eChapters

There can be no scientific studies which do not involve the process of measuring. Measurement process is the integral part of research activity. Measurement can be defined as the assignment of numerals to the objects or events according to set of rules.  The emphasis in this definition is on phrase ‘set of rules’. If the rules can be set up based on some rational or empirical basis, then theoretically anything can be measured. It is very much easy to understand the concept of measurement in case of physical sciences (Example weight, length, mass etc.) but it is harder understand the concept of measurement in case of psychological objects/phenomenon (intelligence, aggressiveness, attitude etc.) without understanding the predetermined rules of measurement. A rule is a guide, command that tells you what to do/how to do.

Reliability aims at assessing the accuracy and consistency of whatsoever the measuring instrument measures irrespective of whether we are measuring what we are supposed to measure or not. Whereas the validity emphasises on the question “are we measuring what we were supposed to measure?”

To clarify the difference between reliability and validity, let us take an example of instruments that measure colour intensity. Assume, an expert develops two separate instruments X and Y to measure the intensity of green and red colour, respectively. But, the commercial manufacturer wrongly tags the red colour measuring instrument as X. When someone uses this wrongly tagged instrument for measuring the green colour intensity, whatever intensity values the instrument yields are reliable but not valid. It is so because the instrument is measuring red colour intensity accurately (hence data is reliable) but it is not measuring what it was supposed to measure –the green colour intensity (hence data is not valid).

Quantitative studies are preferred over qualitative studies for their relatively higher objectivity. But many of the times, complexities involved in the occurrence of phenomenon, its causes, and consequences demand for in-depth analysis of a single unit of study. Whenever we want to study a single unit in depth both qualitatively and quantitatively then case study is the best method of research. Case study is a best tool to use, when we are interested in exploring a new phenomenon on which there is very less scientific information available and also when we are interested in formulating new hypothesis for causal study.

Interview method: It is a two way interactive (either face-to-face or through multimedia technology), method of data collection wherein the researchers elicit required response from the respondent by presenting stimulus in the form of series of questions pertinent to it.

Interview schedule: It is a data collection tool consisting of properly worded, sequentially arranged questions, tests relevant to objective of research.

Existing positive as well as negative interactions among the members of the society determine the communication structure, leadership and technology diffusion pattern within the given social system. Sociometry is a method for gathering and analyzing data on communication choice and interaction pattern of individuals, within a group in order to identify communication structure and pattern.

Present study was conducted in an Eastern Indian State ‘Chhattisgarh’, which was purposively selected keeping in view the importance of SHG movement in empowering rural poor in Eastern Indian States, home of the largest proportion of population below poverty line. To have in-depth micro level analyses, one district of Chhattisgarh was randomly selected, which happened to be the Kanker district.

The main purpose of this chapter is to summarize the results to draw the conclusions on the basis of the foregoing analyses and to indicate some of the significant implications of the present study.
 
In previous Chapter, the study described a detail account of 12 SHGs, three SHGs from each of four schemes viz. NABARD’s SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) in Chhattisgarh state. However, looking back to this study with the salient findings and implications would be the precursor for looking ahead.

There streams of thought are presented in this paper:

One, that rural women are not only the warriors, creative actors in the agricultural scene, or rural areas, but also the urban poor, the  migrants , the homeless, the source of labour supply into the expanding urban spaces, including trafficking.
 
I would then argue [two] that this spread of the location of “rural women” is the phenomena that we should now look at, the connectivity between the old divisions of rural and urban, as it indicates the pressures that the current development paradigms operating in our countries, is putting on the RURAL … and therefore that we should look at the macroeconomic policies that are in place, globally and regionally and  nationally.

Abstract

Jasmine production in coastal Karnataka was confined to only few farmers with some specified pockets of coasted belt. Only a hand full of farm women in Belman, Manchakal areas were cultivating jasmine successively. The scientists of Extension Education Unit (EEU), Mangalore Campus of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore visited the area and conducted a Survey during September 2001 and gathered information about farmers practicing jasmine production in the area and came out with some success stories from the jasmine growing belt. The jasmine market was studied especially the demand for jasmine flowers (Udupi Mallige). It was observed that there was huge demand for Udupi Mallige. The extension specialists conducted training programmes in different locations in the coastal belt of Karnataka which are not traditional jasmine cultivated areas. As a result the technology has spread to the entire coastal belt. At present farm women are supporting themselves soley by cultivating jasmine in an area of 3-5 cents with a minimum of 20 bushes. Further, the KVK’s which are working in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts are also working in this direction through On Farm Testing, Frontline Demonstration, Off campus and On campus training.  Since it involves only women labourers, it is one of the most important and viable subsidiary as well as main occupation of the women folk in the district

Abstract

The participation level of farm women in economic activities of self-help groups to know the socio-economic factors contributing to their participation in such groups and the constraints faced by them was studied during 2004-05 at Kadur taluk of Chikkamagalore district of Karnataka. Apart from these findings on the factors affecting their involvement in SHGs and the problems faced by them, the study also revealed that majority of farm women had medium level of family income, mass media participation and, low level of communication status.

