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Impact of Rural Service Centres on Changing Patterns
of Crop Cultivation: A Micro Level Study of Chhotakimath Centre of Jehanabad District, Bihar (2001-2021) |
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| Paper Id :
18739 Submission Date :
2024-02-13 Acceptance Date :
2024-02-23 Publication Date :
2024-02-25
This is an open-access research paper/article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.10997797 For verification of this paper, please visit on
http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/researchtimes.php#8
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| Abstract |
The rural centre
provides different types of services to their population as well as the
population of their surrounding areas. The Centres serve the important functions
of agricultural activities, and plays vital role in the selection of crops by
the farmers of area. With the development of service centres the area under
vegetable crops cultivation have been increasing. The economy of Bihar State is
mainly agriculture based (Census 2011) and approximately 88.70 percent people
of Bihar live in rural areas. The main objective of this research paper is to
study the impact of rural service centres in the selection of crops by the
farmers of the study areas. The study is
mainly based on primary data which have been collected through field work and
observation by the researcher. The selected micro level study area of Jehanabad
district of Bihar is Chhotakimath rural service centre, situated on the eastern
bank of Kararua river (Branch of Falgu
river). As per observation, it is found that there are changes occurred in crops cultivation
in the area concerned and the surrounding areas as a result of increasing
facilities in the Chhotakimath rural service centre in the area. |
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| Keywords | Rural Service Centre, Crop Diversification, Vegetable Crops, Rural Development. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction | Rural Service Centre provides
different types of services to their population as well as the population of
the surrounding areas. Rural service centres of many developing countries serve
the important functions for providing most of commercial public services for
the dispersed rural population. Hence they play vital role in the development
of Bihar, because approximately 88.70% people of Bihar live in rural areas. We
know that, agriculture is the means of livelihood of major portion of the
people of Bihar. It is an important economic activity of rural areas playing an
important role in socio-economic and cultural upliftment. But, in the modern
days the maximum people of rural areas are unable to get maximum profit from
their economic activities due to various causes such as- lack of nearest market
centre, transport facilities, educational institutions, medical facilities etc.
and unawareness from governmental policies. Due to availability of nearest
market facilities, the farmers try to cultivate that type of crops from which they
can get maximum profit and for maximum profit, the farming shifted from grain
crops cultivation to vegetable crops cultivation. Presently the major rural service
centres of Jehanabad district are Kako, Tehata, Okari, Modanganj, Hulasganj,
Qazisarai etc of which Chhotakimath is also important for providing services. |
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| Objective of study | The main objective of the present study are- 1. To study the functions of Chhotakimath rural service centre. 2. To study the impact of rural service centres in the selection of crops. |
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| Review of Literature | Many scholars have studied the role of rural service
centres, many and contributed extensively and suggested much solution &
planning for the rural development to the government. In this context Chang,
B.L.(1979); Bromley, R.(1984); Christaller, W.(1933); Katiman, Rostam (1991)
have important contribution. B.L. Chang have studied about the role of a small
town in Rural-Urban Development in Northern Malaysia, Bromley has studied about
the market centres and its impact on an agricultural development, Katiman
Rostam have studied about the role of rural service centres in rural
development in Malaysia. In India, Swaminathan (1928); Sinha, M.M.P.(1942);
Sinha, V.N.P.(1976); Mandal, R.B.(1981); Sudhir Wanmali & Yassir Islam (1995);
Jha, V.N.((2006) and many other scholars have also contributed important role
in this field. At present, Kumar, Anil (2007); Kumar, Vishwavijay (2010) and
Kumar, Vivek (2019) of Patna University, like young scholars have also contributed
in this regard. Which have spelt out the role of Rural Service Centres in
agricultural development of their surrounding service areas. |
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| Hypothesis | The following hypotheses have been formulated- 1. Facilities in rural service centres increase with the passage of time. 2. Pattern of crops cultivation change with the development of rural service centre. |
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| Methodology | The present study is
mainly based on primary as well as secondary sources of data. The primary data
have been collected from field survey by interviewing the villagers and the
secondary data have been obtained from census Report, 2011, books, research journals and unpublished PhD
theses as well as internet. The data have been analysed by suitable statistical
methods and represented through tables, maps & diagrams. |
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| Analysis |
Study area: The selected micro level study area of Bihar is Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre of Jehanabad district, situated on the eastern bank of Kararua river (Branch of Falgu river) in Modanganj Block. It has geographical coordinates 25° 18’ 43” N and 85° 08’ 07” E. As per census 2011, total population of Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre is 1363 (Note- The settlement area of Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre is a combined settlement area of Chhotakimath village (Population 1073 people) and adjacent settlement area of a tola of Bahrampur village of Patna district having population 290). IZ is situated approximately 35 KMs. South from Patna Zero mile and approximately 20 Km. North-east from Jehanabad railway station. It is demarcated by Bahrampur village in north, Dewra in south, Shadipur in east and Sultanpur in the west. The villages who get different types of services from Chhotakimath rural service centre are mainly Chhotakimath, Bahrampur, Bahrampur (Bigha), Olipur, Kisunganj, Shadipur, Dewra, Planipar, Sultanpur and Marhipar.
