Comparative analysis of status of farming of model villages and villages adopted under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in Maharashtra and Telangana

Rural development cannot happen in isolation without developing farming sector. Government of India on 11^th October, 2014 rolled out an ambitious program named as Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) for transforming villages into progressive or Adarsh Gram. But even before launch of SAGY, there already exists some model villages in India which Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) has enlisted them as successful villages or in other words, Model Villages. Hence it was a matter of interest to compare the performance of SAGY villages with Model Villages in terms of farming by developing a measurement tool, a composite index named Rural farming Status Index (RFSI). The study was undertaken in Maharashtra and Telangana. The index was developed by NUEPA method. In Maharashtra, RFSI value was highest in SAGY village Malunja Budruk (0.80) owing to large number of farmers practicing scientific farming and having multiple farm enterprises. Second highest RFSI value was obtained by Model Village Hivre Bazar (0.77) followed by SAGY village Tikekarwadi (0.70). Model village Maan had fourth highest RFSI value (0.60). In Telangana, SAGY villages fared well in RFSI values than Model villages. SAGY villages Dandepally (0.54) and Inovolu (0.52) were in first and second positions, respectively. Model village Ramachandrapuram (0.38) with third highest RFSI scored more than Model village Gangadevipally (0.28). The SAGY villages had achieved more progress than Model villages in Telangana with respect to farming.