Abstract

Women constitute almost half of the population of modern India. Eighty percent of the women population in India live in the rural areas and most of them are engaged in agriculture and allied activities and play a significant role in domestic and socio economic life of the society. Women play a vital role in ensuring proper development and growth of children. They also contribute significantly towards income generation, food preparation and health of the family members. However it is this women segment which is most neglected and suffers from poor health. Health and Nutritional status of this important and substantial segment of the society is very important. The present study investigates the nutritional profile and morbidity status of women in villages around Bangalore city.

Abstract

Women of sixteen villages in Bhadra wildlife sanctuary were interviewed for assessing the role of women on forest policies and conservation of natural resources. Survey conducted during 1996-1997 indicated that women in general declined to comment upon natural resources. Ninety percent of women had no knowledge about natural resources. Except for Fire Protection Act women had no knowledge of other government policies. They had no say in policies and conservation of natural resources in Bhadra wildlife sanctuary. As a result there has been encroachment of forest area, cultivation in forest land, shifting cultivation, hunting, smuggling, open cast mining and deforestation. To make role of women active and effective for conservation of natural resources in Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, suggestions have been advanced in this paper based on a survey.

Agricultural production systems depend on natural resources viz. land, water, biodiversity, forests, pastures and wildlife. Farm activities can also have major impacts on the quality and availability of these resources well beyond the boundaries of the production system. Although natural resources are critical to agricultural production, farm households also frequently depend on them to meet other needs, such as fuel, construction materials and supplemental foods. Thus rural livelihoods are intricately linked to the condition of natural resources. Over the last 40 years as food production has doubled, agricultural production systems have expanded, with significant impacts on the natural resource base:

While on one hand, more than 25 per cent of rural population in India is between 15 and 29 years of age, on the other, very little demographic dividend in agriculture is being derived. Unable to find decent employment, youth often look for employment in the urban informal sector, with poor working conditions and pay. But without training in skills suited to the urban labour market, these youth have few opportunities in the urban areas. Inadequately trained to compete successfully in urban labour market, they often suffer varying levels of poverty and marginalization in towns than in rural areas. In rural areas, if young farmers do not replace the ageing farmers, it will result in problems related to food security. For young people to take to agriculture, farming must be personally satisfying, mentally challenging, socially acceptable and economically rewarding. However, field reality is something different.

The Agriculture sector is by far the largest employer amongst all the major sectors employing roughly half of available workforce. At the same time, agriculture is the smallest sectoral contributor to the GDP. It is ironical that the most important requirement of human being, which is the bulk of agriculture farm produce, is largely considered to be an unrewarding sector in the nation.

Though the Indian agriculture has made significant strides in the course of the last 50 years of planned development, still the farmers today are facing the consequences of host of challenges, namely dependence of monsoon, declining size of land holdings, degradation of soil & water resources, declining investment of public sectors on agriculture. So farmers are increasingly getting indebted and temptation to sell their farm land  for non-farm purposes is growing. Over 45 per cent of farmers want to quit farming says a survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO).

Agricultural land is still a great source of income. But the practice of unsustainable methods and improper resource management leading to successive crop failures that make agriculture non- profitable and highly  risky.  So, the interest of youth in agriculture has been declining. While most developing countries are still experiencing high population growth rates, the youth are migrating in significant numbers to urban areas. The younger generation does not consider farming as a profession and they treat it as traditional activities of their family. The farm youth think that the farming system is not capable to provide a life, therefore they are diverting from agriculture to other profession.

Indian agriculture is at demographic, ecological, economic and technological cross-roads. Demographically, nearly 70% of the population is below 35 years in age and 70% of them live in rural areas.  Within the next few decades, India will have the world's largest number of young people looking for employment.  Ecologically the basic life support systems of land, water, forests, biodiversity and climate are in distress and the population supporting capacity of major ecosystems is being exceeded in most parts of the country. India's ecological debt and Nature Deficit Disorder are growing. Economically, the cost-risk-return structure of farming is becoming adverse, with the result that over 40% of today's farmers would like to quit farming, if they had another livelihood option. Technologically, there is a serious mismatch between production and post-harvest technologies. Also, there is no nationally agreed policy towards the technological transformation of agriculture, involving farm mechanization and frontier technologies like recombinant DNA technology and nano-technology.