Rural Service Centre: Walter Christaller was
the primary scholar who propounded the concept of rural service centre
approximately 90 years ago. He postulated his ‘Central place theory’ in 1933,
in which he tried to explain the distribution and special arrangements of human
settlements. Rural service centres are those focal points in rural area, around
which rural life revolves, because that focal point provide different types of
necessary services (such as- nearest market, trade, transport and communication,
educational and medical services, administrative services, financial services,
facilities of purchasing agriculture inputs and selling agricultural products)
which make the rural life easy. As per census 2011, the
population of Jehanabad district was 1125313 of which 990117 (88%) people were
living in rural area and approximately 77.42% of Jehanabad's total workers
engaged in agriculture work. Vivek Kumar (2019) in his Research work identified
59 villages as rural service centres in Jehanabad district, Chhotakimath Rural
Service Centre was not in that list and so Chhotakimath is a newly evolved Rural Service
Centre, which provide various types of services to their own and the
surrounding population, that facilitate the rural life and became helpful for
agricultural development motivating the farmers to grow the market based more
remunerative vegetable crops instead of traditional grain crops. Services provided by
Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre:
The Rural Service Centres are conceived as a bridge between the urban and rural area to serve as diffusion centre of services. It plays an important role in efficient Services delivery and agricultural development, so that they affect the selection of crops cultivated in the serviced areas. Table – 1: Services / Facilities available in Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre (Years: 2001, 2011 & 2021)
The socio-economic functions
of rural service centres play vital role in the development of rural areas. At
present the following functions / facilities are available in the study area
(Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre), which have been increasing with passes of
time.
Financial facilities: Till 2011, there was
no any financial centre in the Chhotakimath rural service centre but at present
there are two financial centres which provide the financial facilities (Money
deposit - money withdrawal from bank account) to the villagers. Medical facilities: Before development as
service centre, there was only one miscellaneous store in Chhotakimath village
for providing normal medical facilities but at present there are three
allopathic and one homeopathic health centre and seven medical stores are
available in the Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre, which are providing primary
medical facilities to the people of Chhotakimath as well as surrounding
villages. Transport and
communication facilities: Before the year 2011, Chhotakimath
village was an isolated area not connected by any types of roads (Metalled or Unmetalled),
And having not any communication facilities except personal mobile phones, but
with the passage of time, transport and communication facilities have developed
in the village and at present it has cyber cafe which connects the villagers to
the global village. Currently the Chhotakimath rural service centre is
surrounded by metalled roads from all sides, which connect the village with SH-100,
SH-01 and other important road routes (Patna-Gaya, Masaurhi-Akangar sarai). At the
south-west corner of the village (Chhotakimath), there is an auto stand on the
river bridge, which provide the regular transport facility to the villagers, that
help in the transportation of agriculture inputs from outer markets to the
villages and agricultural products from villages to the outer markets, so that
now farmers try to cultivate the market based crops. Diffusion of Medical, Agricultural
and other Governmental information: Apart from mass media, talks and discussion
are also important in diffusion of information. Rural service centre is the
lowest unit in the hierarchy of service centres, which plays an important role
in the diffusion of information related to medical, agricultural and other
concern governmental schemes with an aim to get help in the development of
rural area. Market based
facilities: In the study area (Chhotakimath village) there
was no market based facilities except 3-4 general stores till 2001, but due to
efforts and cooperation of people of Chhotakimath and surrounding villages, an
alternate day (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) “Sabji-Haat Bazaar “ was started
in 2001 and from that time, various types of market based facilities (shops /
centres) were setup with passes of time. It can be understood by Table: 1 (Services
/ Facilities available in the Chhotakimath Rural Service Centre). Changing Patterns of
crops cultivation in the areas of Rural Service Centre:
Traditionally
the farmers of the selected study area had tried to cultivate all types of
crops by which they could fulfill their own necessity, So that, they had grown
various types of crops during different cropping seasons (Kharif, Ravi and Zaid)
like- food grains, wheat, paddy, kharif maize, pulses (khesari, masoor and
moong), oil seeds (mustard, sun flower, red mustard (Rai/Tori) and tisi/flaxseeds),
vegetables (potato, onion, garlic and various types of green vegetables &
saag), spices (coriander/dhaniya, chili, turmeric, methi, mangaraila/kalonji
and ajwain) fibre crops (Sunn/Sanai) and other crops.
Generally these crops are
grown in a combined form of two or more crops (mixed cropping pattern) and
according to cropping season rotational cropping pattern was practiced and the
proportion of area under various crops was equivalent to their own consumption.
