Challenges Of Rural Development Research Articles

Mediating role of leadership and group capital between human capital component and sustainability of horticultural agribusiness institutions in Indonesia

Abstract Farmers’ institutions are currently more cultural and primarily oriented only to getting government facilities. Farmers’ institutions have not been directed at utilizing access to various technological information, capital, and markets needed to develop horticultural agribusiness. Nevertheless, almost all farmers’ institutions exist in rural areas, but not all existing institutions can survive and carry out their functions sustainably. The research objective was to examine the impact of human capital through leadership and group capital on the sustainability of horticultural agribusiness institutions. The study was carried out at Uluere District, Bantaeng Regency, which is designated as a horticulture agribusiness development zone in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The sample selection was conducted using a simple randomized method, where 10% of the overall population was chosen. This method resulted in a sample size of 233 respondents for this study. The data gathering was done during September and November of 2022. Moreover, to acquire findings about the effect of human capital on the long-term viability of institutional agribusiness horticulture, we conducted an analysis using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The findings indicated that individual capability, individual motivation, organizational climate, and workgroup effectiveness were key factors of human capital that directly impact institutional strengthening. These factors were found to have positive and statistically significant connections. In addition, leadership and group capital connected the many aspects of human capital to the sustainability of horticultural agribusiness. The results of this study will significantly enhance ongoing efforts to formulate a plan aimed at mitigating rural development challenges, especially in Indonesia.

Data-Driven Clustering and Insights for Rural Development in India

This study aims to reveal the complex socioeconomic structure of Indian villages by utilizing a dataset obtained from several government sources, which includes a wide range of 150 distinct variables. This study intends to uncover the underlying structure of these groups by using powerful data analytics and clustering approaches and further group Indian villages into meaningful clusters by finding socioeconomic differences and geographical details in India's rural landscape. The final research findings suggest a four-cluster strategy as the most insightful solution for providing a more detailed understanding of India's rural regions’ diversity and its specific requirements. By describing the diversity of these clusters, this research study improves the framework for data-driven policy formation and development interventions that address the specific requirements of each group. Finally, this study highlights not only the potential of data-driven techniques in rural development, but also the importance of targeted customized solutions in solving India's rural development challenges.

Challenges and Future Visions of the Hungarian Livestock Sector from a Rural Development Viewpoint

Livestock farming in developed countries faces adverse environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Moreover, economic and social issues have emerged, such as farm concentration and the aging of farmers. Consequently, the decline of small farms and household animal husbandry substantially impacted rural communities, posing challenges for rural development. This study investigates these processes within the Hungarian livestock sector from the 1990s to recent years in the context of rural development, which is a rarely explored viewpoint in the literature. The research employed a statistical and policy document analysis, a literature review, and interviews (n = 66) conducted in Hungary’s Southern Great Plain region. The results reveal a decline in the number of animals and small farms in rural settlements, accompanied by an intense farm concentration, negatively affecting income generation opportunities. The established large-scale industrial animal husbandry has adverse environmental effects without positive externalities. The interviews highlight the severe challenges that young farmers face in starting their businesses, including land, labor, and capital shortages, leading to a slow generational change in the farming society. These processes demonstrate the limited multifunctionality of animal husbandry in Hungary. Our findings differ from those advocating for large-scale industrial agriculture development because an overly one-sided development pathway could lead to unsustainability.

