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-- But what have we made out of these gifts of nature? We are today ranking low even among the developing world, in terms of productivity, well being etc. But we are fairly high up in the number of educated people and the skills that we can practice. But this intellectual asset is not spread over the whole population and is restricted to only a small section of the society. If only we spread it to all, we can be at the forefront. We should not be profiteering but a just profit is what propels development. Our lack of skills is conspicuous on the agriculture front. We produce 17% of the world's rice but our average yield/ hectare is 20 quintals, while China produces 54q, Bangladesh produces 24 and Burma 29; Japan has the highest with 629 /hectare. The story is repeated in groundnut production also. We produce 22% of the world's groundnut but not very efficiently; our yields of groundnut in shell, are 700kg/hectare, Burma is 1000, China is 2000, and USA is 2600 kg /hectare Wheat is a better picture. We have an average of 2000 kg/hectare and UK with 5900 kg/hectare is the highest. China has 3000 kg/hectare USA has just 2500kg/hectare But this should give hope that we can increase our agricultural output several folds, with the same land under cultivation. That is the basis of our Development Opportunity increasing productivity in our agriculture and industry, 3. What is an opportunity? What is Development? We see turmoil all around us. We see misery, suffering and frustration. Certainly, we are not a happy nation. But we see smiling children playing even in miserable surroundings. There is hope and there is potential. If all the youth can aspire to make the best use of their faculties and live a life with pride- that will be our aim for development. Rural Development Through Education System 221