Though gender is universally one of the key ways in which societies and culture allocate rights and responsibilities, yet the different roles of women and men in agriculture production have frequently been ignored in research and extension activities. Farming is a family enterprise involving both men and women. The role of women and their involvement is more important in production, processing and storage of grains and vegetables. Women in India constitute nearly half of its population and have a strong influence on the growth of the remaining half of population.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra imparted learning through work experience and concerned with technical literacy. Krishi Vigyan Kendra imparted training to practicing farm women. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Gandhigram Rural Institute was established in July 1989 specifically to cater the needs of the peasants of the Dindigul district.  Inspite of these efforts, there exist a wide gap-between the availability of production technologies and adoption of those technologies. Evaluation of training programmes organised for farm women would provide an understanding of their effectiveness so as to improve them. Hence, a study was undertaken to assess the training needs, appropriate season, venue, type, frequency, duration and method of training in paddy crop as perceived by the respondents.

The Government of Tamilnadu has taken a number of progressive measures on water resources and irrigation management, particularly through the Bank -assisted Tamil Nadu Water Resources Consolidation Project (WRCP) which was closed in September 2004 with a satisfactory rating. Now the Tamilnadu Government has decided to implement a project for the modernization of the Traditional Irrigation systems in Tamil Nadu with loan assistance from World Bank. The World Bank has also come forward to assist the Tamilnadu Government’s proposal. Under the World Bank funded project of “Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Resources Management” (WRCP - II) about 17 River sub basins have been selected and proposed to be taken up under the control of Water Resources organisation Wing of Public Works Department of Tamilnadu. The Varahanadhi sub basin is one among the seventeen. Accordingly this ‘IAMWARM’ Project report for the modernization of the irrigation systems of Varahanadhi Sub Basin has been prepared. The very objective of this project is to attain maximum productivity from farm lands, for which serious attention is required to modernise the existing irrigation structures, anicuts, canal systems and tanks in order to make them functionally more effective, conserve and utilise the available water from catchment area for optimum use.

In this era of information and communication, in a country like India where more than 75% of population live in rural areas, radio is the cheapest medium available in almost all families for entertainment and education.

A community radio (CR), in essence is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting material that is popular to a local audience but is overlooked by more powerful broadcast groups. It is usually established by the efforts of a specific community, operated by the community and for the community’s welfare. Radio can play an effective role in promoting social change.  Community radio station is one that is operated in the community, for the community, about the community and by the community.  It can play a very important role in bringing about social change. It covers all developmental and rights based issues, and can help to sustain the diversity of the local cultures and languages. It is an effort towards bottom-up approach to address specific requirements or rural Indian population. An attempt has been made to know the profile characteristics of krishi community radio listening farm women, awareness of farm women about FM krishi community radio and to study the usefulness of krishi community radio programmes as perceived by farm women.

In India, for centuries women have been pushed aside from the race of development in the name of customs, traditions and religion. As a result they have been denied the opportunities for their social, economical and political development leading to the lower status in society. The present situation demands active participation of women along with men in all walks of life. Involvement of women in all development activities. Based on the recommendations of National Policy of empowerment of women, Tenth Plan suggests a three fold strategies for empowering women through social empowerment, economic empowerment and gender justice.
 
Women play a significant and crucial role in agriculture and allied fields including crop production, dairy husbandry, horticulture, post harvest operations etc. It has been estimated that about 86% of the total rural women are working for various agricultural operations. They play an important role not only in maintaining their home task but also managing their farms and animals, depending upon the situation, personal and socioeconomic characteristics of the family to which they belong.  Women are also partners in animal husbandry activities management as manager or skilled workers.

The term empowerment has different meaning in different socio-cultural and political context and does not translate easily into all languages. The term include self strength, control, self power, self reliance, own choice, life of dignity in accordance with one’s values, capable of fighting for one’s right, independence, own decision making, being free, awakening and capability of mention only a few.

The past development efforts in India center around individual approach and these efforts did not bring about sustained development of people in the respective areas. In view of this, the development of the people could not be harnessed to the fullest potential. Realizing this lacuna, the group based development efforts have come up in a big way across the country in the recent years. The Government, private organizations and also the NGOs are giving due importance for the promotion and establishment of Self Help Groups (SHGs) for addressing all developmental issues. As on today, there are more than 3.37 million SHGs across the country, Tamil Nadu is one of the pioneering states in the formation and promotion of women SHGs and about 4.41 lakh SHGs are functioning in the state. Among the SHGs formed, some of the SHGs are functioning well and sustain for a longer period and others did not come up to the expectation and they did not sustain for longer period. Hence, it was considered opportune time to find out the sustainability level of the SHGs and isolate factors for variation since there was no research back up.
 
Therefore, the study was undertaken to analyse the sustainability of mixed enterprises  related SHGS in Tamil Nadu with an intention to find out the extent of sustainability at different levels.  The study was conducted in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu. Five blocks namely Dharmapuri, Harur, Morappur, Nallampalli, and Pennagaram were selected from the district based on maximum number of SHGs.