Periphery and Integrated Planning: Coping with Rural and Touristic Challenges across Scales in the German Wadden Sea Region

Rural landscapes face multiple challenges, but they can be attractive for developing nature-based tourism. Encouraging place-based participatory governance in local communities represents a relevant transdisciplinary landscape approach. In this study, we map (1) rural and touristic challenges and (2) coping strategies in peripheral–rural municipalities, and we (3) discuss the need for integration of local and regional-level actions. Two island and two mainland municipalities with different demographic profiles and different degrees of touristic specialization in the German Wadden Sea Region were selected as case studies. Through meetings and interviews we mapped perceived challenges and analyzed policies and other coping strategies. We then discuss the need for integration at multiple scales. Island municipalities were more exposed to tourism development challenges than mainland municipalities. Securing public services and welfare, and the sustainable conservation of ecological green infrastructures were particularly challenging. Applying a participatory approach was a coping strategy at the local level. However, there is a need for activities at multiple scales. In coping with rural development challenges, local level participatory approaches and regional planning complement each other. Combination and integration of local and regional-level concepts should be encouraged to support collaborative learning through evaluation.

Environmental impacts and future challenges of livestock sector in Hungary

In developed countries, livestock farming faces significant global challenges, including adverse environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollution from industrial animal husbandry. These negative processes were accompanied by the disappearance of livestock breeding from backyards and small farms’ demise in recent decades. As a result, the sector’s significance in rural communities has decreased, causing challenges for rural development. This research investigates these processes on the example of the Hungarian livestock sector from the 1990s to recent years, with statistical and policy document analysis, literature review, and interviews in Hungary’s Southern Great Plain. The results show that the number of animals kept in rural settlements has decreased significantly in the last three decades. The established large-scale industrial animal husbandry is a negative environmental burden without positive externalities. In conclusion, the disappearance of the backyard and small-scale livestock farms from the Hungarian countryside has resulted in the loss of multifunctionality and social exclusion. A diversified farming system and a more balanced policy preference toward civic agriculture and small-scale animal husbandry can bring many environmental, economic, and social benefits to rural Hungary.

Are there any differences in rural development challenges within European countries? Social and economic contexts from EU rural leaders

Rural development has become a significant policy challenge in Europe. More employment opportunities have increasingly been concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural regions with ever-continuing down-fall in terms of population size and economic growth. In this context, rural entrepreneurship activity that positively influences rural communities is embedded in broader social or structural policies at the European level. The aim of the article is to investigate societal and economic challenges and their innovative solutions in five European rural regions: Croatia (Slovania), Germany (Münsterland, Saxony-Anhalt), Poland (Małopolska), and Portugal (Alto Minho). This study follows a multi-case method which investigates the diversity of challenges and solutions in selected European rural areas. The comparative analysis reveals that most essential activities aimed at alleviating the development problems of rural areas include education of local communities, improvement of economic and digital infrastructure, activities supporting production and promotion of local products, promotion of cooperation between local communities and producers, and stronger orientation of local policy towards financial support of production enterprises and farms. The conclusions resulting from the study lead to formulating recommendations concerning rural policies in the context of developing entrepreneurship strategies in rural areas.

Impact Analysis of Environmental Regulation and Improvement of Agricultural Economic Efficiency on Living Environment Based on Systematic GMM Model.

The living environment is of vital importance to human beings and is also the basis for their survival and development. Along with the accumulation of people's production and living experience, people are seeking their own development while studying the living environment more deeply. In recent years, various regions and departments have conscientiously implemented the relevant decisions and deployments. They have promoted the construction of rural infrastructure and the equalisation of basic public services between urban and rural areas, so that the rural living environment can be gradually improved. The rapid development of urban-rural integration has brought great opportunities and challenges for rural development, making rural development issues increasingly complex and affecting the effectiveness of the construction of a new rural habitat. At the same time, the agricultural economy is the basis of national economic development, and the ecological environment provides a certain amount of material environment for the development of the agricultural economy. Therefore, research on the harmonious development of the agricultural economy and the ecological environment has always been a hot issue for the authorities concerned. After all, China's agricultural economic development mode is characterized by a rough-and-ready approach, and the agroecological environment continues to deteriorate, leaving the issue of sustainable agricultural development to be resolved. What is worse, in the practice of agricultural production, the related agricultural activities have brought serious pollution to the environment. Specifically, the carrying capacity of the agricultural ecological environment is declining, leading to an increasingly serious conflict between sustainable agricultural economic development and the construction of an environmentally friendly and resource-saving society. In China, although the industrialization process is accelerating, the agricultural population still accounts for a large proportion of the population. As people's living standards continue to improve, a favorable living environment has become an urgent need for farmers. As a result, strengthening the construction of rural infrastructure, improving rural living conditions, and improving rural environmental sanitation are important issues that need to be addressed urgently. Therefore, to further investigate the impact of environmental regulation and agricultural economic efficiency on the habitat, this study constructs a systematic GMM model using panel data for 30 provinces and regions in China from 2011 to 2021.

