The Hindu : National : "1,000 knowledge centres in every State by next year"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

National

National

"1,000 knowledge centres in every State by next year"

Special Correspondent

To be located in schools, panchayat buildings

BANGALORE: Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers M.S. Swaminathan said on Tuesday that 1,000 village knowledge centres (VKCs) would be set up in every State by the end of this financial year under the Centre's Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). Dr. Swaminathan, who inaugurated a two-day consultation on "Agricultural marketing: Development of farmer-oriented markets" here, told mediapersons that the RIDF has been allocated Rs. 100 crores in the Union Budget 2005-06, which is being operated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

In public places

The VKCs will be located in public places such as schools or panchayat buildings to ensure "social inclusion in access". The community should have a sense of ownership of the VKC. The programme should be based on respect for human dignity and well-being and not just on the basis of profit motive. Women should play an active part in the management of the VKCs as that would help improve their social standing, especially of those belonging to the marginalised communities.

The Commission, which submitted its first report last December, has recommended steps to increase the income of small and marginal farmers and farm labourers. "Our policy is for kisans who are a critical section of our society." A draft national policy on kisans has been prepared. The Commission's second report will be submitted by the end of next month.

The major aspects of the VKC are connectivity, content, capacity building and management. The bottomline should be the harnessing of information, communication and technology (ICT) for the elimination of poverty and malnutrition. The programme's impact should be measured in terms of progress made in human development indicators and in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Hitherto, the progress towards achieving MDGs has been slow, he said.

The VKCs should aim at providing all information on government programmes as well as the market and weather, for the poor and small and marginal farmers. Adequate funds should be provided for content creation, based on the needs of rural families. "The content must be demand-driven and locale-specific", he said.

The Ministry of Rural Development has been requested to provide Rs. 50 crores for organising training and capacity building programmes for members of 10,000 ICT Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Stating that assured and remunerative marketing held the key to the future of agriculture, Dr. Swaminathan said that cheating of farmers by agencies should be checked to ensure free and just trade. There is a huge potential for growth in medicinal plantation, he said and advised farmers to enter into contracts with the industries. The growers should supply medicinal plants and herbs according to the requirements of the industries, he said.

On suicides by farmers, he said, indebtedness, improvident social expenditure, crop failure, and low prices were major causes. Such incidents are on the decline in Karnataka, he added.

Dr. Swaminathan said that dependence on agriculture had to be reduced to eliminate poverty in 15 years. Dependence on farm-related activities should be brought down from 70 per cent to 35 per cent. The U.S. and other advanced countries expanded non-farm activities and reduced poverty, he added.

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