The backwardness and underdevelopment of our rural areas have drawn the attention of not only the planners but also those who are interested in the overall development of the India. The numerous schemes have not appreciably raised the living standard of the rural masses. Adoption of traditional agricultural technologies, lack of knowledge of improved practices, in sanitary conditions, inadequate housing and educational facilities are serious challenges faced by the rural masses. Unless we devote our efforts towards this cause, the chances of improvement of rural areas are remote in the near future.  The youth, who are the citizens of tomorrow have a vital role to play.  Youth reflect the national potentiality and represent the life blood of a nation.  Development of youth determines the future of the community and the country as a whole. As psychologists say, youth possess dynamic energy, creative activity and adventurous spirit and undergo physiological and psychological changes as they grow. In agriculture, due to small holdings, erratic rainfall, unrealistic market and price for the produce and meager income from crops, youth farmers are taking up dairying and sericulture as subsidiary enterprises which provide additional income and gainful employment to them as members of farm families throughout the year.  Young members of farm families play an important role in managing these enterprises. A study was  undertaken to know the role of youth in milk and silk farming.

The coastal zone of Karnataka is marked by highly fragmented agriculture land with more than 70 per cent of the land holders belonging to small and marginal farmer categories. Though the average annual rainfall received in the zone is 4000mm, the kharif season crops suffer from submergence and lodging.  The rabi/summer crops fail due to low soil residual moisture because of high percolation loss and poor water holding capacity of soils. Thus, the returns from the land is very less resulting in migration of youngsters mainly to the Arab countries as well as the neighbouring states in search of a job. In this situation, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore through Extension Education Unit, Mangalore has demonstrated the Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts to show that the IFS is profitable, sustainable and can secure the livelihood. The demonstrations were taken up in each farmer’sfield continuously for three consecutive years.

To analyze the impact of these demonstrations, case studies of three IFS demonstrated farmers were done during 2007 with the objective of documenting the farming systems demonstrated and the current farming systems practiced by the farmers; to analyze the income and employment generated and their impact on their socio-economic status. The yearwise documentation of the subsystems of the farming systems practiced by each farmer and the net income, percent increase of income over benchmark year, employment generation, cropping intensity, B:C ratio were analyzed. The results of the case studies are presented below.

Planning Research and Action Institute, Lucknow (1960) found that lack of initial capital considerably hindered the growth of Animal Husbandry Projects in Youth Clubs. It was also revealed that involvement of non-official agencies and training of youth organizers were very important for strengthening youth clubs.
Singh and Prasad (1963) identified that following deficiencies in the working of youth clubs.
    1.    Inadequate knowledge of youth club work on the part of members as well as on leaders
    2.    Non-availability of literature on youth clubs
    3.    Lack of active leadership‘
    4.    Rift between village youth clubs and village panchayat
    5.    Lack of proper guidance and follow up of youth club programme
Behniwal (1964) revealed the following factors as responsible for the successful working of youth clubs.
    1.    Strength of membership in a club 
    2.    Participation in project work
    3.    Participation in games
    4.    Frequency of meetings
    5.    Attendance in tours, rallies and games
    6.    Actual gains received  
Kumar (1965) found that in the successful clubs the youth had clear conception of the importance and objectives of the youth organization. 

In recent years, rainfall pattern is changing and the sustainability of irrigated rice ecosystem is threatened by water crisis. Tanks are often not filling or partially filling due to insufficient rains. In order to safeguard the food security, it is necessary to preserve previous water resources and to utilize the limited water most efficiently. In this regard alternate ways of growing rice using minimum water must be explored. Farmers are adamant to grow paddy crop to meet their domestic needs of food and fodder. In such situation Jalasri method can became one of the alternative for paddy cultivation. The Jalasri method is an appropriate system aimed at reducing the cost of cultivation, saving irrigation water, besides increasing grain yield significantly. Earlier Jalasri method was popular as Madagascar method of paddy cultivation.

1. Success Story of Rural Youth in Dairying
 
M.S. Nataraju, P. Sunil Kumar and R. Shashidhar

There is a proverb in Kannada that “Koti Vidyeginthaloo Meti Vidyee Yee Melu” means - among all the professions for livelihood on this earth agriculture is the best profession for better livelihood.  This proverb suits Sri. Vasudeva Indraje, resident of Yenmoor village in Sulliya Taluk of Dakshina Kannada Dist. in Karnataka State. Sri. Vasudeva Indraje is a role model for today’s youth, who are neglecting agriculture and migrating to cities with an illusion of making a quick buck.  Hailing from an agricultural family his moorings was in agriculture and allied activities.  After passing out from SSLC he did not seek to continue the studies but showed interest in pursuing some small business.  Along with his younger brother he started a cold drink house in Balila and made good profit from it.  When it appeared that the business was seeing a downward trend he came out of the business and invested the money in farming land.

