricity supply become available, government should make it compulsory that all flour mills and other processing units be set up only in the rural areas.
The entrepreneurships and vocational training programme has to be started for the rural youth. The seed capital required should is provided to them by the Government and loan facilities be made available without collateral. ITI’s vocational courses must include new thrust areas of non-farm agro-based activities. Dairy farming has maximum potential in Punjab, among all the allied activities. To encourage commercial dairy farming in rural areas, therefore, more milk plants be set up with procurement and chilling facilities at the level of cluster of villages and veterinary services be strengthened at the block level.
To take the farmers out of indebtedness, especially of commission agents, the participants suggested that nationalized banks be involved in the procurement of wheat and paddy, with the provision that the farmers could take short term credit from those banks/branches, to be repaid at the time of selling of the produce. The payments may be made to the farmers through individual cheques. All the past borrowings of the farmers from commission agents are recorded and any future lending by them be banned. The commission agents be withdrawn from procurement programme in phases and be encouraged to set up agro-processing units and the procurement activity be handled by the bank staff.

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