Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

230 MEGHANA KELKAR
departure from the paternalistic welfare approach that was observed earlier
in Maharashtra. However, I point to the likely pitfalls of the sole focus being
on ‘women’ as a homogeneous group and of the instrumental benefits of
gender mainstreaming. I then discuss alternative strategies based on equity
considerations. A critical review of the objectives, methods and methodological
foundations on which agricultural research and extension rest
points to the intrinsic problems of integrating equity concerns based on
well-founded feminist principles. Finally, I conclude that the mainstreaming
of gender concerns in the agricultural network requires politicised
strategic efforts with a two-pronged strategy: first, strong advocacy efforts
at the policy levels to keep the issue on the anvil and second, a constant
re-enforcement of these efforts through explicit feminist research.
AGRICULTURAL NETWORK IN
MAHARASHTRA
In Maharashtra, agricultural research and extension of technologies is
largely the prerogative of state agricultural universities, state departments
of agriculture and various regional organisations such as the Krishi Vigyan
Kendras (Agricultural Science Centres) and zonal research stations, which
are either central and/or state government agencies. These organisations,
along with the policy-making secretariats, formulate a complex agricultural
network in the state.
The roots of state-induced intervention in agricultural research, extension
and education can be traced back to colonial days. The Department
of Agriculture was established in Maharashtra in 1883, largely to combat
recurrent famine situations. Soon after independence, the Report of the
University Education Commission recommended a system of rural
agricultural universities patterned after the US land grant systems (Easter
et al. 1989). As per this pattern, professional training in the western sciences
of agriculture was seen to be a major vehicle for producing a team of
agricultural scientists, who would then bring about a radical modernisation
of Indian agriculture. Thus, specialised scientific education was
seen to be an emerging need, which would be catered for by special agricultural
universities isolated from the mainstream educational system.
Accordingly, the Maharashtra legislature passed the Maharashtra Krishi