Sri. Vasudev along with his friend visited RUDSETI, Ujire and enquired about the training programmes. After going through his interests Director suggested him to apply for Dairy and Vermicompost training programme.  Later, he was selected and undergone Dairy and Vermicompost training programme in the year 2007.  During his training programme along with the technical inputs regarding the Dairy management he also learnt about different soft skills like how to develop entrepreneurship competencies? How to develop Self Confidence? How to avail Institutional Credit? etc.

On August 6, 1945, the most dreadful among the weapons of mass destruction – the atom bomb – was dropped in the civilian area of Hiroshima. Three days later, another atom bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. In July 1955, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein issued their famous manifesto seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons and appealing to all inhabitants of Planet Earth:
 
Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way is open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.

In 1957, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto led to the birth of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, an organisation devoted to the causes of ending the nuclear peril and reminding scientists of their ethical responsibility for the consequences of their discoveries, particularly in the area of nuclear threat to human survival.

An ancient Chinese proverb says

If you are thinking one year ahead, plant rice
If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant trees
If you are thinking hundred years ahead, educate the people

Subramanya Bharati, a great Tamil poet, wrote decades ago that nutrition and education were the two legs of a human being — nutrition for the body and education for the mind. We must, therefore, foster a movement for integrating academic excellence and social relevance in the curricula of our educational institutions. Our universities should promote the growth of the science of ecotechnology, which is the product of the integration of traditional knowledge with frontier science. This will need a mind-set change in relation to the knowledge and wisdom of our tribal and rural families.

In the 1990s, I developed the Iwokrama Rain Forest Programme, which represents the world’s largest adventure in the sustainable management of rainforests. The local Amerindian population welcomed me to Iwokrama with a song, which translates thus:

Bhutan has developed the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a substitute for Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this theory, GNH comprises spiritual and cultural values, including love of sport, music, dance and spiritual activities. This is a good departure from measuring happiness purely from the view point of money. I would like to elaborate on four pillars that are necessary to uphold sustainable human happiness.

Ecology

There is an increasing awareness of the need for adopting sustainable lifestyles which will not make a heavy demand on our life-support systems of land, water, biodiversity, forests, oceans and climate. In his book titled World on the Edge.1 Lester Brown has described how we still have time to prevent environmental and economic collapse. Recent calculations on the ecological footprint each one of us is leaving behind shows that our per capita consumption of natural resources is exceeding the biocapacity of our earth. Soon we will need two planets to meet the growing demand for land, water, forests and biodiversity. In this context, we should keep in view what Mahatma Gandhi said long ago: 

Norman Borlaug’s early upbringing in an Iowa farm and his experience of hardship during the US Depression of the early 1930s instilled in him the desire to bring science to address the problems of low farm productivity, poverty and hunger. After completing his Ph.D degree in Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota in 1942, he joined the Rockefeller Foundation’s agricultural programme in Mexico, leading to the birth of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). There he began his work on wheat, concentrating on the control of stem, stripe and leaf rusts, the important diseases of the crop. He introduced a multi-pronged approach to manage the rust fungus, including the development of composite varieties characterised by phonotypic identity but genotypic diversity with reference to resistance to different races of the pathogen, an approach conferring enduring resistance as a result of reduced pressure on the fungus to mutate and create more virulent strains.

The country is at long last becoming sensitive to the serious consequences of the growing rural-urban divide in terms of investment, infrastructure and opportunities for income and employment. The rural-urban divide also leads to an expanding rich-poor divide. Since crop and animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, and agro-processing are the main sources of rural livelihoods, the current agrarian crisis is adding to the problems of hunger, poverty and unemployment. According to the Union Planning Commission, we are off-track in achieving most of the UN Millennium Development Goals. A major cause for the growing rich-poor divide both between and within nations is unequal access to modern technology. Technology helps to achieve a paradigm shift from unskilled to skilled work and thereby move large numbers of the rural poor from the primary to the secondary and tertiary sectors of economic activity. If technology has been a major factor in promoting economic and social divides in the past, the challenge now lies in enlisting technology as an ally in the movement for economic, gender and social equity.

The post-independence history of our agriculture can be broadly grouped into four periods. Before describing them, I should mention that during the colonial era famines were frequent and Famine Commissions were abundant. The growth rate in food production from 1900 to 1947 was hardly 0.1 per cent. Most of the important institutional developments in agriculture emanated from the recommendations of Famine Commissions. The great Bengal Famine of 1942-43 provided the backdrop to India’s independence. It is to the credit of Independent India that famines of this kind have not been allowed to occur, although our population has grown from 350 million in 1947 to over a billion now.

