Rural Development

UNIT 2 RURAL DEVELOPMENT— CONCEPTS Experiences — An Asian

Perspective
AND STRATEGIES

Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Background
2.3 Concepts of Rural Development
2.3.1 Rural Development Projects and Programmes
2.3.2 Community Development
2.3.3 Integrated Rural Development
2.3.4 Local Level Participation in Rural Development
2.4 Rural Development Strategies
2.4.1 Rural Development Policies
2.4.2 Types of Rural Development Strategies
2.4.3 Rural Development Planning
2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.6 Key Words
2.7 References and Suggested Readings
2.8 Check Your Progress – Possible Answers

2.0 OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you should be able to:

• Describe the background in which rural development as a subject has gained
importance;
• Identify the important concepts of rural development;
• Assess the importance of evolving rural development strategies;
• Enumerate the different rural development strategies advocated by different
schools of thought; and
• Explain the importance of planning rural development strategies.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The subject of rural development has gained widespread appeal in recent years. This
is largely a result of the way issues regarding development themselves began to be
perceived. In the preceding unit we discussed at some length issues relating to
concepts of development. As we saw, during the post-World War II era, development
theorists became increasingly dissatisfied with the way traditional concepts of
development emphasized growth and neglected important issues related to distributive
justice and other dimensions of development. The interest in rural development is
partly an offshoot of such a disenchantment and also on account of the growing
realization of the centrality of rural development in facilitating the process of overall
development. In this unit you will get a better feel of this argument.

2.2 THE BACKGROUND

Rural development became a planning concern as it became clear that the strategies
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adopted in developing countries remained largely ineffective in alleviating poverty and
Rural Development — inequalities in rural areas. It became increasingly clear that apart from an effort to
Concept, Strategies and increase agricultural and industrial production, it was also necessary to address directly
Experiences the problems of education, health services and employment and to attack the problem
of poverty in rural area. The increasing interest in rural development is a result
of the realization that a systematic effort is necessary to create better living
conditions in the rural areas where the vast majority of populations of developing
countries reside.

During the 1950s and 1960s, development policy makers sought to increase productivity
and per capita incomes through advances in the manufacturing sector. In the realm
of agricultural production, growth in output during the first two decades after
independence was achieved mainly by increasing the area under cultivation, supported
by expansion in public investment in supporting infrastructure. It was soon realized,
however, that the gains from these methods reached, to a large extent, only a small
minority – mainly those who were already better off and privileged. In fact, the gains
made as a result of these efforts are believed to have further accentuated inequality
in incomes in rural areas. By the 1970s it became clear that there were serious
problems in the way the issues and problems of development were being tackled. In
particular, the hope that the problems of unemployment and poverty in rural areas
would get addressed adequately was certainly not realized.

Later, in this Block, we will also examine in some detail the Green Revolution
strategy to increase agricultural productivity in the country. We will see how these
methods did not succeed in providing widespread gains. Most importantly, they did not
bring about any significant changes in the conditions of the labouring classes in rural
areas.

Historically, it has been observed that industrialization and the advancement of

economies in western societies was linked to major economic changes in the rural
society. You may be aware that the industrial revolution in England, as also in many
other countries in Europe, and the maturing of Japanese industry among others, were
all preceded by far reaching changes in agrarian societies. Land reforms and other
legislative reforms were instrumental in bringing about a change in rural economies
in many of these countries. Industrial growth and modernization were accompanied
by increased productivity in the agricultural sector and urbanization. In many cases,
access to colonies was a critical input in their economic advancement. Also, large
male migration from Europe was very helpful in relocating surplus labour. For instance,
it is well documented that over 40 million people emigrated from Europe during 1870
to 1914 alone. As a result of all these factors these societies were able to reduce
poverty and increase the role of non-agricultural activities in their economies.

On the other hand, in large parts of the developing world, these conditions have not
been brought about. The impact that rural development strategies can have in these
countries, in the absence of those prerequisite changes, cannot be underestimated. It
is also clear that the patterns of economic transformation in developed countries
cannot be replicated as the historical circumstances in the developing countries are
quite different from those prevailing then in the former cases. The upshot of all this
is that well formulated and clearly focused strategies of rural development are a must
in the developing world.

