Resources For Rural Development Research Articles

The use of FADN methodology to support the evaluation of business development plans in the RDP Sicily 2014-2020

Article 19(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 provides that business start-up aid for young farmers, non-agricultural activities in rural areas and the development of small farms shall be conditional on the submission of a business plan.Therefore, this tool, also known as Farm Development Plan (FDP), is mandatory to verify the economic improvement of an investment under sub-measures 6.1 "Business start up aid for young farmers", 4.1 "Investments in agricultural holdings" and operation 6.4.a "Investments in creation and development of non-agricultural activities" so that rural development resources can be directed towards those project ideas which are consistent with the objectives and purposes of the rural development strategy and, thanks to the support, have the highest probability of success. The article presents the lesson learned from the Sicilian experience of designing a web-based tool for FDP submission, namely "PSAWeb Sicilia". This device allowed the Managing Authority (MA) of RDP Sicily 2014-2020 to make available an FDP scheme to users in compliance with EU obligations, consistent with the objectives and purposes of the Programme, as well as with the implementing and procedural provisions of regional calls. The computerised management of the FDPs ensured better coordination between the offices responsible for verifying and evaluating the proposals, while processing and analysis of aggregated data from over 8,400 business plans provided an in-depth knowledge of the investment needs in Sicilian agriculture and a better capacity to forecast the RDP potential response as well as some aspects of specific interest to the regional agricultural system. Thanks to PSAWeb Sicilia, in fact, a large amount of data at farm, sectoral, territorial and type of investment level was collected providing information of inestimable value not available from other data sources. The assessment of access requirements in terms of farms' economic size, economic-financial viability and profitability was ensured by borrowing principles and procedures from the Italian FADN. The cooperation between the MA and CREA-PB achieved several results. Firstly, the data collected combined with the monitoring data have been made available for the evaluation activity and for the communication to the public of the RDP implementation. This information will also be very useful both for better targeting interventions in 2021-22 and for reprogramming them in the future cap. Finally, as a positive externality, the use of the application has contributed to increasing accounting knowledge among operators and technicians in the agricultural sector, so that it has become a teaching tool in some university courses.

Rural Wine and Food Tourism for Cultural Sustainability

This conceptual article explores the relationships between culture, sustainability, and rural tourism. The development of food and wine tourism and its role in cultural sustainability is given special consideration. Soini and Dessein's three-part, interdisciplinary conceptual framework for culture in, for, and as sustainability is presented as a means to understand the relationships between culture and sustainability. When applied to rural tourism, the framework reveals that rural tourism can support cultural sustainability in all three ways described: culture in sustainability, where tourism is a means to conserve tangible and intangible cultural capital and the diversity of cultural expressions; culture for sustainability, where tourism is a resource for rural development and a way to shape development processes; and ultimately, culture as sustainability, where tourism is a vehicle to facilitate a fundamental paradigm shift towards a shared "culture of sustainability." Illustrative case examples are discussed. Culture in, for, and as sustainability offers a framework for researchers and developers to critically analyze what is being sustained through tourism and why. Further research considering the transformative potential of rural wine and food tourism to support cultural sustainability is suggested.

Predicting the Performance of Rural Banks in Ghana Using Machine Learning Approach

The idea of rural banks was introduced as a result of limited commercial bank branches in rural areas to mobilize their resources for rural development. It is also believed that financial institutions such as rural banks are powerful tools for mitigating poverty. Nevertheless, some of these banks are rather increasing the burden of people through illegal activities and mismanagement of resources. Assessing banks’ performance using a set of financial ratios has been an interesting and challenging problem for many researchers and practitioners. Identification of factors that can accurately predict a firm’s performance is of great interest to any decision-maker. The study used ARB’s financial ratios as its independent variables to assess the performance of rural banks and later used random forest algorithm to identify the variables with the most relevance to the model. A dataset was obtained from the various banks. This study used three decision tree algorithms, namely, C5.0, C4.5, and CART, to build the various decision tree predictive models. The result of the study suggested that the C5.0 algorithm gave an accuracy of 100%, followed by the CART algorithm with an accuracy of 84.6% and, finally, the C4.5 algorithm with an accuracy of 83.34 on average. The study, therefore, recommended the usage of the C5.0 predictive model in predicting the financial performance of rural banks in Ghana.

Small farmers and social capital in development projects: Lessons from failures in Argentina's rural periphery

The importance of social capital as a resource for rural development, especially in the context of projects involving joint participation of state and civil society, is widely recognized today. This paper analyzes the obstacles confronted by local players – small farmers and government organizations- in the development of an irrigation area through the implementation of a social colonization project in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Argentina). After reviewing theoretical perspectives on social capital and development, the paper deals with the difficulties faced by economic agents in building social capital and the impact of this process on the productivity of farms and the progress of the territory. Finally, it discusses how public policies and institutional design has hampered the formation of social capital. Additionally, we stress the importance of this kind of analysis to critically revise the current role of these areas from the perspective of local and regional development.

Processing and Marketing of Non-wood Forest Products: Potential Impacts and Challenges in Africa

This paper provides an overview and synthesis of the processing and marketing of NWFP in Africa. Indeed,NWFPs provide a livelihood support system for forest communities and poor urban households in terms of food,medicines, income and employment. However, forest communities remain poor, always struggling to make aliving rather than improving their status quo. This trend raises concern whether NWFPs constitute a povertytrap, a safety net or a resource for rural development and poverty alleviation. This paper tries to address some ofthese concerns with the main objective of drawing lessons from experiences across the African continent on theopportunities and challenges of the NWFPs sector. Such lessons are considered very important in informing thedevelopment of policies in future that can better contribute and sustain the provision of income and livelihoodto stakeholders. Lessons drawn from this analysis shows that organised production, processing and marketingof NWFPs can increase the revenue of dependent communities, thereby contributing to poverty reduction inAfrica. The paper concludes that the salient requirements for the development of the NWFP include adding valuelocally, choosing the right marketing strategy, informing local producers and organisations on legal procedures,supporting and building capacities of vibrant/accountable local organisations, conducting cost effective researchand development, and disseminating appropriate information on the resource base and on market conditions.

Rural Health Workers as a Resource for Rural Development

This research was carried out among the employees of the Health Board in the Western Isles of Scotland with the aim of exploring their attitudes towards rurality. Participants were asked for information about their attitudes towards working in different types of rural areas, and their perceptions on comparisons of health provision and quality of life in rural versus urban localities. The study produced several interesting results with respect to the satisfaction participants felt with their current (chosen) working environment. In particular, in view of the perceived problems relating to the attraction and retention of medical staff in rural areas, it indicated a very high level of personal commitment, to rural areas in general and especially to their current employment location.Though the results indicate a high level of job satisfaction, they also express a demand for appropriate training to be provided in rural localities. In terms of current theories of the development value of social capital, encouraging social inclusion, and greater community participation in decision-making, this study offers a useful baseline for community development initiatives in other rural and remote areas. A contented, highly skilled team of health workers, exhibiting a strong attraction to the area and participating in local networks offers a strong platform for community-based approaches to health care.

Decentralising the State: District Focus and the Politics of Reallocation in Kenya

Daniel arap Moi's announcement in October 1982 that Kenya would henceforth allocate its resources for rural development on a decentralised basis, to be more responsive to the ‘needs and aspirations of wananchi’,1 is one of the clearest statements by an African President that the state must establish a better consultative relationship with the people it claims to serve.