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FUNDAMENTALS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rural development Rural development is the set of activities and actions of diverse actors-individuals, organizations, groups-which taken together leads to progress in rural areas. Progress is defined differently: historically, material progress-growth of incomes and wealth, poverty alleviation –has been the main consideration in development theory and practice. Today other indicators of progress- cultural, spiritual, ethical-are increasingly taking their place beside material in a reformulated, more holistic concept of development. In the very definition there is then evidence that old paradigms are breaking down, and a new one formed (Shepherd, 1998). Rural development interventions should pay special attention to the more vulnerable segment, the farmers especially, with the goal of gradually detaching them from complete dependence on agriculture without putting their food security at risk. Rural development is a very complicated phenomenon; usually it is a long-term and iterative process. Development projects are commonly assessed during the mid-term and after project completion. Many projects are implemented in a medium-period range and by the time of their completion, their real outcomes for rural development have not yet manifested. The success of these projects then is assessed based only on accomplishment of the implementation plan and not on the rural development outcomes. Similar loopholes are duplicated in the design of future projects, and potential outcomes of similar prototypes are seldom integrated into the design (Barrios, 2007). Other kinds of development defined Urban development Globally, 55% of the population lives in urban areas today, and this trend is expected to continue. The speed and scale of urbanization brings challenges, including meeting accelerated demand for affordable housing, well-connected transport systems, and other infrastructure, basic services, as well as jobs, particularly for the nearly 1 billion urban poor who live in informal settlements to be near opportunities. Cities also play an important role in tackling climate change, as they consume close to 2/3 of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As cities develop, their exposure to climate and disaster risk also increases. Almost half a billion urban residents live in coastal areas, increasing their vulnerability to storm surges and sea level rise (World bank, 2018). Asian Development Bank ADB (2018) identifies key approaches in addressing urban issues and challenges that hampered urban development. These are (a) stakeholder partnerships by which cities partner with private sector, other cities, and organizations to exchange information, build capacities, expand resources and enhance revenues, and implement improvements in urban management; (b) Formulation of city development strategies by which several cities across the region have formulated development strategies based on long-term visions and an analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Cities recognized the essential link and complementarity between national development policies and city development strategies; (c) Inter-local cooperation- There is a growing appreciation for the linkages between rural and urban areas, particularly in terms of inter-local cooperation in the face of the emergence of city-
sought among social, economic and environmental concerns. Related to these specific approaches to energy efficiency, disaster mitigation, as well as resource and cultural heritage conservation, are being developed; and (e) City leaders as economic managers -City leaders have shifted from a purely political orientation to an entrepreneurial and economic management approach. Some cities have initiated successful experiments in innovative techniques adapted from the private business sector, such as asset management. Community development Community development improves the situation of a community, not just economically, but also as a strong functioning community in itself. Rural community development builds the five capitals of a community – physical, financial, human, social and environmental. It is through participation in their community that people rethink problems and expand contacts and networks; building social capital. They learn new skills, building human capital. They develop new economic options, building physical and financial capital. They also can improve their environment. The "concrete" benefits of community development, such as employment and infrastructure, come through local people changing attitudes, mobilising existing skills, improving networks, thinking differently about problems, and using community assets in new ways (Cavaye, 2015). Community development is fundamentally based on the values of human rights, social justice, equality and respect for diversity. The principles which underpin its practice are (a) Self-determination - people and communities have the right to make their own choices and decisions; (b) Empowerment - control and use of their own assets and means to influence; (d) Collective action; and (e) Working and learning together (SCDC, 2018). Countryside development The countryside is rich in resources and can be used as developer in itself. Commentators tend to agree that the rural resource is becoming increasingly subject to pressures arising from an ever wider range of economic, social, political and environmental influences. For example, rural tourism illustrates the advantages of adopting a sustainable development approach to identifying suitable policies and strategic action plans to assist in addressing these increasingly complex challenges. Re- conceptualising the rural resource as a kind of ‘capital asset’ of the rural tourism industry can be developed. Re-conceptualising the rural resource as countryside capital provides a more holistic and integrated understanding of the rural tourism production system, which will be required if rural communities are to capture more effectively the potential benefits rural tourism has to offer them. This, in turn, enables a much clearer articulation of the rationale for public-, private- and voluntary-sector investment in rural resources to be made (Garrod et al., 2006). Functional development Functional development pertains to specific functions (that are functional) of the key players in the area. Different parts/institutions in rural areas are interrelated and interdependent in their interaction with one another. Each institution also perform a specific function for the good of the whole or for the stability and growth of the society.