2.3 CONCEPT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The notion of rural development has been conceived in diverse ways by researchers,
ranging from thinking of it as a set of goals and programmes to a well-knit strategy,
approach or even an ideology. If you wade through the relevant literature, you will
realize that its scope and content are nebulous and do not have well-accepted analytical
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boundaries. As has often been noted, however, this may be viewed both as a weakness Rural Development
as well as a strength. A weakness because, apart from the issue conceptual clarity, Experiences — An Asian
it also means that the very operation of this idea is in a grey zone. A strength because Perspective
such a situation allows considerable flexibility for policy makers to take into account
different ground realities.

Whatever be the differences in conceptualizing the notion of rural development, there

is a widely shared view that its essence should be poverty alleviation and distributive
justice oriented economic transformation. Given such a view, you may have the
following as primary objectives of rural development.
a) To improve the living standards by providing food, shelter, clothing, employment
and education;
b) To increase productivity in rural areas and reduce poverty;
c) To involve people in planning and development through their participation in
decision making and through decentralization of administration;
d) To ensure distributive justice and equalization of opportunities in the society.
In the preceding unit on development, we saw that there is no single universally
acceptable approach towards development. We also saw that strategies are necessary
to progress towards development since it is a long-term process. Similarly, there are
various approaches to the problem of rural development. Various schools of thought
perceive the problem of rural development differently and emphasize different sets
of factors in their theories.

2.3.1 Rural Development Projects and Programmes

It is important to distinguish between rural development projects and programmes.
Rural development projects are micro level efforts to bring about change in rural
areas. These changes can take many forms ranging from efforts to increase literacy
to attempts to increase agricultural productivity. The effects of these projects are not
generally widespread in the sense that they concern only a small number of people.

Rural development programmes involve a number of projects each, which are aligned
to one another so that they influence the various facets of rural economic and social
life. Therefore, rural development programmes attempt to bring about changes in a
wider area impacting a greater number of people. Rural development programmes
are more difficult to implement because of the problem of scale. This is particularly
so in the case of a country like India where the rural population is large, widely
dispersed and with varied socio-economic and natural endowments.

Because of these problems, adequate planning in launching and completing rural

development programmes is of great significance. Also, appropriate monitoring and
evaluation agencies and mechanisms are important in order to ensure that these
programmes meet their objectives in cost-effective ways. India’s experience in these
respects is quite instructive as we will discuss in the last unit of this block.

2.3.2 Community Development

The Community Development Programme (CDP) initiated in the 1950s intended to

involve popular participation in rural development. It laid emphasis on the building of
infrastructure in rural areas with the participation of rural communities.

The CDP sought to promote rural development in a phased manner in different parts
of the country. A block of villages was identified as the development unit and an
infrastructure of technical and administrative staff provided to implement development
programmes in different sectors. You will read about the CDP in Unit 4, which gives
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Rural Development — an assessment of the Indian experiences with this programme. But we may note here
Concept, Strategies and that the CDP, however, did not lead to a noticeable impact on rural poverty because
Experiences those who were powerful in these rural communities were able to corner much of
the gains derived from this programme.

2.3.3 Integrated Rural Development

As a concept, the term “integrated rural development” has gained widespread

acceptance in spite of the fair amount of disagreement among rural development
experts in defining the concept. In spite of the disagreement, however, most schools
of thought emphasize certain basic elements of rural development. The rural economy
and social structure in most developing countries is characterized by widespread
poverty, poor health conditions, illiteracy, exploitation, inequitable distribution of
land and other assets, and lack of rural infrastructure and public utilities
(roads, communications, etc.). Clearly, this means that the problem requires an
approach that will take into account all these factors in devising a comprehensive
strategy to further rural development.

The concept of “integrated rural development” came into vogue with the need for a
multipurpose thrust to rural planning. It stresses that various facets of rural development,
which have an impact on rural life, are interrelated and cannot be looked at in
isolation. Thus, an integrated approach towards rural development is essential. The
various dimensions of rural life – growth of agriculture and allied activities,
rural industrialization, education, health, public works, poverty alleviation and
rural employment programmes – all form a part of an integrated approach to
the problem of rural development.

2.3.4 Local Level Participation in Rural Development

Since the late 1980s, local level participation has been given a new thrust in India.
The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments in the early 1990s were of particular
significance in this regard. Also, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in
many parts of the developing world including India, are now working towards
promoting participatory development. The following are the main objectives of these
efforts:
a) Suppression of elitist elements in rural areas so that the process of development
is shaped actively by the poor;
b) Stressing the importance of the felt needs of people at the local level, and
harnessing their energy and vision in designing appropriate programmes;
c) The use of education as a tool in people’s perception towards change in rural
societies. Education is used so that it enables people to organize themselves to
change society.
Check Your Progress I
Note: a) Use the space provided for your answers.
b) Check your answers with the possible answers provided at the end of
this unit.
1) What are the primary objectives of rural development?
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 Rural Development
2) Distinguish between rural development projects and rural development Experiences — An Asian
programmes. Perspective

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2.4 RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

In order to foster sustained development in rural areas, different schools of thought

advocate different paths. It must be borne in mind that there is no single universal
means by which this can be universally attained. Different economic and social
systems have to take into account their own specificities in order to further rural
development.

2.4.1 Rural Development Policies

Each rural development strategy also has its own ideological roots upon which the
elements of the strategy have been based. A strategy consists of an ordering of
various policy parameters to attain the desired goals. Different strategies emphasize
different sets of policies in order to achieve their goals. However, there are certain
important policies that are common to most rural development strategies. These
policies are related to: land, technology, agriculture, employment, education, research
and extension, rural institutions and agricultural pricing.

Activities in rural societies, as you are aware, mostly relate to agricultural and other
allied activities. Needless to say, land is a very important question in this matter. As
is well-known distribution of land and other assets is very skewed in India, as the
large majority have small land holdings. This has a direct impact on the ability to earn
incomes in rural areas. Land reforms including the protection of the rights of tenants
is one of the primary means of transforming rural societies. It has also been contended
that productivity levels of small farms are often greater than those of large farms.
This is attributed to the fact that the small peasant puts in more intensive labour on
the small plot that belongs to him. Thus land reforms and a land policy that seeks to
provide distributive justice may also result in greater agricultural productivity. Therefore,
land policy is a crucial element in a rural development strategy.

Improvements in technologies available to rural societies can have a big impact on

them. On the one hand, it is essential that newer technologies are adapted to rural
societies and, on the other, it is necessary that existing technologies are extended to
rural areas. Technological planning, research and development are very vital ingredients
of rural development. In India, the agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable to the
ravage of the weather. Technological improvements can play a vital role in insulating
agriculture from the effects of the weather. Rural societies are also characterized by
large-scale unemployment on the one hand, and low productivity, on the other.
Therefore, care has to be taken when new technologies are introduced in rural areas.
Technologies appropriate to rural societies have to be chosen so that there is no
large-scale displacement of labour. A judicious balance between achieving higher
productivity and increasing employment opportunities to rural communities has to be
struck. Rural development strategies have to take this into account in formulating
their programmes.
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Rural Development — Given the extent of unemployment problem in rural India, the need for well-formulated
Concept, Strategies and employment programmes can hardly be over stated. Such programmes can insulate
Experiences fluctuations in rural incomes on account of poor weather conditions as is the case
when the monsoon fails. As you are aware, agriculture employment is often seasonal.
Under these conditions, rural employment programmes can ensure a better spread of
employment through the year. The growth of non-agricultural activity within the
village economy can also relieve the pressure of population on the land.

Agriculture remains the main avenue for providing incomes and employment in rural
areas. Needless to say, agricultural planning is vital for rural development strategies.
The balanced growth of the agricultural sector can play an important role in creating
better conditions for those depending on this sector.

In India, the problem of illiteracy is particularly acute in rural areas. The lack of
education can act as a constraint in furthering rural development. Rural societies, as
you are aware, are also characterized by widespread inequalities in the distribution
of incomes and assets. The lack of education creates a situation in which this
problem is perpetuated. The spread of education, on the one hand, can enable the
rural poor to ensure distributive justice and, on the other, help them in actively
participating in rural development programmes.

Research and extension is a very important ingredient of rural development strategies.

Research enables furthering knowledge which is appropriate to rural cultures and
extension ensures that the gains are actually delivered to the target groups. Trained
staff are very important for any rural development programme since they actually
interact with the community for whom the programmes are meant.

Rural institutions need to be reformed and utilized for successfully carrying out rural
development. The institutional aspects of rural societies are often ignored when
strategies are formulated. The institutional structures such as panchayats need to be
nurtured so that there is popular participation in rural development. These structures
can act as powerful agents in actually implementing the development strategies.
Since rural settlements are spread out and are often isolated, they cannot be monitored
successfully from outside. Contrarily, local monitoring by institutions such as panchayats
can actually ensure that programmes are successfully implemented and that the
target group actually benefits from such programmes. You may be aware that, during
the last decade several states have taken significant steps in this regard. Rural
institutions such as banks and cooperatives can also play a vital role in rural
development. Unfortunately, during the period of economic reforms since the early
1990, these institutions have suffered significant setbacks.

The use of a price policy is also a crucial element in a rural development policy. First,
agricultural produce has to be priced in such a manner that the farmers enjoy
adequate returns. Secondly, the price policy through the use of subsidies can act as
a means of providing essential items of mass consumption to people residing in rural
areas. This is particularly essential for those below the poverty line. The spread of
the public distribution system through its network of ration shops in rural areas can
be used to solve this problem. This is particularly important during periods of poor
rainfall when rural incomes are adversely affected, which in turn has a negative
effect on consumption. Subsidies may have other forms—the form of input subsidies
to the agricultural sector, for example. This is particularly important in the case of
fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Thus, the price policy can act as a useful means of
achieving rural development objectives. The recent thinking along the neo-liberal lines
has led to significant changes in the various aspects of the price policy, and it is quite
clear that rural India has been subjected to tremendous stress during the liberalization
era; some of it is on account of changes in some aspects of the price policy.

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2.4.2 Types of Rural Development Strategies Rural Development
Experiences — An Asian
Different strategies emphasize and give importance to different mixes of agrarian Perspective
relations, techniques of production and state policies in order to achieve the goals of
rural development. To illustrate some of the relevant issues, we may briefly discuss
the following rural development strategies, giving central importance to agrarian relations
for purpose of classification. These are:
i) A strategy based on collectivization of resources;
ii) A strategy based on regulated capitalist perspective;
iii) A strategy based on peasant agrarian perspective;
iv) A strategy based on Laissez-Faire or unregulated free-market capitalist
perspective.
Of course, these four do not constitute an exhaustive list and are simply illustrative.
Also, one can think of typologies that are different from the one mentioned here. With
these qualifications, let us briefly sketch the contours of these strategies.

Collectivization of rural assets (particularly land) is given utmost importance in the

first strategy. Private ownership of land is abolished so that not only are inequalities
in the ownership of land eliminated but also land use can be made more productive.
The latter is achieved because small plots of land can be consolidated so that large-
scale cultivation can bring about economies of scale in agricultural production. Large-
scale cultivation also raises productivity by creating possibilities for the use of modern
technology in the shape of tractors, harvesters, etc. This strategy was followed with
fairly good success in the Soviet Union, China and the East-European countries.
These countries were able to make sharp increases in production soon after they
initiated this strategy. However, for a variety of reasons, which are too complex to
be recalled here, the erstwhile socialist regimes have collapsed or changed course
dramatically and this strategy is not in operation anywhere currently.

