Dr Banarsi Lal
In India about two thirds of the total population and more than 70 per cent of the workforce reside in rural areas. Presently the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat has gained significant momentum in India. The aim of this campaign is to reduce dependency on foreign resources and increase the self-sufficiency in diverse sectors across the nation. Under this campaign, rural areas are promoted as the Aatmanirbhar villages, where agriculture and allied sectors play the significant role in the economic development of nation. We can achieve comprehensive and sustainable growth at the national level by making the villages as the self-reliant. Making villages as Aatmanirbhar will strengthen the rural economy in India. It will help to attain the self-sufficiency at the village level. The rural areas face the formidable economic challenges, poverty, unemployment and even inequality. Addressing these challenges is very important not only to fasten sustainable growth of the nation but also to reduce the rural migration towards the urban areas. The concept of Aatmanirbhar villages (self-reliant India) has an immense potential to create income and employment opportunities for the rural people. The rural economy depends mainly on agriculture and allied sectors for its growth and development. A self-reliant nation must be self-sufficient in terms of domestic food grain production and even in some other essential commodities. Making rural areas self-reliant can enhance food security through higher agricultural production and productivity, ensuring a constant supply of food grains and thus reducing dependence on external sources for essential commodities. Agriculture secures the nation in terms of food, fodder and other raw-material for industries and serves as the source of livelihood for majority of the rural population. In India, the proportion of the population depends directly or indirectly largely on agriculture for income and employment opportunities.
In rural India agriculture has an immense potential to generate a plethora of income and employment opportunities. It also creates jobs in the fields like agribusiness, food processing etc. Even the urban areas businesses such as food processing industries, milk processing, medicines industries etc. depend on the rural areas. Agricultural sector is helpful to empower the local rural communities and plays a significant role in stemming the tide of rural to-urban migration which increases the urban overcrowding and unemployment ultimately helps a more balanced and sustainable socio-economic system. Self-reliance in rural areas serves as a catalyst for eco-friendly practices. Rural people can adopt eco-friendly and sustainable practices for water, energy and waste management, thus can make a significant contribution to environmental protection. Farmers can adopt natural and organic farming practices to produce the safe and healthy food. It will help to maintain soil health, human health and environment health.
Self-reliant villages will give a boost to the local industries and small agri-businesses in villages and can lead to the promotion of diverse ventures such as small-scale manufacturing, artisanal crafts, agro-processing units etc. in the rural areas. This approach bolsters rural self-sufficiency and also helps in the sustainability and ecological responsibility. Women in rural areas play significant role in agriculture and allied sectors as they play their critical role in crops production right from sowing to post-harvest management. The farm women empowerment is essential for attaining self-sufficiency at the village level and for comprehensive socio-economic national development. SHGs formation among the farm women can really helpful in the rural women empowerment. Through SHGs women can generate income and employment and develop entrepreneurial skills. There is need to promote gender equality and women’s access to education, health, land and credit so they can participate in farming and decision-making process. It will help in the overall development of rural areas.
In order to make villages’ self-reliant, investments in infrastructure, including roads, electricity, health, irrigation, sanitation and storage facilities are the basic requirements. These improvements not only enhance the overall quality of life in rural areas but also attract business and investment to these areas. Better infrastructure connects the villages to the market, thus making it easier for the farmers to sell their farm produce and access resources. The adoption of latest technologies in agriculture has the potential to significantly boost the crop production and productivity.
There is need to equip the farmers with the necessary tools and machineries to embrace cutting-edge farming practices. There is need to promote the precision agriculture, data-driven decision-making and the use of innovative farm machineries. Presently, India has not only achieved self-sufficiency in food grains but has also emerged as a prominent net exporter of agricultural products, occupying 7th position in the world. This significant transformation began to gain momentum after 1970-71, but it experienced a substantial boost with effect from 1994-95.The Indian Government has launched numerous schemes and programmes to improve the socio-economic status of rural communities. The main thrust has been on increasing the crops production, productivity, reducing cost of cultivation and diversifying towards high-value agriculture crops by introducing supply chain reforms, a streamlined and rational tax system, transparent and concise legal frameworks, a skilled and capable workforce and a robust financial system. Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was announced by the Government of India with the objective to promote local products. The mission is synergised with the ‘Make in India’ initiative, which is designed to encourage manufacturing in India including the highly promising agricultural sector.
Several schemes and programmes have been initiated by the Government of India to make villages self-reliant through agricultural development and promoting rural entrepreneurship.
These programmes provide an excellent opportunity to the rural people to come forward at the forefront and actively participate in the process of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. There is need to attract unemployed educated youth into agribusiness and agri-preneurship and special impetus on creating scientific temper and fostering innovative spirit among the rural youth is required. An appropriate policy coupled with a suitable strategy to strengthen the rural non-farm sector deserves to be at the top priority. There is need to adopt a comprehensive strategy for strengthening rural infrastructure, supporting local entrepreneurs, establishing agro-based and cottage industries, ensuring easy access to finance, focusing on education and skill development, and promoting sustainable natural resource management. There is need to expand digital literacy, encouraging rural community participation, facilitating financial inclusion and improving access to markets are very important for self-reliance India. Government, NGOs, the private sector and local communities can play their significant role to achieve the desired goals. In order to achieve the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan there is need to create the flourishing rural communities that make substantial contributions to the overall economic growth of the nation.
(The writer is Sr. Scientist & Head of KVK, Reasi Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu).