The learning organisation as a model for rural development

This article presents evidence from Uganda's National Agricultural Advisory Service to argue that the concept of ‘the learning organisation’ is a valuable complement to participatory development which may facilitate a shift towards more democratic development institutions in which target beneficiaries have a stronger voice in planning and managing development. The concept of ‘the learning organisation’ as developed within the literature of management studies cannot, however, be readily translated into anything as specific as a clear set of practical guidelines. Rather it acts as a seed that grows to take on characteristics specific to the rural development context.     

Centring development: Education centres supporting rural development

Abstract

Since the 1950s various paradigms of development have aimed to improve living conditions in the developing world (Africa, Asia and Latin America). Globalisation has increased the gap between information and technology haves and have-nots, and development practice (born out of the paradigms developed over the past fifty years) now seeks to address issues such as access to information communication technology (ICT) and the need for developing countries to participate in the global economy. This article examines the first year of the joint venture between the Media in Education Trust (MiET) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZNDE) to develop Education Centres Supporting Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, and how these centres address a crucial aspect of development – the question of access.     

Empowerment for development: Taking participatory appraisal further in rural South Africa

This paper examines the potential for Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques to contribute to community development and empowerment in a deprived rural community in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A series of participatory workshops was undertaken in which various new techniques were used to identify people-environment relationships and, in particular, the community perception of the value and problems relating to the river and riparian zone. The workshops led to the community taking positive action to address the problems identified. The study indicates the value and role of participatory research among disempowered communities in rural Africa.     

Critical evaluation of planning frameworks for rural water and sanitation development projects

Poor initial planning processes have been implicated in the high failure rate of rural water and sanitation development projects. This article critically examines 17 existing planning frameworks for rural water supply and sanitation projects with respect to key attributes of good planning practice, in order to discover the extent to which these address the elements of planning that relate to sustainability. It identifies sustainability-related factors from the sector that have been recognised as such and incorporated into current frameworks, as well as factors that are not yet well covered, and makes recommendations to practitioners wishing to employ such frameworks.     

Saving behaviour of citrus farmers in Ghana: implications for rural enterprise development

This article reports on a study that examined the saving behaviour of farmers in southern Ghana, using a sample of 100 citrus farmers. Probit and Tobit models were used in determining the factors that influence farmers’ saving behaviours and amount of saved, respectively. The empirical findings showed that age, household size, dependency, marital status, distance to financial institution, transport cost and congestion exerted significant negative impact on farmers’ saving behaviours. On the other hand, income, education, and gender tended to promote good saving behaviour. The article concludes that heterogeneity of factors ranging from socio-economic, household assets, and institutional factors greatly stimulate farmers’ saving behaviour.     

Trading culture for development: assessing perceptions among rural agropastoral peoples in Tanzania

Development in rural parts of Africa is strongly desired by local people. Other views expressed by local people towards outside development initiatives vary considerably. Some perceptions are negative, as development recipients view development as a destructive agent of change in the local culture. Despite the negative effects associated with development, this study documented a unanimous desire among a stratified random sample of 418 respondents for more development interventions. Two villages in south-central Tanzania were selected based upon their adjacent proximity to Ruaha National Park. Findings suggest that a capability framework is useful for exploring local perceptions to outside development assistance.     

The development role of community banks in rural Nigeria

This paper examined the development role of community banks in rural Nigeria by using the deposit mobilization capability and funding capacity in key sectors of the rural economy as yardsticks. By using a cluster sampling technique, it looks at the achievements of the community banking scheme initiative in terms of economic development. The scheme, established in 1991, has sustained itself and promoted rural development in the country. It is noted that communities have, for the first time, realized that they can advance their own economic fortunes. However, the scheme's performance as supporter of the agricultural sector has not been as well as expected, despite the fact that agriculture dominates Nigeria's rural economy. In view of this, non-banking activities are a welcome development since some of their approaches are proven to be knowledge enhancing and empowering for the rural population. Overall, community banks should attempt to strengthen non-banking approaches by collaborating more with self-help groups or nongovernmental organizations to be more empowering, results-oriented, and sustainable. Moreover, regulatory authorities should ensure that guidelines relate to credit application in terms of volume and sector allocation.     

A rural economic development plan to help the USA win its war on cocaine

Since the 1980s, the USA has fought cocaine in the Andes with carrots and sticks: interdiction and crop eradication wield the sticks, while Alternative Development (AD), which offers economic assistance to farmers who voluntarily abandon illicit cultivation, provides the carrots. Yet cocaine continues to permeate US streets, and rural Andean communities remain isolated from the legitimate economy. Many critics blame US belligerence for compounding the Andean drug war. The underlying problem with the existing strategy, however, might not be the aggressiveness of its military sticks, but the flimsiness of its development carrots. The inability of AD to persuade farmers to abandon coca cultivation may be causing US policy makers to over-apply military solutions – often inflaming rural communities and exacerbating regional instability in so doing. Few legal crops can match the earning power of coca. The article therefore suggests that the US carrot could be made more attractive by adopting a Venture Development model which helps rural farmers to process their legal produce into high-quality finished goods that command premium prices. Such a strategy could conceivably choke the cocaine engine by applying market-based forces to address market-based realities.     

Inclusive planning and allocation for rural services

The authors draw on experience from Uganda's commitment to decentralisation. This commitment is transforming the way services are planned and financed; new associations between local governments, NGOs, and private sector agencies are being created. Much attention has focused on the adoption of various techniques-such as participatory rural appraisal-through which direct and intensive forms of participation can be encouraged in decentralised planning. This trend is critically examined and potential unintended consequences are highlighted. A broader concept of accountability is outlined to illustrate a more inclusive approach to planning and allocation for more equity and sustainability in rural services.     