The second strategy envisions a co-existence of a capitalist sector and a peasant

sector that gets some support and protection from the state. Any large-scale
redistribution of land or reconfiguration of land relations are ruled out. It is hoped that
the objective of rapid growth would be taken care of by the capitalist sector while
the peasant sector would address the problem of unemployment till the time the
nonagricultural sectors start growing at a rapid pace.

This approach to rural development has been criticized for not being able to reckon
with the fundamental contradictions in rural areas. It is pointed out that without
meaningful land reforms, this strategy can only have limited success, as rural inequalities
are ignored in this strategy. Rural elites, on the one hand, exercise control and prevent
changes that will bring about a change in the unequal distribution of assets (particularly
land), and on the other, corner a large part of whatever resources are pumped in from
“outside” to better the lives of the poor. An example of this is provided by the way
banking cooperatives have operated in India. A great portion of rural credit disbursed
through cooperative institutions has gone into the hands of those who are better off
and have the capacity to mobilize their own resources. Thus, it is pointed out that this
strategy avoids taking hard decisions to make a breakthrough in rural development
that can create conditions for the rapid development of rural areas.

The strategy based on the peasant agrarian perspective argues for thorough-going
redistribution of land and overhaul of land relations. It envisages strong support for
small peasant units, which are supposed to take care of the twin-objectives of growth
and employment. An extensive network of cooperative institutions, marketing facilities
etc is accorded critical importance in this strategy.
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Rural Development — Both in the second and the third strategies, it is envisaged that the state will play
Concept, Strategies and important roles in promoting and strengthening the non-agricultural economic activities
Experiences in the rural areas, so as to ease the pressure of surplus labour on agriculture and to
facilitate the creation of decent livelihood options elsewhere in the long-run. Sure
enough, it is expected that a vibrant agricultural sector will itself generate strong
impulses for the creation of non-agricultural opportunities, but to harness such impulses
the State is expected to perform a whole range of important functions. Furthermore,
it is assumed that the problem of adequate infrastructure in rural areas will be
addressed by the state and also the investments in social sectors such as education,
health, etc.

Finally, we have what can be called a strategy based on unregulated capitalist

perspective. Such a strategy presumes that rich landowners will play the vanguard
role in rapid increase in agricultural output, by taking advantage of the economies of
scale and gradually the small cultivation units will disappear. It is suggested that the
state should not intervene in the expansion of the capitalist sector and there should
be no ceiling on ownership. Unfettered expansion of this sector is supposed to
provide a dynamism that will overall rural economy and the benefits from it, through
employment and increasing incomes, are supposed to percolate even to the lowest
strata. The issues of inequality and distributive justice are considered non-issues in
such a strategy. To the extent the state has a role, it is with respect to infrastructure,
but there too it is not viewed as the major actor necessarily.

This is so, not only because it ignores a number of development concerns, but also
due to its excessive and unwarranted optimism as regards growth and its percolation.
It should be obvious that whichever strategy of rural development one may opt for,
the core of it is an agricultural development strategy. If such a strategy has to
address the concerns of development highlighted earlier, it has to be broad-based. For
this a restructuring of land relations is obviously the key factor. We have already
referred to some of the other important elements earlier, but the core concerns of a
rural development strategy may be listed here as follows:
a) Agricultural research, extension, rural education and training programmes for
farmers form a part of institution building activities;
b) Infrastructure building activity related to the growth of irrigation, transport,
communications and health facilities;
c) Programmes to improve marketing facilities for the distribution of agricultural
inputs and implements;
d) Policies related to land tenure, agricultural output prices and taxation of agricultural
incomes.
Based on the experience of market economies as regards the approach towards
distribution of land, types of strategies for fostering the growth of the agricultural
sector can also be classified as “uni-modal” and “bi-modal” strategies. A uni-modal
strategy is one in which land holdings are equitably distributed. This strategy was
followed with tremendous success in the case of Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It seeks
to promote rural development through the use of thorough-going reforms in the
agricultural sector. Thus, because of the land reforms and the consequent even
distribution of rural assets, resources meant for the agricultural sector are also spread
evenly. This type of agricultural strategy creates a situation that enables rapid growth
of agricultural production with equitable distribution of incomes. This in turn not only
results in rapid rural development, but also provides an important basis for overall
economic development.