Territorial Approach and Rural Development Challenges: Governance, State and Territorial Markets

The way we produce food is at the heart of some of the current main global challenges. We are witnessing increasing social inequalities and the accentuation of hunger around the world, especially in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. At the same time, malnutrition and effects of climate change are endangering both the health of people and nature, putting life and the planet itself at risk. In general, specialists agree that the solutions to the current crisis involve the transformation of hegemonic food production chains (globalized and industrialized) and the strengthening of more territorialized food systems. The present paper reflects on how the territorial approach (extensively promoted by the State in Latin America countries in the 21st century) can be collaboratively used to create territorial food markets that are more autonomous, sustainable, and connected with nature and territorial resources. Our hypothesis is that territorial development reinforces more sustainable food systems that increase the resilience of territories facing the current challenges of rural development. The methodology involves a thematic and selective literature review, the analysis of secondary indicators, and conducting online interviews. Our analysis focused on Latin America, one of the most advanced areas in territorial development policies. We situated our research in the Borborema Territory (Paraíba, Brazil), which is a significant case study for understanding the dynamics of territorialization (and deterritorialization) of agroecological production systems that are geared towards family farming. It is also, in our opinion, a concrete case that suggests how territorialized and more localized food systems show greater resilience in the face of adversity, which can be observed in the territorial actors’ ability to react to deterritorialization drivers that are emphasised in periods of crisis. Our main findings suggest that territorial development, by placing territory, resources, and territorial actors and institutions at the core of rural development strategies, reinforces territorialized food systems centred in small circuits of production–consumption. These alternative food systems not only contribute to social and environmental sustainability but enhance territorial development by expanding opportunities for territorial actors by diversifying the territorial economy and creating more crisis-resilient territories.

Assessment of Concept between Rural Development Challenges and Local Food Systems: A Combination between Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Econometric Modelling Approach

This study investigates the influence of social, economic, and environmental impacts on the promotion and marketing systems of local food products from mountain areas in Slovenia. These impacts were assessed using an econometric modelling approach. Two econometric models were developed (one for production and one for marketing). The case studies of local food products were selected from Slovenian mountain regions, most of which were from less-favored areas (LFAs). A majority of the selected food commodities were of high quality, with or without protected designations. Data collection was carried out via interviews. Due to production limitation on mountain areas in Slovenia and other constraints in LFAs, the socio-economic and environmental impacts on success of production and marketing systems need to be clarified. These relations present a potential impact on the wider socio-economic development in the region. The empirical results, obtained using an econometric modelling approach, clearly show the importance of encouraging the socio-economic and environmental impacts in ensuring the marketing and production potentials of local food products. The result express good relationships, and cooperation between the actors in the food supply chains contributing to a successful marketing system and production system of local food products (small, average, large) is dependent on the available local labour in mountain rural areas.