BASIS FOR
COMPARISON
URBAN RURAL
Holistic development The concept of holistic development emphasizes all aspects like social, ecological and political dimensions of development. We can view holistic development as the interaction of the ecological, economic, and social systems, taking into account ethical aspects: a) the economic approach to development; b) the ecological approach to sustainable development; c) the social concept; d) the organization (institutional) dimension (Ciegis, 2009). These should be considered together before pursuing a development plan. Distinguishing features of rural from urban While rural areas may develop randomly on the basis of natural vegetation and fauna available in a region, urban settlements are proper, planned settlements built up according to a process called urbanization. Urban settlements are defined by their advanced civic amenities, opportunities for education, facilities for transport, business and social interaction and overall better standard of living. Socio-cultural statistics are usually based on an urban population. Urban areas are also classified according to land use and density of population. But this can vary from developed countries to developing countries. Below is the comparison chart according to Surbhi (2016). Meaning (^) A settlement where the population is very high and has the features of a built environment, is known as urban. An area located in the outskirts, is known as rural. Includes Cities and towns Villages and hamlet Life Fast and complicated Simple and relaxed Environment Greater isolation from nature. Direct contact with nature. Associated with Non-agricultural work, i.e. trade, commerce or provision of services. Agriculture and livestock. Population size Densely populated Sparsely populated Development Planned settlement exists in urban areas, that are developed according to the process of urbanization and industrialization. Developed randomly, based on availability of natural vegetation and fauna in the area.
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URBAN RURAL
Division of labor Always present at the time of job allotment. No such division. Four support services of Rural Development and how these should be addressed a. Infrastructure On the study conducted by ADB institute (2008) in the Philippines, among the different ARCP interventions, it appears that rural infrastructure—roads, in particular—has the strongest impact on poverty. Developing rural infrastructure has improved commodity transfer to markets and the inflow of production inputs to farms. Improved mobility of production inputs and outputs to and from farms has decreased the prices of inputs and increased income from agricultural produce. This finding is consistent with Balisacan’s 2001 contention that “public investments in infrastructure, especially rural transport, generate economic linkages and externalities critical to sustained growth and development of the economy.” Balisacan et al. (2002) also assert: “Road access can improve the well being of the poor provided they have sufficient human capital to take advantage of [such access]”. How to address: The following are considerations for the design of future similar projects: The design and implementation of access infrastructure projects should include targeting project beneficiaries with special bias for the poorest of the poor; Operations and maintenance of access infrastructure should be integral to the project design and operations; infrastructure users—particularly the households who hold most of the benefits (i.e., transport operators)—should be required to bear a larger share of facility maintenance and upkeep; The packaging of access infrastructure projects should be accompanied by other support interventions that ensure the inclusion of the poor and help enhance their capacities and capabilities. Some of these interventions are: provision of credit, microenterprise development services, agricultural technology transfer, social capital formation, and gender integration. In project design and operations, measures that minimize the negative impacts of access infrastructure projects on the extreme poor and women should be integral even beyond the project’s construction duration. As transport infrastructure development often replaces the manual mode of transporting agriculture products with mechanized forms, attention should be paid to minimizing job displacement impact for the poor who work in hauling commodities. A development project may assist in identifying new employment opportunities for that particular group of poor wage laborers or providing a training program for them to work as mechanics in the transport sector.
b. Marketing
An efficient marketing system can provide better prices to producers and improve the availability of competitively priced produce to consumers. In some cases new
d. Communication Rural development concerns usually focus on determining what rural people need in order to move up the socio-economic ladder. Most interventions revolve around investments and technologies that would improve livelihood, and the inputs necessary to put these technologies into use. While these are considered necessary conditions to help bring about development, they are not necessarily sufficient to sustain the desired progress. Development efforts in recent years have started to focus on other equally important factors such as human capacity and access to relevant information, knowledge and services. Documented experiences and lessons from the field have in fact indicated that development tends to fail for two basic reasons: • lack of participation
- ineffective communication (Acunzo et al, 2014). How to address: Responding to these challenges requires a combination of immediate, medium and long- term measures directed towards: strengthening rural knowledge institutions; improving knowledge and information sharing among the variety of rural actors and stakeholders (national agricultural research and extension systems, educational institutions, private service providers, grassroots organizations, NGOs, etc.); encouraging people’s participation to promote concerted action. Specific roles of social institutions in rural development and how it encourage or deter development Each institution has vital functions towards achieving development. e. Family: The family unit is vital to the daily lives of most individuals in society. It contributes significantly to the maintenance of society and transmission of any society’s culture to its new generation. At present, family farming is a subject of great importance for sustainable development of rural communities and promotion of healthy lifestyle. The family being the basic unit of the Filipino society shall be primarily responsible for the education and awareness of the members of the family on the ill effects of dangerous drugs and close monitoring of family members. According to FAO Policies, family farming is a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family labour, including both women’s and men’s (Toader, 2015). a. School: Education fulfills socialization and cultural transmission functions. It serves as a bridge that link younger and older generations. It can also be described as the channel of transmitting new ideas, values, moral, skills, knowledge and norms cherished by society. In this context, education has strong links with socialization. It promotes development through serving as a tool for manpower development and for screening and selection of individuals for positions in society. b. Church: Religion serves integrative roles in society by offering people the meaning and purpose for their lives. It promotes solidarity and social cohesion. It is instrumental for achievement of social control of members of the society. This is because religious injunctions bear much relationship to secular laws which
prohibit theft, rape, stealing, murder etc. It promotes development by promoting social
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