Rural Young People Research Articles

Household poverty, schooling, stigma and quality of life in adolescents with epilepsy in rural Uganda

BackgroundEpilepsy remains a leading chronic neurological disorder in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. In Uganda, the highest burden is among young rural people. We aimed to; (i) describe socio-economic status (including schooling), and household poverty in adolescents living with epilepsy (ALE) compared to unaffected counterparts in the same communities and (ii) determine the factors associated with the overall quality of life (QoL). MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey nested within a larger study of ALE compared to age-matched healthy community children in Uganda. Between Sept 2016 to Sept 2017, 154 ALE and 154 healthy community controls were consecutively recruited. Adolescents recruited were frequency and age-matched based on age categories 10–14 and 15–19 years. Clinical history and standardized assessments were conducted. One control participant had incomplete assessment and was excluded. The primary outcome was overall QoL and key variables assessed were schooling status and household poverty. Descriptive and multivariable linear regression analysis were conducted for independent associations with overall QoL. ResultsMean (SD) age at seizure onset was 8.8 (3.9) years and median (IQR) monthly seizure burden was 2 (1–4). Epilepsy was associated with living in homes with high household poverty; 95/154 (61.7%) ALE lived in the poorest homes compared to 68/153 (44.5%) of the healthy adolescents, p = 0.001. Nearly two-thirds of ALE had dropped out of school and only 48/154 (31.2%) were currently attending school compared to 136/153 (88.9%) of healthy controls, p < 0.001. QoL was lowest among ALE who never attended school (p < 0.001), with primary education (p = 0.006) compared to those with at least secondary education. Stigma scores [mean(SD)] were highest among ALE in the poorest [69.1(34.6)], and wealthy [70.2(32.2)] quintiles compared to their counterparts in poorer [61.8(31.7)], medium [68.0(32.7)] and wealthiest [61.5(33.3)] quintiles, though not statistically significant (p = 0.75). After adjusting for covariates, ALE currently attending school had higher overall QoL compared to their counterparts who never attended school (β = 4.20, 95%CI: 0.90,7.49, p = 0.013). QoL scores were higher among ALE with ≥secondary education than those with no or primary education (β = 10.69, 95%CI: 1.65, 19.72). ConclusionsALE in this rural area are from the poorest households, are more likely to drop out of school and have the lowest QoL. Those with poorer seizure control are most affected. ALE should be included among vulnerable population groups and in addition to schooling, strategies for seizure control and addressing the epilepsy treatment gap in affected homes should be specifically targeted in state poverty eradication programs.

Does Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) Contribute to Youth Development in Informal Farm Entrepreneurship? Evidence from Rural Communities in Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the impact of a growth enhancement support scheme (GESS) on youth development in informal farm entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the GESS on rural youths’ adoption of new technologies needed to sustainably increase food security in Nigeria. Design/ methodology/ approach – This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 800 rural youths were sampled across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Findings – The result from the use of a bi-variate probit model indicate that the GESS has a significant impact on rural youths’ innovations in farming. Practical implication – This suggests that information and communication technology (ICT) could provide new opportunities for making farming more interesting and enterprising for rural young people. Social implication – It implies that while old male and female farmers are less likely to adopt the new farming technologies needed to achieve Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda (ATA), a younger generation can help introduce new technologies, whilst also learning from traditional methods. Originality/ value – This research adds to the literature on informal farm entrepreneurship and rural communities’ debate in developing countries. It concludes that engaging youths in GESS should form the foundation of the ATA in Nigeria, which, in turn, would offer adequate combination of new and traditional solutions to address the challenges of food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Landscapes of opportunity: patterns of young people’s engagement with the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa

While much has been said in recent years about the importance of engaging rural youth in sub-Saharan Africa’s development, the factual data about how African youth currently engage in rural economies remain sparse. We use recent nationally representative household survey data from six countries to describe the patterns of such engagement. We find that young people participate in agriculture at similar rates to older people. However, participation in non-farm wage employment and business activity changes with age, peaking in the 30s. The likelihood of reporting no activity is greatest for people in their 20s. In more remote places, people leave school earlier and are less likely to engage in the non-farm sector, compared with people in more accessible places. We also find evidence that the non-farm economy is more diversified in relatively more accessible places, offering a larger set of options for economic engagement. We show that ‘landscapes of opportunity’ , defined by economic remoteness and agricultural potential, are an important way of assessing the choices available to young rural people. A key conclusion is that efforts to develop a ‘youth lens’ for rural development should not abandon the mainstays of rural investment strategies such as infrastructure, education, and agricultural R&D.