‘We would like this place to be a town’: The benefits and challenges of rural development near protected areas

The degree to which African small town development poses a challenge to conservation near protected areas remains understudied. Low levels of economic development limit the ability to investigate and theorize how rural populations alter the built environment as incomes rise. This studyexamined the spatial and temporal dynamics of dwelling construction in two Mozambican villages located near Limpopo National Park where rhino poaching has financed rapid rural development. We analyzed 495 photographs of the built environment and 110 semi-structured interviews occurring over a six-year period (2009–2015) corresponding with increased rhino poaching. We find a rapid and exponential increase in dwellings rebuilt or renovated exclusively with finished construction materials, a process we refer to as upgrading. Exposure to upgraded dwellings corresponds with positive assessments of community-wide development, even for individuals not living in these dwellings. Residents of neighborhoods with the least upgrading were most likely to discuss low quality dwellings as diminishing human dignity. Taken together, these findings suggest growing acceptance of illegal activity as a development strategy in rural communities.

Organizational Communications in Developing Ethnic Tourism: Participatory Approaches in Southwest China

Ethnic tourism promises to solve rural development challenges, create employment, and preserve indigenous heritages. However, the development process is not always empowering. Often-cited problems are organizational communication challenges and conflicts that characterize partnerships among ethnic minority villages, tourism management companies, and government agencies. Such communication difficulties characterize ethnic tourism development processes in many parts of China. This article reports on a case study conducted in the famous Xijiang Thousand Households Miao Village (Xijiang Quianhu Miaozhai), Guizhou, China. Specifically, we investigate the determinants and nature of common organizational communication problems experienced by ethnic communities in the process of tourism development. Survey and interview data indicate that changes in local governance, clashes in tourism management, and a lack of agreement on the meaning of "community participation" created organizational communication problems manifested in conflicts among tourism managers and villagers, administrative districts/villages, and groups within the villages. Drawing from development communication and organizational communication literature, the authors assess the possibilities of applying participatory communication as a strategic approach to conflict resolution. On the basis of critical analysis, the authors offer four recommendations for adapting the participatory approach to address organizational communication problems in ethnic tourism development sites: (1) value participation, (2) develop clear understanding of what empowering participatory communication entails, (3) integrate the indigenous mode of communication/participation, and (4) hybridize the participatory communication approach to accommodate the conditions and limitations that prevail in the specific context.

An Evaluation of Local Government and SURE-P Implementation Challenges on Rural Community Development: A Case of Selected Local Government in Niger State, Nigeria

Rural areas play an essential role in the national economy, the environment, and society, contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage and the sustainable income of peasants in the rural areas in Nigeria hence, diverse strategies for rural community development. However, rural community development efforts by local governments and policies hindered by challenges. SURE-P was an intervention by the government of Nigeria after the partial removal of the subsidy and resolved to invest the proceeds in pursuing rural development across Nigeria. Rural development is a multifaceted phenomenon that requires a policy with multi-side sword effects in curbing the challenges. The research objective was to examine the challenges of local government and SURE-P implementation on rural community development in the selected local government in Niger, Nigeria. The study employed primary data collection and qualitative analytical method analysis. The research founds that SURE-P implementation challenges hindered the local government’s efforts in meeting the rural community development objective. It is recommended that, need for thorough community’s needs identification, community participation, and adequate funding with a holistic process devoid of political interference as a viable mechanism for curbing rural development challenges.

