Poverty Eradication holds key to address Challenge of Climate Change!

2015

Manoj Rawat
Head, Agribusiness Group
RBL Bank, Mumbai
mkrawat@gmail.com
The views expressed in this article are purely personal.

Poverty Eradication holds key to address Challenge of Climate Change!

The Challenge of Climate Change is no different than the Challenge of Poverty

Eradication. Unless we recognize Poverty Eradication comes top on priority and forms
an integral part of Climate Change Solution, we may be ignoring the core problem itself !
We now need some Genuine & Passionate Efforts for Eradication of Poverty of Millions of
people, as its the only actions that holds key to address the Challenge of Climate Change and in
a sustainable manner.
Besides Global dialogues, summits & policy announcement, there is an immediate need to agree
on the need for making for more Sincere & Genuine efforts by all Stakeholders ( including
political class) to agree that poverty eradication holds the Key to this in reality and on ground.
It's a massive task that involves millions of small farmers, wage earners, artisans, deprived
women and hungry populace.

Manoj Rawat | mkrawat@gmail.com

Poverty Eradication holds key to address Challenge of Climate Change!

2015

A hungry man cant see the right or wrong. He only

sees the Food.
Hungry Stomachs & Thirsty Throats cannot be preached
about Climate Change.

Its important Build Economic integration, Social capital and Resilience in Rural India to
address Climate Change, Drought, Natural Disasters and above all sustainable measures for
Poverty Eradication.
The achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is at the centre of
sustainable development. Sustainable rural development is vital to the economic, social and
environmental viability of nations and in particular for India. Sustainable Development with
Agriculture at the centre of it is essential for poverty eradication since global poverty is
overwhelmingly rural and therefore the Rural remain critical for success of sustainable Rural
Development.
1. Foremost is to Develop Healthy & Dynamic Agricultural Sector for hunger
eradication :
There the first and foremost need is for developing a healthy and dynamic agricultural
sector for Indias Development. A healthy and dynamic agricultural sector is an
important foundation of rural development, generating strong linkages to other
economic sectors. This is critical to implement comprehensive strategy for Poverty
eradication to deal with climate change, drought, desertification and natural disaster.
Lets not forget by 2030 we will have largest number of stomachs to feed, with same land
mass and water resources.
2. Creation of Employment opportunities in Rural Areas :
Close economic integration of rural areas with neighbouring urban areas and the
creation of rural off-farm employment can help narrow rural-urban disparities, expand
opportunities and encourage the retention of skilled youth force, in rural areas. There is
considerable potential for rural job creation not only in farming, agro processing and
rural industry but also in building rural infrastructure, in the sustainable management
of natural resources, waste and residues. Promote non-agricultural industries such as
mining, service industries, construction and commerce, in a sustainable manner, as a
source of employment and income for rural populations. The need to promote labourintensive activities in addition to capital-intensive programs will help sustainable
recovery of rural economy.

Manoj Rawat | mkrawat@gmail.com

Poverty Eradication holds key to address Challenge of Climate Change!

2015

3. Resilient Plan for Sustainable Development of Rural India

Rural communities in developing countries are still faced with challenges related to
access to basic services, economic opportunities and a sort of disregard in planning
related to rural-urban divide. There is need for promoting pro-poor planning and
budgeting at the national and local levels. There is need to manage create an
implementable framework for the various risks rural people face, including price,
weather, climate, water shortages, land degradation and natural disasters, including by
providing aid and promoting the development of agricultural insurance markets. A
need to expand access to markets for rural producers, associations and firms will help
the farmers and rural artisans realize the rightful price for produce.
4. Investment in Rural Infrastructure is more than critical
Investments in environmental protection, rural infrastructure and in rural health and
education are critical to sustainable rural development and can enhance national wellbeing. Beyond meeting basic needs, investments must be linked to the potential to raise
productivity and income. The vulnerabilities of the rural poor to the economic and
financial crisis and to climate change and water shortage must be addressed.
5. Protect & Ensure Sustainable management of natural resources
To protect and ensure sustainable management of natural resources its critical to
address the challenges of sustainable development. There is need to harmonize modern
technologies with traditional and indigenous knowledge for sustainable rural
development besides promoting sustainable forest management. There need to build
resilience of rural communities to cope with and recover from natural disasters. It is
important to encourage the use of land resources in a sustainable manner to prevent
land degradation that is caused by unsustainable exploitation of land resources,
promote environmentally friendly practices and promote safe and environmentally
sound waste management practices in Rural India. To improve access to reliable and
affordable energy services, renewable may be given a major push with incentives to
adopt it.
6. Investment in Strengthening the human capacities of rural people
Besides investing in minimum & essential infrastructure and services for rural
communities, its important to direct more public and private investments in
infrastructure in rural areas, including roads, and transport systems, storage and market
facilities, irrigation systems, affordable housing, water supply and sanitation services,
electrification and information and communications networks. Its important to enable
rural health-care facilities, ensure access to safe drinking water and creat adequate
sanitation facilities. It cannot be achieved unless strong focus on women empowerment
& gender equality to make this happen in sustained manner. Skill building may not be

Manoj Rawat | mkrawat@gmail.com

Poverty Eradication holds key to address Challenge of Climate Change!

2015

enough to retain youth in Rural areas unless the minimum infrastructure and income
generation opportunities are created.
The urgent need is to focussing on build economic integration, creating Social capital and
developing resilience in Rural India to address Climate Change, Drought , Natural Disasters
and above all sustainable measures for Poverty Eradication.
With millions of deprived & poor, the task is massive and will need real action on the
Ground beyond sporadic interventions.
As Pearl Buck said A hungry man cant see the right or wrong. He only sees the Food."
We do need address a poor person's daily struggle for his/her basic survival to make this
process far more inclusive and our plans for mitigating climate change working in reality.

Manoj Rawat | India

http://www.manojrawat.com
mkrawat@gmail.com

Manoj Rawat | mkrawat@gmail.com