That is, they were fully subsistence farmers, but the Table: B (Area under
different crops) revealed that, now a days, the agricultural scenario became
changed and shifted to maximum profit, So, the cultivating crops and cropping
pattern became change under the influence of Rural Service Centre. That is, availability
of nearest market for purchasing of agricultural inputs and for selling of
agricultural produce, infrastructure development, use of chemical fertilizer, HYV
seeds, modern technology and demand in the market. Currently the agricultural
activities shifting from subsistence agriculture to profitable agriculture and
at present the number of crops grown is decreased to some selected crops (like-
paddy, wheat, Zaid maize, masoor, gram, mustard, potato, chili , turmeric and
so many green vegetables and saag), And so many crops are not cultivating now (like
– Kharif maize, khesari, onion, sun flower, moong, methi, tori/rai, tisi, kalonji,
ajwain, sunn/sanai etc.). That is, with the development of Rural Service Centre
and rural development, the agricultural activities shifting from traditionally
grown less remunerative crops to more remunerative crops, due to availability
of nearest market facility to sell the agricultural produce easily and
availability of regular electricity supply as a cheap irrigation resource. |
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| Findings |
1.
Production of vegetables in all cropping seasons is highly influenced
(positive) by Rural Service Centre due to availability of nearest market to
sell the vegetables. 2.
Production of khesari has decreased greatly due to medical reason, that use of
khesari causes paralysis. 3.
Production of kharif maize, onion, sun flower, & moong has decreased
rapidly as these crops are not profitable. 4.
Production of Zaid maize has highly increased due to regular electric supply as
a cheap irrigation resource. 5.
Production of paddy has slightly decreased due to irrigation problems. 6.
Production of masoor has increased rapidly as a substitute of khesari
production but cultivation of gram has highly increase due to availability of
market and as a substitute of khesari production.
7.
Chhotakimath rural service centre has grown rapidly with its rural functions
and services. |
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| Conclusion |
On the basis of the
findings of the present paper, it can be said, that the rural service centre plays
an important role in the agricultural development as well as rural development.
Of the study area, these centres are positively correlated and have greater
impact on production of vegetable crops and other market based crops (like-
gram and zaid maige / corn). The Rural Service Centres also influences the
farmers to shift from traditional crops cultivation to more remunerative crops,
because it provide road connectivity and market facilities for selling of
agriculture produce and purchasing of agricultural inputs. |
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| Suggestions for the future Study | Some of the suggestions for the development of rural service centres and the surrounding areas are - 1. Government should setup a collection centre as rural service centre, where farmers may sell their agricultural products at MSP. 2. Government should encourage farmers for soil testing and selection of suitable crops. 3. Government should organise seasonal workshop at local level for the farmers to provide knowledge of cultivation methods and crops suitability. 4. Government should make available HYV seeds and fertilizers on time in markets. 5. Farmers should make an association for collecting agricultural products, mainly vegetable crops and sell that product in the large urban centres by which they can get more profit. |
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| References | 1. Bama
Ganguli (2014); Rural employment – A challenging task, Kurukshetra, Volume –
62, No.- 12, October 2014, Page 32-35. 2. Christaller, Walter (1933); Central place theory. 3. Ishtiyaque, M. (2017); Indian Agricultural Scenario: An overview. Geographical perspective (2017), volume- 18. 4. Katiman, Rostam (1991); The role of rural service centre in rural development: S study of settlements in Hilir Perak, Malaysia. Akademika – 38, January 1991, page 28-58. 5. Kumar, Vivek (2019); Bihar ke Jehanabad jila me Gramin Seva Kendron ka kshetriya pratiroop. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Patna University Patna, Page 2, 4, 13 and 14. 6. Kumar, Vivek (2020); Role of Rural Service Centre in sustainable development: A case study of Jehanabad district of Bihar. Asian Resonance, Volume – 9, Issue – 3, July 2020, Page 34-39. 7. Sudhir Wanmali & Yassir Islam (1995); Rural Service, Rural infrastructure and regional development in India. Geographical journal, Volume – 161, No.- 2, July 1995. 8. Tiwari, K.N.(2019); Gramin krishitar kshetra ko badhawa. Kurukshetra, Year – 65, Issue – 9, July 2019, Page 9 – 13. 9. Vivek kumar (2018); Changing scenario of agricultural development in Bihar: A micro level study of Bahrampur village of Patna district. International Journal of Research, Volume -05, Issue – 12, April – 2018, Page 1058-1065. 10. Vivek kumar (2018); Gramin kshetron ke vikas me Gramin Seva Kendron ka yogdan: Patna jila ke Dhanarua prakhand ka ak bhougolik adhyayan. Research journal of social and life sciences, Volume – XXVI-I, December 2018, page 92-101. 11. District Census Handbook, Jehanabad, Bihar, Census of India 2011. 12. Google Map. 13. https://www.gps.coordinates.net 14. www.onefivenine.com 15. www.wikipedia.com |
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