As Mahatma Gandhi said, “India lives in villages”. But along with the fact, there lives poverty also. The governments have initiated and implemented many measures to eradicate poverty in rural areas. But it still persists. Poverty combined with illiteracy has made the lives of the rural folk miserable.
In India rural people eke out their livelihood mainly from agriculture which is subjected to vagaries of monsoon. When there is abundant yield thanks to good monsoon, prices fall and touch the rock bottom. When monsoon fails, there is no product to market. Government must come forward and private companies must be encouraged to build cold storage godowns to keep the agricultural products without damage and going waste for many months for better price.
The export of natural agricultural products can be encouraged by the government. As India has vast tract of arable lands, there are wide-range of possibilities to adopt Israeli agricultural techniques to increase the production many fold. Model Israeli farms have been set up in many places in India. In Tamilnadu, it is located at Reddiarchatram near Dindigul for dryland farming with less water. MGNREGA offers 100 or 150 day work to rural populace. This scheme needs revamp and analysis from area to area. Agriculture must be supported by small or micro scale industries and trades which will supplement the income of agriculturists in non-seasonal times. Rural poverty cannot be eliminated by freebies but by generating avenues for year long work and income. Skill development institutes must be set up in rural areas. By these measures not only can poverty be eliminated to a great extent but migration to urban centres can be stopped.