Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have called for education and access to social capital to enthuse rural communities to take up non-farming occupation.
A study by Sabuj Kumar Mandal, associate professor of Economics in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and his research student Anviksha Drall, found that rural communities held on to agriculture despite it not being a reliable means of sustenance for want of education and skill, credit constraint and poor access to social capital.
However, giving sufficient information through mobile phones would create awareness among people in rural areas about the benefits of non-farming occupation and thus enable better participation. Their study was published in the international journal World Development recently.
Mr. Sabuj said imperfect credit and insurance markets in rural India reduced the flow of income in agricultural families. Such families could diversify into non-farm activities so that they could maintain a minimum level of income. “Trade and hospitality, construction, transport and education and health are the top four sectors that contribute to the non-agricultural rural jobs in the country,” he said.
Ms. Drall said the income from non-farm sector jobs could be diverted to farm sector and thus prevent loss of livelihood. This would help the community remain solvent or even profitable besides increasing the agricultural output.
The researchers developed a model using household-level panel data on Indian States in the semi-arid tropics and eastern regions and recommend rigorous implementation of Samagra Shiksha and training programmes such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana.