Hard work and hazard: Young people and agricultural commercialisation in Africa

An emerging orthodoxy supports the proposition that the rural economy – built around agriculture but encompassing much more – will serve as sweet spot of employment opportunities for many millions of young people into the foreseeable future. However, our understanding of how rural young people in Africa take advantage of processes of rural transformation or engage with the rural economy is limited. Drawing on qualitative research conducted with 117 rural young people in three country contexts (Ghana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania), this paper reports the findings on the steps and pathways through which young people construct livelihoods in hotspots of agricultural commercialisation. Overall what emerges from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences and pathways is that the commercialised rural economy within which they operate offer them a variety of income earning opportunities. Family and broader social relations are key in enabling young people to access the needed resources in the form of land, capital, and inputs to begin their ventures. Between family and rental markets, there is little evidence that young people’s engagement with crop production is limited by their inability to access land. We also find evidence of asset accumulation by young people in the form of housing, furniture and savings among others, which reflects the combination of relatively dynamic rural economies, enabling social relations, and hard work. However, for many it is a struggle to stay afloat, requiring effort, persistence, and an ability to navigate setbacks and hazards. Our findings challenge a number of assumptions underlying policy and public discourse around rural young people and employment in Africa. We highlight some key implications for policy seeking to promote youth employment in rural Africa. • It is widely accepted that rural areas will provide employment for Africa's young people for decades to come. • There is little evidence about how young people actually engage with the rural economy in hotspots of agricultural commercialisation. • Data from Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe challenge some key elements of public and policy discourse around rural youth in SSA.

Permanência e sucessão no meio rural: o caso dos jovens de Santana do Livramento/RS

Rural succession has been a problem that has been discussed in the academy, among policymakers and, above all, among family farmers around the world. Young people have shown less and less interest in staying in rural areas, but there has been less interest in sequencing the agricultural activities of their parents. In this sense, recognizing the role of young people in the rural development process, the objective of the present study is to analyze the perspectives of the rural young people of Santana do Livramento / RS about the permanence in the rural environment and the interest in the family succession. The methodology of the study is quantitative, performed through descriptive statistics. Structured questionnaires containing open and closed questions were applied to young people, children of farmers, who attended high school, in a total of 59 rural youth, aged between 14 and 19 years. The main results are: young people want to stay in the field and have a greater interest in being managers of the property in greater number than the young ones; young people with less land area are less interested in being successors; emotional and relationship factors prevail in the desire for permanence in the field; obstacles to agricultural labor, difficulties in accessing production units, land scarcity, low autonomy, and the economic pressure exerted by large farms, are the factors that contribute to the exit of rural youth from Santana do Livramento / RS. Keywords: Rural management. Rural development. Gender issue. Succession in agriculture. Rural youth.

Youth Suicide Bereavement and the Continuum of Risk.

Background: There is limited research investigating the risks for young friends exposed to the suicide of peers. Aims: This study aimed to better understand the impact of suicide bereavement on rural young people. Method: Participants in this a mixed-method study were 18 young people who had been exposed to a friend's suicide and who resided in rural Australia. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results: Participants reported high levels of depression, anxiety, and alcohol use. Key themes were communication about the death, responses to the death, and coping with the death. Young people identified as close friends with the person who died were at less risk of their own suicidal behavior, but demonstrated increased mental health concerns. More peripheral friends were identified at greater risk of suicide. Limitations: The limitations of the study were the purposeful sampling open to selection bias, lack of randomization, and results from one point in time. Conclusion: These findings support that guidelines and interventions following a youth suicide need to better target both the peripheral friends, owing to their greater suicide risk, and the closer friends, owing to other mental health concerns.

