Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development
Editors
K. Narayana Gowda Vice-Chancellor University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore - 560 065
M.S. Nataraju Professor of Agricultural Extension & Coordinator, Regional Centre National Afforestation & Eco-Development Board University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore – 560 065
V. Veerabhadraiah Former Director of Extension University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore – 560 065
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PREFACE
The progress and prosperity of a nation depends to a large extent on the quality of human resource the country has more so the youth. The youth of today are the adults of tomorrow and farm families of the future. Youth represent around one fifth of the global population and they are a major human resource for growth and development of any country. Having tremendous energy, imagination, dedication, enthusiasm and creativity; youth can be effective change agents. During his recent visit, President Barak Obama pointed out that India is fortunate to have a youthful population with over half of the total population of 1.21 billion being under the age of 30 years of which over 60 percent live in villages. Rural youth are the human capital of mankind and has limitless energy and enthusiasm. The proper channelization of this energy for constructive work can make India one of the most developed and prosperous nations of the world. Rural youth are deprived of many basic facilities, needed opportunities and encouragement over the years. In addition in the recent years farming is considered to be less profitable venture. As a result, there is exodus of rural young men and women from villages to towns and cities adversely affecting the rural development in general and agricultural development in particular. Great visionary like Mahatma Gandhi considered the migration of educated youth from villages to towns and cities as the most serious form of brain drain affecting adversely rural India’s development. During last one decade, rural India witnessed the continuous migration of rural youth to urban areas. This situation is very serious and alarming and the migration of rural youth created a vacuum in the villages. It has been observed and expressed by many enlightened persons that villages are becoming old age homes draining away the talented farm youth to stay away from farming. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look for the ways and means of attracting farm youth in particular and rural youth in general to involve themselves in farming and related vocations. Towards this end, extension education has greater responsibility and role to cope with the emerging challenges for bringing about sustainable agriculture involving rural youth. The focus, contents, vii
Preface /viii delivery mechanisms and priorities of extension need sea change to evolve innovative methods and approaches to attract farm youth into sustainable agriculture. The year 2011 was declared as International Year of Youth and therefore, it is an opportune time to look for strategies and approaches to contain the youth in the rural sector. It is, in this background, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore has organized a National Seminar on Attracting Rural Youth to Sustainable Agriculture in collaboration with the Indian Society of Extension Education (Karnataka Chapter) at UAS, Bangalore from 26 th to 28th August 2011. The objective of the seminar was to bring together the academia, researchers and development professionals in the field of extension education, agricultural development and rural development on one platform to understand the problems and prospects of rural youth and discuss strategies for making recommendations for attracting them to sustainable agriculture. The seminar deliberations centred around eight important themes viz., Youth centred extension approaches, youth in natural resource management, HRD approaches and strategies, Group approaches including SHGs, Status, interest, aspiration and problems of rural youth, policy frame work, rural youth and ICT, Mobilization of Rural youth, rural women and their empowerment. More than two hundred papers both conceptual and research in nature were presented during the seminar, highlighting various issues relating to rural youth and associated dimensions. Owing to the importance of the subject in the current agricultural scenario, with reference to the national and global changes, it was decided to publish the selected papers presented in the seminar in book form. The papers included in the book cover a wide range of issues related to the seminar themes and associated aspects. Another feature is that the articles include research studies and experiences that have been observed in different parts of the country. The recommendations of the Seminar are included in a separate chapter. The book will be of value to agricultural scientists, extension personnel and development workers belonging to public, private, banking, NGOs and other development sectors, as it provides new insights into the role of youth in agriculture and integrating them into sustainable agriculture. Besides, the students of agriculture and rural development especially post graduate students will find the book a useful reference material. The contents of book covers the issues like youth-concept, characteristics, interests, aspirations; youth in natural resource
Preface /ix management; ICT and rural youth; Extension approaches and strategies; SHGs and Group approaches; Mobilisation of Rural Youth; Gender issues and women empowerment and successful case studies on farm youth. The Editors express their deep sense of gratitude to Dr. S. Ayyappan, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi and Prof. Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi; Dr. R. Dwarakinath, Former Vice-Chancellor, UAS, Bangalore and Dr. A.G. Sawant, Former Vice-Chancellor, BSKKV, Dapoli and Former Member, ASRB, New Delhi for their encouragement and support in making the seminar a grand success. All the participants of seminar and contributors of papers deserve appreciation.
Editors
FOREWORD
Food security in India and other parts of world mainly depends on the active participation of rural youth in agriculture. Today over 35 percent of the youth in the world is in India among which almost 60 percent live in rural areas. Rural youth has limitless energy and enthusiasm and proper channelization of this energy for constructive work can help to make India a developed nation. Rural youth are deprived of many facilities, needed opportunities and encouragement over the years and resulting in large scale exodus of rural young men and women from villages to urban areas adversely affecting the rural development in general and agricultural development in particular. The problem of migration of rural youth has become global phenomenon and the trend is likely to continue in future. This will have a wide impact on the food production and it may not be possible to achieve the food production to meet the requirements of ever growing population. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look for the ways and means of attracting and sustaining rural youth in agriculture. Towards this end, the SAUs and other organizations have the greater responsibility and role to cope with the emerging challenges for bringing about sustainable agriculture involving rural youth. In this context, I appreciate the proactive initiation taken by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in organizing a National Seminar on Attracting Farm Youth to Sustainable Agriculture in 2011 to address different issues relating to rural youth. The deliberations during National Seminar have been very fruitful and the output in the form of book which will certainly guide in preparing the roadmap and v
Foreword /vi will be useful to all concerned stakeholders involving academicians, researchers, scholars, policy makers and planners as well as the development support groups and practitioners. I congratulate the learned contributors and the editors for their initiative efforts in bringing out such a scholarly and valuable publication for professional and policy development.
