Rural Poverty and Agricultural Development in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is basically an agricultural economy. Agriculture is the backbone of the development of the Tamil Nadu economy. The role of agriculture in shaping the economy could be reflected from the large proportion of population that depends on agriculture for their livelihood and the significant contribution of agriculture to the state income. Due to its predominance, any positive and negative aspects of developments in the state could be linked with the performance of the agricultural sector. Hence, the concept of sustainable agriculture is more of a necessary issue of concern for solving the social and economic problems of the state. With this background, the present paper attempts to examine the linkages between rural poverty and agriculture in Tamil Nadu. The paper examined present status and trends in rural poverty in Tamil Nadu. It also examined the agriculture development and certain characteristics of agriculture in the state. By establishing the linkages between agriculture and poverty, the study argued that agricultural development would ensure food security, health and nutritional security, income and employment security, and economic and social security and thereby facilitate removal of poverty in Tamil Nadu.