The bi-modal strategy for the growth of the agricultural sector attempts to increase
agricultural production without making attempts to drastically change the skewed
28 distribution of incomes and assets in rural areas. Many countries in Latin America
are examples of this type of strategy. In the case of this type of strategy there is no Rural Development
attempt to bring about land reforms. A large number of small farms coexist with a Experiences — An Asian
small number of large size holdings. The idea is to concentrate modern technology Perspective
and inputs to the latter and thereby achieve agricultural growth. Such a growth
pattern clearly ignores a whole range of developmental concerns and is also unable
to provide strong foundation for overall economic development.

2.4.3 Rural Development Planning

In a vast country like ours where the diversity in socio-economic features is very
great, one of the major problems facing rural development planners is the question
of aligning micro level needs to the overall planning process of the economy. The
needs and problems of various regions have to be taken into account when planning
for rural development. Since the area that is to be covered is vast, there are difficulties
in planning and monitoring rural development from the top. Consequently, the need
for evolving a system of multi-level planning came into being.

Planning came to acquire added significance with the realization that direct measures
to eradicate poverty can result only in limited gains. Subsidies, assistance and special
efforts for the uplift of the poor and under-privileged are obviously important, but they
must not be uncoordinated add-ons. In order to add to the productive base of the
economy over a long period, planning is absolutely essential.

Local area planning through panchayats can be a powerful means of bringing about
rural development. In a monolithic planning structure, those at the top often fail to
understand the specific requirements at the local level. Local planning also makes
accountability more immediate and identifiable. This can act as a means of preventing
leakages from the system.

Unfortunately, keeping in line with the sharp shift to neo-liberal thinking in policy
making since the early 1990s, the idea of planning itself has suffered a serious
setback. Sure enough, there were many problems with the policy regimes prior to this
shift, but the dilution of planning and leaving things to the market can hardly be
thought of as credible solutions.

Check Your Progress II

Note: a) Use the space provided for your answers.
b) Check your answers with the possible answers provided at the end of
this unit.
1) List the major policies that are vital for most rural development strategies.
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2) Distinguish between collectivist, reformist and market oriented rural

development strategies.
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Rural Development —
Concept, Strategies and 3) What is the role of planning in rural development?
Experiences
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2.5 LET US SUM UP

The development experience of the 1960s and the 1970s showed that mere economic
growth will not result in better living standards in the developing countries. It was
realized that economic growth has to be accompanied by distributive justice. It was
also clear that a multi-dimensional approach was needed to solve the problem of
poverty in the developing countries, particularly in the rural areas where a large part
of the population resides.

As we discussed in the foregoing, rural development therefore takes into account

factors other than economic growth. These are education, health facilities, better
infrastructural facilities in rural areas, employment generation and an attack on poverty.
In order to achieve these objectives it becomes necessary to take into account all
these factors and formulate strategies to develop rural societies.

Strategies and planning, you will appreciate, play an important role in furthering rural
development since it is a long-term process. Since conditions vary substantially between
one country and another, it is difficult to formulate a single strategy suited to every
developing country.

2.6 KEY WORDS

Bi-modal Strategy : An agricultural strategy in which both large and
small sized landholdings coexist for mutual growth
and development.
Technocratic Approach : An approach, which emphasizes the technical
aspects rather than the socio-economic and/or the
political factors.
Uni-modal Strategy : A strategy to increase agricultural production and
productivity in which comprehensive land reforms
are a major feature.

2.7 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

References
Aslam, M., 1993: Integrated Rural Development in Asia, Manohar, New Delhi.
Harris, J. (ed.), 1982: Rural Development: Theories of Peasant Economy and
Agrarian Change, Hutchinson University , London.
Indira Gandhi National Open University, 1991: Course Material on “Rural
Development: Indian Context”, Block 2, School of Continuing Education, IGNOU,
30
New Delhi.