Abstract
The quests for sustainable development of diverse sectors tend to rank very high in the global and national agenda of the 21<sup>st</sup> century. Within Nigeria and Imo State in particular, the rising scenarios of insecurity in have posed serious challenges to the socio-economic and agricultural development in some rural communities. This study elucidates the patterns and intriguing relationships between the conditions of infrastructure and the level of socio-economic development of the rural communities in Imo State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in selecting the rural areas and the respondents. A total of 44 rural communities were randomly selected and a total of 613 respondents were selected for study. Using structure questionnaire, oral interview and field observation data were generated and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results of the qualitative and quantitative assessments revealed that: (i) the conditions of infrastructure (road, school and hospital) were mostly poor across the three zones in Imo State. (ii) Significant relationships exist between and among the conditions of infrastructure and the level of development in rural communities Imo State as validated by a coefficient of determination of 0.934. (iii) The deplorable conditions of most rural roads impede the timely evacuation of farm products and people to the markets (urban centers). This study recommended for strategic planning, funding, restructuring, empowerment and rehabilitation of infrastructure through collaborative efforts of the Federal and State Governments for sustainable development as well as full implementation of financial autonomy of the Local Government Areas.
Highlights
It is usually agreed among geographers and development analysts that the growth and development of any Nation irrespective of location, partly depend on the availability, accessibility and affordability of appropriate infrastructure [1].The infrastructure such as water, electricity, road and health are often considered as strong indicators of improved standard of living if the rural poor can afford
The perspective suggests that availability and accessibility of vital infrastructure such as good road networks, supply of potable water, uninterrupted power supply, storage and processing facilities, standard health and educational facilities, communication centers, fire and security services, credit and financial institutions, agricultural research facilities in the rural communities is a panacea to sustainable development
The hypothesis put for testing states that there is no significant relationship between infrastructure and development among rural communities in the L.G.As in Imo State
Summary
It is usually agreed among geographers and development analysts that the growth and development of any Nation irrespective of location, partly depend on the availability, accessibility and affordability of appropriate infrastructure [1]. The need for rural development to be clearly designed to increase sustainable production and researches are among the major agenda in the 21st century It recognizes that improved food supplies and nutrition, together with basic services such as health and education tend to improve the physical well-being, equality of life of the rural populace, and indirectly enhance their productivity and their ability to contribute to the national economy [4]. The concentration of basic Infrastructure in the urban centers, for example, has led to disparity in the national economic development and intensified poverty in the rural areas This scenario can be likened to the core (developed nations) - the periphery (less developed nations) concept, where the periphery is exploited to develop the core leaving the less developed poorer and impoverished. The hypothesis put for testing states that there is no significant relationship between infrastructure and development among rural communities in the L.G.As in Imo State
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