Clinico-demographic profile of young people presenting with refractive errors to a medical college hospital of Bihar, India

Background: Refractive errors are the second most important cause of blindness and account for 18% of the burden. An estimated 123.7 million people suffer from visual impairment due to unaddressed refractive errors worldwide. International agencies recognize that globally, there is insufficient data on the prevalence and types of refractive errors in different populations and age groups. The present study evaluated the proportion of refractive errors with their clinico-demographic context among 10–24-year old patients, presenting to the Ophthalmology Outpatient Department (OPD) of a tertiary hospital of Bihar state of India. Material and methods: This prospective, descriptive study collected information about refractive errors in 2739 eyes of 1482 young people. The association between the refractive errors and clinico-demographic variables such as age group, gender, residential background and educational status was evaluated using the chi-square test (taking p < 0.05 as significant). Results: Hypermetropic errors were more common (51%) comprising of hypermetropia (32%) and hypermetropic astigmatism (19%). They marginally exceeded myopic errors (about 49%), comprising myopic astigmatism (26%) and myopia (22%) while mixed astigmatism was the least common (0.4%). Myopic errors were significantly more common in the 10–14 years age group (76%) while hypermetropic errors predominated in older age-groups (54%, p < 0.001). Myopia predominated in females (39%) and in rural young people (53%), myopic astigmatism in the illiterate (45%) but hypermetropia in males (37%, p < 0.001), urban (35%, p < 0.001) and literate young people (31%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study revealed a broad picture of proportion and predominance of different refractive errors and their associations with clinico-demographic profile of the patients.

What do young women living in regional and rural Victoria say about chlamydia testing? A qualitative study.

Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 women aged between 18 and 30 years residing in north-east Victoria, Australia. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Themes were grouped under four categories: (1) chlamydia and stigma; (2) the application of stigma to self and others; (3) factors affecting testing; and (4) knowledge. A chlamydia infection was associated with stigma. The young women in this study anticipated self-stigma in relation to a positive diagnosis, but resisted stigmatising others. Increased knowledge about chlamydia prevalence was associated with reduced self-stigma. The most consistent factor affecting testing decisions was personal risk assessment. Knowledge gaps about symptoms, testing and treatment were also identified, with participants not always accessing information from reputable sources. Chlamydia testing was viewed as a positive activity among this cohort. However, there is considerable perceived stigma about being diagnosed with an infection. Interventions that communicate prevalence, reduce stigma and provide factual information about testing and risk are still needed. Clinicians have an opportunity to convey this information at consultation. Health promotion workers should continue to develop and run campaigns at a community level to encourage regular screening.

Curso de Extensão Semipresencial em Agroecologia: Inclusão Cidadã de Jovens do Campo pela Educação a Distância nos Territórios Maranhenses

O presente artigo se propõe apresentar a concepção, finalidade, funcionamento e metodologia do Curso de Extensão Semipresencial em Agroecologia promovido pelo Núcleo de Extensão e Desenvolvimento da Universidade Estadual do Maranhão. O curso tem como objetivo formar jovens rurais de quatro territórios maranhenses para que possam desenvolver atividades produtivas na perspectiva agroecológica em suas comunidades de modo a garantir a segurança alimentar das suas famílias e manter a sustentabilidade ambiental dessas áreas. A metodologia inclui videoaulas, tempo de estudo na comunidade e práticas ministradas por técnicos do Núcleo. Mesmo com todas as dificuldades impostas pela falta de infraestrutura nos municípios e apoio das prefeituras municipais, o curso já apresenta resultados tanto relacionados ao processo de conscientização da importância do uso da Agroecologia como modelo de produção quanto na implantação de sistemas que geram alimentação e renda para as famílias dos jovens participantes do projeto.&#x0D; Palavras-chave: Educação a distância. Agroecologia. Territórios rurais. Juventude rural.

