Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 27, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Jul 27, 2007 ePaper |
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FOCUS ON LIVELIHOOD: M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (right), having a word with R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, at a national consultation held in Chennai on Thursday. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (left), is in the picture.
CHENNAI: The development and delivery of technology has to be more “socially inclusive” to create more diversified and sustainable livelihood for rural people dependent on agriculture, M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, said on Thursday. “We have not been able to diversify livelihood in rural areas,” he said at the inauguration of a three-day national consultation on technology development for sustainable livelihood here. “Sixty per cent of the population still depends on the agricultural sector. When there are no multiple channels of livelihood, problems become very acute, as was evident from the suicide of farmers in Vidarbha,” he said. The consultation, convened by the foundation along with the Government of India, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the State Bank of India, will explore four facets of inclusive technology development: facilitating development that is responsive to diverse rural clients; technology transfer modalities that transcend social inequities; developing policies for inclusive technological development; and constructing feasible methods of delivery and adoption. Discussions will focus on the challenges faced by agencies in implementing programmes in rural areas, and making partnerships with local communities to facilitate inclusive technological development, said Sudha Nair, Program Director of the foundation. Based on the discussions, the foundation will make recommendations for policy makers and other stake-holders on implementing delivery models. Technological developments, Dr. Swaminathan said, were crucial to providing multiple incomes and sustainable livelihood in rural areas. “A paradigm shift from unskilled to skilled labour is needed. This is the challenge that technological development has to meet, otherwise people in rural areas can only expect to earn minimum wage. The productivity of their labour needs to be enhanced,” he said. Delivery systems
Besides developing technology that is socially inclusive, adequate delivery systems were necessary to empower people in rural areas with access to this technology, said R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. “While technological innovations are crucial to industrial development, what is important for rural development is having adequate delivery systems for new technology. Successful technology delivery requires making the right technological choices geared towards our rural development. For instance, rural food processing is an important technological choice for India, but it might not be in a developed country like the United States. So we have to make the right choice for us.”
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