The goal of food for all can be achieved only through sustained efforts in producing, saving and sharing food grains.

The Supreme Court of India has rendered great service by arousing public, professional and political concern about the co-existence of rotting grain mountains and mounting hungry mouths. In several African countries hunger is increasing because food is either not available in the market, or is too expensive for the poor. Food inflation is showing no signs of abating. In our country, chronic hunger is largely poverty induced. The progress made in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal No. 1, namely, reducing hunger and poverty by half by the year 2015, has been far from satisfactory and the available data indicate that we may have years and years to go before we achieve this target. Globally, the number of persons going to bed hungry has increased from 800 million in the year 2000 to over one billion. The position is likely to get worse in the near term, since the prices of wheat, rice and maize are going up in the global market. Adverse growing conditions in Russia, Canada and Australia are partly responsible for the recent escalation in grain prices. Nearer home, Pakistan is recovering from serious floods. According to a recent UN report, 3.2 million ha of standing crops and 200,000 heads of livestock have been lost. 

The President of India, in her address to both Houses of Parliament on 4 June 2009 announced:
 
My Government proposes to enact a new law — the National Food Security Act — that will provide a statutory basis for a framework which assures food security for all. Every family below the poverty line in rural as well as urban areas will be entitled, by law, to 25 kilograms of rice or wheat per month at Rs. 3 per kilogram. This legislation will also be used to bring about broader systemic reform in the public distribution system.

Since then, various arms of government as well as civil society organisations have been working on methods of redeeming this pledge.  The National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi has recently provided a broad framework for achieving the goal of food for all and forever.  The suggestions of NAC include the initiation as soon as possible of special programmes all over the country to insulate from hunger and malnutrition pregnant and nursing mothers, 0-3-years-old infants, street children, destitutes, old and infirm persons, patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy, physically or mentally handicapped persons and other disadvantaged citizens.

Pranab Mukherjee in his budget speech delivered on 26 February 2010 announced: ‘We are now ready with the draft Food Security Bill which will be placed in the public domain very soon.’  Although no official draft has been placed on the website of the concerned Ministry, several leading organisations and individuals have questioned the adequacy of the steps proposed to be taken under the Bill for achieving the goal of a hunger-free India.  Based on Article 21 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court of India has rightly regarded the right to food as a fundamental requirement for the right to life.  Many steps have been taken since Independence to adopt Mahatma Gandhi’s advice for an antyodaya approach to hunger elimination. In spite of numerous measures and social safety net programmes, the number of undernourished persons has increased from about 210 million in 1990-92 to 252 million in 2004-06.  About half of the world’s under-nourished children are in India.  Also, there has been a general decline in per capita calorie consumption in recent decades.  Grain mountains and hungry millions continue to co-exist.

Biodiversity provides the building blocks for sustainable food, health and livelihood security systems. It is the feedstock for both the biotechnology industry and a climate-resilient farming system. Because of its importance for human well-being and survival, a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Convention’s triple goals are conservation, sustainable use, and equitable sharing of benefits. CBD defines biological diversity as follows:

Variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has alerted developing countries about possible steep rises in food prices during 2011, if steps are not taken immediately to significantly increase the production of major food crops. According to FAO, ‘with the pressure on world prices of most commodities not abating, the international community must remain vigilant against further supply shocks in 2011’. World cereal production is likely to contract by 2 per cent and global cereal stocks may decline sharply. The price of sugar has reached a 30-year high, while international prices of wheat have increased by 12 per cent in the first week of December 2010 as compared to their November average.

The quantitative and qualitative dimensions of under- and malnutrition prevailing in our country are well known.  The Steering Committee of a high level panel of experts on food and nutrition set up under my chairmanship to advise the UN Committee on Food Security (CFS) has recently concluded that what we need urgently is a comprehensive, coordinated approach to tackling chronic, hidden and transitory hunger, and not piecemeal approaches.

The National Food Security Bill, 2011 designed to make access to food a legal right, is the last chance to convert Gandhiji’s vision of a hunger-free India into reality.

Mahatma Gandhi’s articulation of the role of food in a human being’s life in his speech at Noakhali, now in Bangladesh, in 1946 is the most powerful expression of the importance of making access to food a basic human right.  Gandhiji also wanted that the pathway to ending hunger should be opportunities for everyone to earn their daily bread, since the process of ending hunger should not lead to the erosion of human dignity.  Unfortunately, this message was forgotten after the country became independent in 1947, and government departments started referring to those being provided some form of social support as “beneficiaries”.  The designation “beneficiary” is also being applied to the women and men who toil for 8 hours in sun and rain under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA).  Sixty-five years after Gandhiji’s Noakhali speech, we find that India is the home for the largest number of under- and malnourished children, women and men in the world.  There are more persons going to bed partially hungry now, than the entire population of India in 1947.

