Energy requirements for rural development

The study points out that the percentage of energy use for purely agricultural activities is actually quite small; however, the effects of farm modernization techniques such as mechanization, irrigation, the use of high-yielding seed varieties and commercial fertilizers, and infrastructural development - all of which are analyzed herein - do have a direct bearing on overall energy use in rural areas. The paper focuses on energy use at the production rather than household level, noting that a significant amount of literature is available on the latter. Energy use as a result of industrial development, a vital but often overlooked aspect of rural development, is also discussed. The report does not depend heavily on numerical data; however, it does attempt to assemble some data which are directly and indirectly related to rural energy use so that they will be accessible in one place.