Bio-villages instrumental in eradicating poverty: Dr. Swaminathan

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, NOV. 25. The Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Rajani Rai, today called for effective management of natural resources as the large scale conversion of agricultural lands for other purposes, indiscriminate use of topsoil for brickmaking and receding water table were matters of serious concern.

Inaugurating a workshop on `Bio-village programme' organised by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here today, Dr. Rai said the launching of an action plan to extend the concept of bio-village to all hamlets in the Union Territory by August 15, 2007, to go with the celebrations of 60th Independence Day was a laudable effort. She said such a plan had been prepared before the formal closure of the current phase of the UNDP- supported `bio-village' project.

Bio-village programmes were human-centric activities and developmental strategy including principles of ecology, economics and social and gender equity and in initial stages it was implemented in 1991 in three villages and was later expanded to 19 more villages. Now the project had come to be known as `Pondicherry Model of Sustainable Human Development' and become a mass movement, she said.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) would support the Government in its efforts to conserve of the environment, knowledge and skill empowerment of women and eradication of poverty. The knowledge centres promoted by MSSRF in villages owned and operated by local communities brought computer technology and internet facility to the poor.

The bio-village model of rural development helped to realise goals of food and work for all, the Lieutenant Governor said. Pondicherry could emerge as a model State in sustainable economic development based on the principles in `Agenda 21' of the Rio de Janeiro UN conference on environment and development.

The MSSRF chairman, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, said the concept of bio-village had revolutionised the development activities in rural areas. Poverty eradication was the foremost challenge encountered in the country and bio-village aimed at achieving the goal. He said various schemes evolved and implemented by the administration and the centrally-sponsored programmes to eliminate poverty were made accessible to the villagers.

The IFAD president, Mr. Fawzi Al Sultan, said the bio- village movement was a comprehensive plan covering not only the technological solutions like bio-pesticides but also the issue of livelihood of people. The issue of sustainability became meaningless if the people could not earn their livelihood with reasonable amount of effort. The IFAD's approach to development was similar to the bio-village movement, he said adding the IFAD had emphasised the adoption of participatory approaches in tribal development projects like farmers field schools for identification of needs development and dissemination of technologies.

Mr. Sultan said bio-village project was comprehensive as it went all the way from on-farm demonstrations on integrated pest management, soil health monitoring, biofertilizer and bio pesticide production to social mobilisation and micro-enterprise development.

Dr. K.V. Raman of the Foundation, presenting a report, said Pondicherry could emerge as the first State in the country as a hunger-free State, if the bio-village programme is successfully extended to all villages in the Union Territory. The plan now evolved addressed itself to the issues of landless, resource-less poor women. With Pondicherry presently not having elected local bodies, the self-help groups and councils could contribute to the development of the villages. The French Consul General, Mr. Christian Bader, was among those present. Prof. P.C. Kesavan, Executive Director of the Research Foundation, Dr. K. Balasubramanian, Director of the JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre, MSSRF, and Dr. A.R. Thiagarajan, National Project coordinator of bio-village, spoke.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Differences surface at inaugural venue
Next     : Posters hail Prabhakaran's birthday