Ruralisation: a tool for rural transformation

There is a concept that development practitioners have either not heard of or not read, or have chosen to ignore – ruralisation. Unlike urbanisation in urban studies, ruralisation is rarely used as a concept in rural research. It remains a poorly explored concept. By challenging existing notions about the use of the concept, this article attempts to (re)introduce ruralisation as a fundamental concept in rural studies. What is ruralisation? Why do we need it? How can we use it for rural transformations? The article addresses these critical questions. It defines ruralisation and presents its conceptual framework for rural transformation.     

New technology for rural women: Paradoxes of sustainability

This article discusses the difficulties of reaching relatively poor populations with labour-saving technologies. Taking the case of milling and dehulling technologies in Senegal and The Gambia, it presents a simple analytic model that helps to explain why the vast majority of these labour-saving machines are under-utilised in rural areas. Though donors continue to support such projects widely, in few cases do they provide significant benefits to the broad population in the short term, and nor are they sustainable in the longer term. The key constraint is the lack of effective demand, owing to rural women's limited income-generating opportunities. In the time saved by using a machine to dehull or mill their coarse grains, they are unable to earn enough money even to pay the fees to use the machine, much less to earna surplus.     

Social security for rural widows in Rajasthan: an empirical study

Widows are one of the socially excluded groups in India. This study primarily focuses on the needs of widows in Rajasthan for social security, and also seeks to examine the outreach of existing social security schemes to them. The study found that a considerable proportion of widows are engaged in physically-demanding casual work. Involvement in casual employment reveals the vulnerability of widows since such employment is often considered the last resort for earning a living. Social security in various forms can play a crucial role in their lives.

La sécurité sociale et les veuves rurales au Rajasthan : une étude empirique

Les veuves constituent en Inde un des groupes exclus de la société. Cette étude est axée essentiellement sur les besoins de sécurité sociale chez les veuves au Rajasthan ; elle essaie aussi d'examiner les programmes actuels de la sécurité sociale qui sont destinés à leur aide. L'auteur de cette étude a trouvé qu'un pourcentage important de veuves sont engagées dans un travail physiquement éprouvant et à titre temporaire. L'emploi à titre temporaire met à jour la vulnérabilité des veuves puisqu'un tel emploi est souvent considéré comme la dernière solution pour survivre. La sécurité sociale sous ses différentes formes peut jouer un rôle capital dans leur vie.

Seguro social para las viudas del área rural en Rajastán: un estudio empírico

Las viudas de India conforman uno de los grupos socialmente excluidos. El presente artículo se centra en las necesidades de seguro social existentes entre las viudas de Rajastán y pretende examinar el alcance que distintos programas de seguro social tienen para este sector. Las conclusiones del estudio demuestran que un número significativo de viudas participa en el sector del trabajo informal físicamente exigente. En este sentido, la participación en el empleo informal constituye un indicador de la vulnerabilidad de las viudas, ya que este sector se considera como el último recurso para ganarse un ingreso. El seguro social en sus distintas variedades puede llegar a desempeñar un rol importante en las vidas de las viudas.

Segurança social para viúvas da área rural em Rajasthan: um estudo empírico

As viúvas são um dos grupos socialmente excluídos da Índia. Este estudo primariamente concentra-se nas necessidades das viúvas em Rajasthan de segurança social, e também busca examinar o alcance de esquemas de segurança social existentes para elas. O estudo constatou que uma considerável proporção de viúvas está engajada em trabalho temporário fisicamente demandante. O envolvimento em emprego temporário mostra a vulnerabilidade das viúvas, uma vez que tais empregos são frequentemente considerados a última opção para se ganhar a vida. A segurança social pode, de várias formas, desempenhar um papel crucial em suas vidas.     

Demand for democracy in resilient authoritarianism: evidence from rural China

This article investigates the sources of public demand for democratic institutions under authoritarian rule. While a growing body of literature recognizes that in authoritarian polities such as China, economic development does not lead to democratization in a linear fashion, our understanding of the sources of democratization in resilient authoritarianism remains limited. This article provides an empirical test of the three most compelling theories to subsequently emerge: modernization theory, social capital theory, and institutional theory. The results of a survey conducted in the countryside of Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces provide support for the institutional approach in understanding public demand for democracy in rural China, while the modernization theory and social capital theory are shown to be less useful. Specifically, results show that people working in the government system are core supporters of the regime, whereas income, education attainment, social trust, and one’s satisfaction with regime institutions turn out to be irrelevant and do not serve as direct sources of public demand for democracy. These results extend our understanding of the complex interaction between an authoritarian regime and its people, shedding new light on the democratic prospects for resilient authoritarianism.     

Empowering rural women's groups for strengthening economic linkages: some Indian experiments

Through organizing informal self-help groups (SHGs), rural women in India are provided credit and extension support for various production-oriented income-generating activities. These activities usually include garment-making, embroidery, food processing, bee-keeping, basketry, gem cutting, weaving, and knitting. SHGs are self-governed, with decisions about production and marketing taken collectively, although the group leader is responsible for identifying potential marketing centers and consumers. These groups represent a new culture in rural development, breaking with traditional bureaucracy and top-down management. Informal groups empower rural women to manage rural industries and make decisions collectively for their common economic interests. Experience with SHGs in Orissa, lessons from nongovernmental organization intervention, and a model for empowering poor people in a small town in Kerala are discussed.