SERICUL TURE AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE - Institute for ...

Agnrlndustry and Development - The Case of Sericulture: In
spite of various development measures and the consequent changes in
nu'al life, combating the twin problems of rural poverty and
unemployment continued to remain a major task for the planners and
implementers. There was a shift during the mid seventies in the main
thrust of rural development, the focus of which became creating
large-scale opportunities for productive employment. The hope was that
this would raise the level of income of the less privileged among the
rural population through increased production (GOl 1977: 84-85). In the
early years of rural planning, agriculture alone became the major focus
of such efforts. There has been a realisation in recent decades that land
alone could not provide a livelihood to the increasing population. There
was also a recognjtion that the urban areas could not go on
accommodating the migrant rural population. Consequently, the rural
development assumed a widening scope, to include all aspects of rural
land, society and economy. The hopes of the planners rested on village
industries that can I.:ontribute to employment and meet the
developmental objectives (Sharan 1984: 145). This strategy has led to the
emergence and prominence of labour intensive and labour distributive
enterprises like animal husbandry and cottage and agro-industries. These
llldustries have readily become effective alternatives not only in fighting
the problems of poverty and unemployment but also in achieving the
equity objectives.
Sericulture is one of the labour- intensive, agro-based cottage
industries that has been attracting considerable rural population,
especially in South India, in recent years. Its high remuneration with less
investment, rich dividends and frequent attractive returns throughout the
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