It was in April-May 1968 that the country witnessed the wonderful spectacle of large arrivals of wheat grain in the mandis of the Punjab like Moga and Khanna. Wheat production in the country rose to nearly 17 million tonnes that year, from the previous best harvest of 12 million tonnes. Indira Gandhi released a special stamp titled “Wheat Revolution” in July 1968, to mark this new phase in our agricultural evolution. The nation rejoiced at our coming out of a “ship to mouth” existence. Later in 1968, Dr. William Gaud of the U.S. referred to the quantum jumps in production brought about by semi-dwarf varieties of wheat and rice as a “Green Revolution.” This term has since come to symbolise a steep rise in productivity and, thereby, of production of major crops.

Wheat production this year may reach a level of 85 million tonnes, in contrast to the 7 million tonnes our farmers harvested at the time of Independence in 1947. I visited several grain mandis in Moga, Khanna, Khananon and other places in the Punjab in April 2011 and experienced concurrently a feeling of ecstasy and agony. It was heart-warming to see the great work done by our farm men and women under difficult circumstances when, often, they had to irrigate the fields at night due to lack of availability of power during the day.

Three years after the establishment of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), a global conference was held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for promoting environmentally sustainable development in all spheres of human activity. At this UN Conference on Environment and Development, generally referred to as the Earth Summit, an Agenda 21 was adopted to provide guidelines for mainstreaming ecology in all major research and development programmes. In Agenda 21, pride of place has been given to the management of aquatic resources from both the quantitative and qualitative aspects. 2012 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Rio conference.  It will be useful to prepare a balance sheet indicating where we have succeeded and where we have failed in implementing Agenda 21 in the area of inland and marine fisheries, as well as integrated coastal zone management.

On the basis of a proposal I had made three years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) launched a Global Soil Partnership for Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation at a Multi-stakeholder Conference held in Rome in September 2011. Even with all the advances made in capture and culture fisheries, nearly 90 per cent of human food requirements will have to come from the soil. Land is becoming a diminishing resource for agriculture, inspite of the growing understanding that the future of food security will depend upon the sustainable management of land resources as well as the conservation of prime farm land for agriculture. The National Commission on Farmers emphasised in its report submitted in 2006 the urgent need for replacing the 1894 Land Acquisition Law with a twenty-first century legislation that safeguards the interests of farmers and farming.  Jairam Ramesh is to be complemented for introducing in Parliament a National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill which pays attention not only to acquisition, but also to the rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families.

The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the core of the many climate agreements arrived at so far, including the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Bali Plan of Action (2007).  The differentiated responsibilities aim to meet the special needs of developing countries for accelerated and equitable economic development.  Both at Copenhagen and Cancun, the industrialised countries proposed limiting the rise in mean temperature to 2ºC above normal.  Even this seems to be unattainable in the context of the present rate of emission of greenhouse gases (GHG).  Hence, the principle of common but differentiated impact of the 2º change in mean temperature is essential for prioritising climate victims. For example, small islands like Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, Maldives, Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar, as well as the Sunderbans in West Bengal, Kuttanad in Kerala and many other coastal locations will all face the prospect of submergence.  Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains.  Drought-induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the small islands will be the worst victims.  In contrast, countries in the northern latitudes will benefit due to longer growing seasons and higher yields.

Managing the National Food Security System

Rajiv Gandhi understood the wisdom of Gandhiji’s doctrine that Gram Swaraj is the pathway to Purna Swaraj and launched the Panchayati Raj movement. Schedule 11 of Constitution Amendment 73 entrusts panchayats with the responsibility of managing natural resources and fostering sustainable agriculture. Representative democracy through elected members, one third of whom are women, and participatory democracy through Gram Sabhas, are powerful tools for ensuring a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women, and pro-livelihood orientation to all rural and agricultural development programmes.
 
The National Commission on Farmers has emphasised the need for community-managed food and water security systems promoted with the help and oversight of Gram Sabhas.  The Gram Sabha can serve as a Pani Panchayat to ensure that rainwater is not only harvested, but is used in a sustainable and equitable manner.

India’s Northeast region — one of natural beauty and cultural richness — is both a mega-biodiversity area as well as a “hot-spot” for genetic erosion. The rural population is around 82 per cent and depends largely on agriculture and allied sectors for work and income security. The forests harbour 8000 out of the 15,000 species of flowering plants occurring in the country. Of about 1300 species of orchids reported from India, the Northeast has the highest concentration with about 700 species. The species richness is highest in Arunachal Pradesh where over 5000 flowering plants occur and the lowest in Tripura with 1600 species. Bamboo is the lifeline of the Northeast and 63 out of 136 species found in India occur in this region. Sadly, however, 25 species of bamboo fall under the rare and endangered category. The region is also home to the eri and muga silkworms. The yak and the mithun are unique animals which are threatened by the spread of non-edible invasive species like Lantana, Eupatorium and Mekenia. The cultural diversity of this region is well known, with 225 tribes out of 450 in the country living here. 

