Challenges Of Rural Development Research Articles

Strengthening community-based organizations for the challenges of rural development

Though community-based organizations (CBOs) are small, informal organizations, indications are that they provide various services towards the development of rural communities and can be used as channels to route development information and other resources required to improve living conditions in rural communities. CBOs are, however, constrained from providing a more diverse range of services to their communities due to certain basic weaknesses. Leadership development, networking with both local and external organizations and registration with an official public agency are identified and discussed as sustainable strategies to strengthen CBOs, improve upon their service delivery standards and place them in a position to tap available opportunities to develop the communities they are located in.

The farm forest resource in Ireland: opportunities and challenges for rural development in Ireland

A critical mass of farm forestry and private forestry is now developing in Ireland with over 211,000 ha planted since 1980, with 190,000 ha of this planted since 1990. Currently, 90,000 ha of private forests are over 10 years of age, with 41,000 ha over 15 years of age. This paper examines the potential of the farm forest resource in Ireland and highlights some issues that need to be addressed in order that the full potential of farm forestry is realised. It is estimated that 876,000 m3 of timber is currently available from forests through removals from thinning operations from plantations that are at or have passed first thinning age. Cumulative volume output from thinning could be as high as 1.9 M m3 by 2010 increasing to 5.9 M m3 by 2015. Farm forestry has the potential to be a financially important farm enterprise with 15% of farmers (16,460) currently engaged in forestry in Ireland. The development of volume production forecasts will provide crucial supply information for gearing up of the wood-processing sector for additional volume from farms. However many enterprises face high harvesting and extraction costs. Solutions to overcoming economies of scale due to the small size of plantations (averaging 9.2 ha) are proposed using methods to group forestry operations together. The network of small sawmills throughout the country is favourable for private growers as analysis indicates that 82% of private forests are within 32 km of a sawmill and efforts to stimulate local processing are being encouraged. Financial analysis indicates that farmers can increase forestry returns by thinning their plantations. The risk of windthrow to plantations is one of the major factors that can lead to financial losses in farm forestry in Ireland and can be reduced by adequate management planning. A series of forestry extension programs will provide farmers with adequate information to help aid decision-making in managing their plantations.

1. Introduction: Livelihoods in Crisis: Challenges for Rural Development in Southern Africa

1. Introduction: Livelihoods in Crisis: Challenges for Rural Development in Southern Africa

Challenges of rural development in India

The author attempts to assess the level and nature of development in rural India, which presently comprises about three-fourths of the total population, during the last five decades of country's Independence. It has been argued that the progress made so far is not up to scratch. The tasks ahead for rural development with an eye to ameliorating the standard of living of the rural people are quite gigantic and arduous in the face of the country's resource crunch, slow-growing economy and politics of under-development. Furthermore, the tasks loom larger with the lapse of time, ensuing from rapid rise in population and bad governance.

Local partnerships for rural development: Ireland's experience in context

Abstract Ireland has one of the strongest records in Europe of using local partnerships to address the challenges of rural development. These include County Enterprise Boards, LEADER companies and Local Area Partnerships. This paper presents the results of recent survey research which compares the different types of Irish partnerships in terms of their origins, growth, activities and impacts, and assesses the Irish partnership experience within the context of research in seven other EU countries. Such a comparative approach provides insights which assume particular interest at a time when the Irish Government has adopted new initiatives to promote greater co‐ordination of partnership activities at a county level.

Do it sistimatika: on the learning paradigm of Cretan organic olive growers seeking a rural future

This paper reassesses the value of the popular Greek concept of being a sistimatikos person to face rural development challenges. It dwells on fieldwork with olive growers in Western Crete, where a study was carried out to appraise the socio-economic and ecological impact on regional development of organic olive oil production. Working sistimatika turned out to be essential for organic farmers to develop their enterprise. This notion comprises knowledge about what to do, which is made up of a clear vision and technical knowledge about how to organize the work, hard work, love, and finally an ability and desire to search for and learn whatever may be needed. The aspects love and learning capacity are usually unacknowledged in Western conceptions of development strategies informed by a so-called systems approach, but are, however, essential to arrive at what is headed for: specifically, in the Cretan case, the production of organic olive oil, and in general, the conceptualization and materialization of development alternatives for rural areas.

ＡＰＥＣ地域の農村開発の課題 食糧安全保障の視点から

ＡＰＥＣ地域の農村開発の課題 食糧安全保障の視点から

The Challenge of Rural Development

The Challenge of Rural Development