Investigating Afghanistan's Rural Development Challenges and their Solutions

توسعه روستایی یکی از دغدغه‌های کشورهای در حال توسعه است. پیامدهای توسعه نیافتگی مناطق روستایی از قبیل فقر گسترده، بیکاری و مهاجرت موجب توجه به توسعه روستایی گردیده است. براساس آخرین گزارش مرکز آمار افغانستان (1399)، از مجموع جمعیت این کشور حدود 4/23 میلیون نفر (71 درصد) در نواحی روستایی سکونت دارند. این در حالی است که نواحی روستایی با چالش‌های مختلف اقتصادی، اجتماعی، فرهنگی، مدیریتی و محیط‌زیستی مواجه هستند. بنابراین، شناسایی چالش‌های توسعه روستایی افغانستان پیش‌شرط تدوین سیاست‌ها، برنامه‌ریزی و ارائه الگویی انعطاف‌پذیر برای دستیابی به توسعه‌پایدار روستایی است. در همین راستا، این مطالعه با هدف شناسایی و تحلیل عمده‌ترین چالش‌های موجود در حوزه توسعه روستایی افغانستان انجام شد. جامعه آماری این تحقیق شامل 60 نفر از کارشناسان مسایل توسعه روستایی و کشاورزی این کشور بود. ابزار جمع آوری اطلاعات پرسشنامه و روش آن مصاحبه حضوری بود. برای تجزیه و تحلیل و توصیف داده‌ها علاوه بر آماره‌های پراکندگی و مرکزیت، از ضریب تغییرات و تحلیل عاملی تاییدی استفاده شد. نتایج این تحقیق نشان داد که به ترتیب چالش‌های اقتصادی، مانند کمبود اعتبارات و سرمایه‌گذاری در روستاها، اجتماعی، نظیر پایین بودن مشارکت زنان در فعالیتهای روستایی، محیط زیستی، از جمله بهره‌برداری بی‌رویه از منایع آب زیرزمینی، فیزیکیـ‌کالبدی، مانند ضعف یا فقدان شبکه شهری‌ـ‌روستایی و در نهایت مدیریتی، به ویژه غلبه نیروی کار غیرمتخصص در فعالیت‌های اقتصادی روستا، از جمله مؤثرترین چالش‌های توسعه روستاها در افغانستان هستند که تلاش در جهت رفع آنها نقش قابل توجهی در دستیابی به توسعه پایدار روستایی و در نتیجه ملی این کشور خواهد داشت.

Migrant and Refugee Impact on Well-Being in Rural Areas: Reframing Rural Development Challenges in Greece.

The paper aims to exemplify and discuss the changing conditions and challenges posed by the newly arriving populations of migrants and refugees in rural Greece, along with local people’s views on the impact of the new arrivals in their rural places. Its main objective is to understand whether migrants and refugees create threats or opportunities for the local population, and whether movers and non-movers have a shared understanding of well-being in their rural areas. The analysis unveils the connections that are emerging between migrants and refugees and the economy, society and culture in rural receiving areas. Thus, the paper aims at showing the complexity of rural migrant flows and how the interactions between migrants, refugees and locals in the light of the well-being of rural areas may inform rural development in Greece. The paper is structured into five main sections following the introduction. The first section contains a discussion of the main concepts used as building blocks for creating a theoretical framing of well-being in rural areas. The second section develops a brief discussion of international and internal migration to rural areas in Greece, as well as providing some contextual information on the impact of the economic crisis and new developments in response to the recession. The third section includes a short presentation of the methodological approach and a description of the case study area. The fourth section is dedicated to an analysis of the narratives of international migrants, refugees, internal migrants, locals and stakeholders. Finally, the concluding section critically discusses the conceptualisations of rurality and well-being between the various population groups and articulates the challenges connected to well-being and mobilities in contemporary rural Greece.

THE CONCEPT OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES AND INTENTIONS OF POTENTIAL RURAL ENTREPRENEURS IN AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY

The objective of this paper is to examine and contribute a better understanding of individual attribute and potential rural entrepreneur intention toward involvement in the aquaculture sector. The previous study on potential rural indicates the challenges of rural development in terms of sustaining communities and attracting tourists. Thus, this paper intends to fill in the gaps within the boundary of rural attributes in the entrepreneurship’s sustainability. Quantitative research methodology has been adopted to achieve this goal. Data were collected by using research instruments of questionnaire participated by 200 respondents in a rural area in Kelantan. Statistical analysis used with SPSS tools. As part of the paper, the sustainability performance of potential rural entrepreneurs in the aquaculture industry also is highlighted. Study on aquaculture that regards to the entrepreneurship intervention programs is still scarce as most of them depend on social security such as government aid to lead their life.

Rural transport and climate change in South Africa: Converting constraints into rural transport adaptation opportunities.