Livestock and livelihoods are intimately linked in our country.  Mixed farming involving crop-livestock as well as sometimes fish integration has been both a way of life and a means to sustainable livelihoods.  Also, the ownership of the livestock is more egalitarian than that of land.  That is why in our ancient culture, livestock has been given a pride of place in the area of spiritual veneration and natural resources conservation.  Maharashtra is rich in its livestock resources and has also a long coastline with a wide range of living aquatic resources.

The crop-livestock integrated farming system provides an opportunity for promoting organic farming and restoration of soil health, and thereby of an ever-green revolution leading to an enhancement of productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological harm.  It also strengthens household nutrition security.  The country as a whole has over 500 million farm animals.  However, grazing land has been reduced to less than 5 per cent of the arable land area.  Village common property resources, which used to provide fodder and shelter to farm animals, have been overexploited.  Consequently, our farm animal productivity is very low.

Mamata Banerjee has raised the important issue of land use and acquisition for public, political, professional and media debate. With increasing population pressure on land, this issue deserves careful consideration and rational discussion. The Singur dilemma in a wider sense relates to both land use policy and norms of compensation for land acquired by government for non-farm purposes. Land conflicts are also spreading in other parts of our country, as far example where land is needed for establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The Maharashtra Government has wisely adopted the policy of holding a referendum to seek the views of farmers and others who will be dispossessed of their land for meeting the needs of SEZs. Pro-active consultations will help to avoid difficulties later. Water conflicts are also affecting important irrigation projects. Land conflicts are likely to do the same and may affect the balanced growth of the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. How can we deal with this situation in a manner which leads to a win-win outcome for all the stakeholders ?

  1.    Gender Sensitization: Change of Attitude of people towards gender equality, gender roles etc.

  2.    Public-Private Partnership: Involvement of private stakeholders with public entreprises

  3.    Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Use of computer. fax, video, telephones in information sharing & transfer of technology.

  4.    Cyber Extension: Use of computers in extension management.

  5.    Broad Based Extension: Farming system use for maximum use of all available resource to maximize profit

  6.    Bottom-up Approach: Planning from lowest level of society.

  7.    ITK (Indegenous Technological Knowledge): Use of farm community knowledge for development

  8.    Market Led Extension: Transfer of technology basing on assured & confirmed market of the product.

5.1. INTRODUCTION

The word ‘probability’ means “reasonable likelihood of happening of an event”. In biology it is difficult to predict an outcome with absolute certainty. Probability helps us to estimate the occurrence of relative frequency of any (biological) event and is an accepted measure of uncertainty.

Mathematically, the probability ‘P’ that an event ‘E’ will occur, is expressed as:

Abstract

Water Crisis or scarcity can be explained as when demand for fresh water goes high in comparison to the supply of fresh water. The condition is the cause when there is a high rate of aggregate demand from all water using sectors like food, agriculture etc. are compared with available supply under prevailing institutional and infrastructural conditions. It is evident from economic competition from water quantity and quality, disputes between users, irreversible depletion of ground water, and negative impacts on the environment. Water crisis is actually a relative and dynamic concept irrespective of any level of supply and demand. It is a social construct and its causes are directly related to human interference with the water cycle. This scarcity varies over time due to natural hydrological variability. But the stronger reasons could be more of functions of prevailing economic policy, planning and management approaches. 

Abstract

Arsenic, although a non-metal, is very often referred to as a heavy metal. Its provenance and contents in recently formed or least weathered soils depend on the type of rocks and intensity of geochemical processes. The variation is exemplified in shale, where As content varies from 1 to 900 mg kg-1. In highly weathered soils, where pedochemical processes exceed geochemical processes, the content is generally below the levels that are toxic to life forms. In the Bengal basin, As content is low in soils, but high in the ground water (beneath the vadose zone). This suggests that As has been sufficiently leached from soils. The solubility of most of the As-bearing soil minerals is high, and it occurs as anions (AsO33-, or AsO43-) in soil solution. The soils of the Bengal basin are alkaline in reaction, mostly fine textured with almost even distribution of particle size fractions, and moderately drained. Minerals like micas and feldspars dominate their coarse fractions, whereas illite (40-47%) and smectite (24-30%) are dominant in clay fractions. Both inorganic and organic colloids are negatively charged that cannot retain anions. In many soils in the world, leaching of As is well documented.