Dated the 17th September, 2012 New Delhi
(S. Ayyappan)
CONTENTS
Foreword ...................................................................................................
v
Preface .......................................................................................................
vii
List of Contributors ...................................................................................
xi
Section I : Farm Youth in Agriculture 1.
Farm Youth Caught in Cross Winds ........................................ R. Dwarakinath
1
2.
Sustaining Agriculture through Rural Youth ........................ A.G. Sawant
11
3.
Natural Resource Management – An Experience of Rural Bio-Resource Complex Project .................................................. 19 K. Narayana Gowda, K.C. Narayanaswamy, Babu R.M. Ray, H.C. Girisha and B.V. Manjula
4.
Youth in Agriculture ...................................................................
25
V. Veerabhadraiah 5.
Strategy for the Promotion of Youth in Agriculture ............ V.G. Dhanakumar
6.
Youth in Agriculture - Reflections, Re-Orientation and Reforms .................................................................................. 39 R M Prasad
7.
Strategies to Retain the Farm Youth in Agriculture ............. T. Rathakrishnan
8.
Participation of Rural Youth in Farm Activities .................... 51 Y.N. Shivalingaiah and V. Veerabhadraiah
9.
Attracting and Retaining Youth in Farming ........................... 59 N. Parasuraman
10.
Farm Youth : A Catalyst for Sustainable Agriculture .......... Meenambigai, J. Santha Govind and G. Tamil Selvi xxiii
29
45
65
Contents /xxiv 11.
Augmenting Share of Rural Youth in Agricultural Development : A Case Study of Poonch District of Jammu & Kashmir .................................................................
75
Pawan Kumar Sharma, Suraj Prakash and Sanjay Khar 12.
Rural Youth: Challenges and Strategies .................................
83
M.S. Nataraju
Section II : Capacity Building of Rural Youth 13.
Capacity Building of Rural Youth for Better Livelihoods through Improved Natural Resource Management .............
95
Sreenath Dixit and B. Venkateswarlu 14.
Empowerment of Male Farm Youth through Agro-Based Income Generating Activities .................................................. 111 Shivakumar B. Hayyal, Madhu Prasad V.L., Shivamurthy, M. and Mahatab Ali K.M.
15.
Training Strategies as Preferred by Farm Women on IPM Practices ......................................................................... 115 J. Santha Govind, Gopalasamy, K and G. Tamil Selvi
16.
Novel Extension Strategies to Enhance Sustainable Livelihood among Livestock Farmers in Tamil Nadu ......... 121 Porchezhiyan. S, R. Senthi Kumar, K. Ranjith Kumar and B.S. Meena
Section III : Entrepreneurship among Rural Youth 17.
Entrepreneurship Development in Agriculture and Rural Youth .................................................................................. 127 B.S. Hansra and P.K. Jain
18.
Entrepreneurship Development – An Appropriate Option to Rural Industrialisation and Youth ....................... 137 V. Sudha Rani and N. Kishore Kumar
19.
Entrepreneurship Development in Agriculture – An Opportunity for Unemployed Rural Youth ........................... 147 Ashoka Doddamani, V. Govinda Gowda and Jagadajyoti, S. Binkadakatti
Contents /xxv 20.
Profile and Job Preferences of Bhil Youth in Dhule District of Maharashtra .............................................................. 157 Suryawanshi, D.B., K.S. Throat and S.H. Ban
21.
Marketing Behaviour of Dairy Farmers in Tamil Nadu ..... 161 R. Senthil Kumar, Ram Kumar, Babu. D and P. Jai Sridhar
Section IV : Rural Youth and Information Communication Technology 22.
Youth and ICTs for Agricultural Development..................... 169 Suchiradipta Bhattacharjee and R. Saravanan
23.
Krishi Community Radio : An Emerging ICT Tool ............. 189 Sneha M. Talwar., Manjunath, L. and Ashalata, K.V.
24.
Providing Management Services through Mobile Telephone to Attract Farm Youth Towards Sustainable Agriculture ............................................................. 195 B.K. Narayana Swamy and N. Shankariah
25.
Case Study of Farm Youth in Water Management ............... 199 Bharaswadkar, R.B.
26.
Profile of Farmers using Kissan Call Centres ........................ 207 Savithramma, K. Venkataranga Naika and M.P. Gokul Raj
Section V : Women in Agriculture 27.
Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture Development and Sustaining Women Youth in Agriculture ....................... 211 P.S. Geethakutty
28.
Handholding Strategies for Sustainable Development of Women SHGs ............................................................................... 215 Anasuya Patil, D.M. Chandargi, N.R. Mamledesai and S.B. Mahajanshetty
29.
Training Needs of Dairy Farm Women .................................. 227 S.R. Lahoti, R.R.Chole and G.U. Gholap
30.
Drudgery Reducing Equipment as a Key to Enhance the Efficiency of Farm Women ................................................. 233 M.R. Kammar, A.R. Kurubar and Chavan Mohan
Fi r s tf e wp a g e so ft h i sb o o ka r ep u b l i s h e d o nk i s a n . c o mb yi t sp u b l i s h e r . I fy o uwi s ht op u r c h a s eah a r d c o p y o ft h i sb o o k , p l e a s ec o n t a c tt h ep u b l i s h e r .
Publ i sher