This study explored the implications of climate change for rural transport in South Africa. The article was seeking to convert existing rural transport adaptation constraints into rural transport adaptation opportunities. Challenges and constraints to rural transport adaptation transitions were also explored. The research methodology adopted was a review of the literature and references to case study examples. Then a four-stage multi-analytical approach was used to unravel and decode the major rural transport and climate change issues in South Africa. Consequent to the analysis, a framework of analysis for strongly integrating climate change to rural transport interventions was advanced. The findings indicated the existing rural transport adaptation measures and options in South Africa. The article concludes by highlighting the complexity and intricate dynamic nature of interactions, networks and systems that impact rural South Africa. Recommendations revolve around properly situating rural transport and climate change within the wider rural development challenges and matters facing contemporary South Africa.

Accelerating Rural Development through the New Extensionist Paradigm: Is there a Promise to Fulfill?

Rural problems continue to exist as human needs and circumstances continue to evolve. In recent years, rural development activities have gone beyond just increasing agricultural productivity because of the need to address a multitude of socio-political and environmental concerns towards achieving a sustainable development. This puts the relevance and competence of extension and advisory services in question to effectively respond to agricultural and rural development challenges in the new millennium. Thus, the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) advocates for the New Extensionist paragdigm that looks beyond individual roles and capacities of key players but also those at organization and system levels. It articulates the expanded roles of extension and advisory services and articulates and the changes needed in various operational levels to contribute effectively in increasing productivity and improve the overall welfare of smallholder farmers and rural communities. Regional networks have been formed, including in Southeast Asia, to mainstream the New Extensionist. The New Extensionist holds an exciting promise for rural and agricultural development but there is also a great task ahead to realize it.

Primary Sector Value Chains, Poverty Reduction, And Rural Development Challenges In The Philippines

The insertion of Philippine agriculture and fisheries into global value chains has not contributed significantly to rural poverty reduction, in contrast to several other Southeast Asian countries. While there are pockets of downstream export successes, upstream actors face persistent precarious conditions. This comparative investigation of the relationships between value chains and rural development fills a gap in the literature on the Philippines. An analysis of four important products affecting at least 3 million households illustrates the need to focus more on upstream value‐chain governance and pro‐poor rural development interventions. This article shows that the integration of livelihoods and value‐chain analyses has the advantage of fleshing out upstream challenges that are relevant for agri/aquabusiness performance, socio‐spatial policies, and refinements of rural development theories. It is unlikely that horizontal coordination/social capital as well as associated upgrading efforts will be effective without a stronger emphasis on vertical coordination and human‐capital formation.

Challenges of Rural Development in Kurung Kumey District of Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh, like other states of India is experiencing numerous development challenges. The development challenges are mainly concentrated in the rural areas of the state. The focal objective of this study is to examine the challenges of rural development in Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh. A total of 150 questionnaires were administered to collect data from the residents of the district. Interviews were also conducted with office staff in order to supplement the data from the questionnaire responses. It emerged from the study that development challenges in Kurung Kumey district are multi-layered. These challenges range from poor transport services, poor health facilities, poor educational facilities, limited electricity access, and shortage of markets for rural commodities. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations were suggested to lessen the impact of the challenges.

Unutrašnji izazovi održivog razvoja ruralnih područja Republike Srbije

This paper aims to point to the key internal challenges of rural development in the Republic of Serbia, which are persistent and inextricably linked in the process of rural economic development. The paper analyzes the state of affairs in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia, underlines the necessity of solving a whole host of problems, points to favourable courses of action of sustainable rural development and emphasizes the role of institutional support along the process. It is concluded that a comprehensive and steady approach to the revitalization and development of rural areas in the Republic of Serbia must be taken, which corresponds with all internal challenges characteristic of modern development, but does not disregard numerous external challenges that are inevitable and largely determine not only internal factors, but also future directions in the development of rural economy and society of the Republic of Serbia.