Agriculture-related Activities Research Articles

集落モデルとその分布構造に関する研究 : 農村地域の類型に関する研究 3

The previous papers introduced two types of village typology : a basic village typology, using the original agricultural census data, and one using social structure and sttitudes indicators which were developed by the author. The current article presents six village models which are set by incorporating these two village typologies. Two of these models are further used as blue-prints for village revitalization. They are an agriculture-oriented village model and a life-oriented village model. The latter implies that there are villages which can no longer provide vivid community life based solely on agriculture-related activities. The study of the geographical distribution of the village models shows that when a village experiences urbanization the farmer's long-term view of himself being a full-time farmer weakens and that the economic reliance of villages on agriculture thus fades due also to increases in the non-farming population. And in the periphery of urban areas, the life-centered models can be seen in places. To conclude, it is possible to revitalize village communities through planning by making improvements where necessary based on a comparison of the village communities in question which the blue-print models.

Perpetuating Underdevelopment in Kenya: The Link between Agriculture, Class, and State

The Republic of Kenya is a land of stark contrasts. Its precapitalist policies have long attracted multinational investment and international loans. External capital is apparent to Western tourists in the capital city of Nairobi, an urban area with luxurious hotels, modern corporate and government offices, expensive automobiles, large sports stadiums, and numerous stores. But the modern features of Nairobi do not represent the real Kenya, the Kenya known to the vast majority of those in the country. The average Kenyan is not wealthy and does not possess Western-style amenities. Most Kenyans work in agriculture-related activities which range from subsistence farming to wage labor on large estates or plantations. In fact, recent statistics show that the agricultural sector employs over 81 percent of the labor force, contributes 65 percent to the value of total exports, and accounts for 31 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (World Bank, 1986a). In addition to an appreciable disparity in income between urban elites and agricultural laborers, there is also an uneven distribution of resources within the agricultural sector. The present structure of agriculture is closely linked to the colonial period, when Europeans controlled large-scale farms in areas with fertile land. Although few Europeans farm in Kenya today, the agricultural system is still inequitable and biased toward Africans with large farms. Inequality is evident in the distribution of farm land, the flow of capital in and out of agriculture, and the class structure that perpetuates this situation. The Kenyan state remains closely aligned with elite interests in both rural and urban areas, thereby maintaining an unproductive agricultural system that contributes to underdevelopment.

Family Planning and Agricultural Development: Experiences of an Operating Programme

The Rural Family Planning Project (RFPP) a project of the Family Planning Association of India at the Allahabad Agricultural Institute was established in 1971. It is a project which combines work in health family planning and agriculture. The field staff spends 1/2 of its time on family planning 1/4 on agriculture-related activities and the other 1/4 on health work. The administration staffing training and f unding of the project are described. The aim of the family planning part of the project is to introduce the people of the area to the idea of a small family and the use of family planning and to inform them about possible methods of family planning. Medical personnel in short supply in the area perform the surgery for sterilizations and pregnancy terminations and train nonmedical personnel to take over responsibility for many parts of the program. Person-to-person contact through house visits by the field staff was considered the most effective method of ca rrying on an education campaign for family planning in the area. No coercion and no incentives are used for family planning acceptance. Husband and wife must agree on the method chosen. Condom use is 52.2% of the total family planning acceptance and oral use is 35.6%.

County Planning Project. A Cooperative Approach to Agricultural Planning

Present planning activity of the Department of Agriculture and the Land-Grant Colleges, sometimes called the county planning project and more recently described as the county land-use planning project, is one of the latest chapters in the history of a long succession of cooperative efforts on the part of these institutions to promote a better rural life. More specifically defined, it is a cooperative effort on the part of the various agencies of the USDA, the Land-Grant Colleges, related State and local agencies, and representative farmers in each locality, State, and in the nation as a whole, to develop and currently revise agricultural plans and policies that will serve to coordinate various agricultural programs and related public activities, to increase their effectiveness in promoting long-time as well as emergency objectives, and to develop needed additional programs. The remainder of this paper will be an elaboration of this definition.