Youth empowerment in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) of sub-Saharan Africa: the role of corporate social responsibility in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies’ (MOCs’) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of Global Memorandum of Understandings (GMOUs) on rural young people involved in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for sustainable livelihood in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected from primary sources, using participatory rural appraisal technique of semi-structured interview questionnaire. The use of participatory research techniques in collecting CSR impact data especially as it concerns the rural young people is because it involves the people being studied, and their views on all the issues are paramount. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Inferential statistical tool – estimation of logit model was used to test the two research hypothesis. Findings The results indicate that GMoUs have not given adequate attention to young people as a special target sub-group who live in rural areas and depend mostly on NTFPs. Results also show that a number of factors hindering rural young people from the use and development of NTFPs include a policy vacuum, non-destructive harvesting, and destruction of natural habitats, bushfires, population growths and high demands. Research limitations/implications The semi-structured interview questionnaire was directly administered by the researchers with the help of research assistants. The use of local research assistants was because of the inability of the researchers to speak the different local languages and dialects of the many ethnic groups of Ijaws, Ogonis, Ikweres, Etches, Ekpeyes, Ogbas, Engennes, Obolos, Isokos, Nembes, Okirikas, Kalabaris, Urhobos, Iteskiris, Igbos, Ika-Igbos, Ndonis, Orons, Ibenos, Yorubas, Ibibios, Anangs, Efiks, Bekwarras, Binis, Eshans, Etsakos, Owans, Itigidis, Epies, Akokoedos, Yakkurs, etc., in the sampled rural communities. Practical implications An appropriate GMoU-intervention framework for sustainable promotion of NTFPs, domestication of NFTPs, improving harvesting and processing techniques are necessary to facilitate good security, reduction of poverty and improved livelihoods, particularly for the economically-marginalized and forest-dependent rural young people is imperative. Social implications Sustainable livelihoods of the forest-dependent rural young people in sub-Saharan Africa would require some focussed CSR interventions on the NTFPs for sustainable livelihood. Facilities pertaining to storage, grading, processing and value addition through the convergence of existing schemes and programmes should be promoted and created. MOCs are in a position to empower the rural young people with information about the market, policy and products to enable the rural people strategizing and accessing returns from NTFPs in sub-Saharan Africa. Originality/value This research adds to the literature on multinational enterprises’ CSR initiatives in developing countries and rationale for demands for social projects by host communities. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of sustainable livelihood.

Public policy to support young farmers in Thailand

In newly industrialised countries in Asia, programmes to support the establishment of young farmers are still emerging. This in particularly true in Thailand, despite the declared importance of supporting young farmers in national development strategies. The aim of the present study was to analyse policy tools to help young people start farming in Thailand. First, we reviewed existing policy tools in Thailand and in other countries. Based on this review, a series of workshops were held with young rural people and young farmers in Thailand to assess the most promising policy tools. During the workshops, participants discussed a set of 22 policy tools designed to support access to land, capital and markets, capacity-building and making farming a more attractive profession. The workshop participants thought almost all the proposed policy tools would be useful but gave priority to subsidies to start farming and to secure land leases. Reversing the current, very rapid decrease in the number of young farmers in Thailand will require ambitious programmes, which could not only focus on helping young people who are already interested in farming but also appeal to a broader public by making farming more attractive.

An Analysis on the Effects of Unemployment on Rural Youth in the Sahel: A Case Study of Rural Areas of Madaoua in the Region of Tahoua, Niger

In recent years, young people in nearly every country in the Sahel, experience bad labor market outcomes. In Niger, 5, 9 million people are active, of which 6% are unemployed and 26% are underemployed (INS, 2017). Agriculture alone accounts for 75.6% of the active population. 6.3 % of this population has independent business and 4.3% is in livestock, fishing or hunting. Artisans and industrial workers as well as state officials make up a significant proportion. The age group of 15 to 29 years is the most affected by unemployment with a rate of 23.7% (INS, 2017). Furthermore, about 1.5 million young people aged between 13 and 19 are out of the education system (INS, 2017). Unemployment among rural young people in the Sahel particularly in Niger has been a serious cause for concern as the lack of employment opportunities and career choices make easy their participation in criminal activities and their enrollment in terrorist. Additional personal and social costs associated with unemployment include poverty, debt, homelessness and housing stress, family tensions and breakdown, boredom, alienation, shame and stigma, increased social isolation, crime, erosion of confidence and self-esteem. The general objectives of this study are to measure the extent of some of the personal and social costs associated with unemployment in the rural area of Madaoua in the region of Tahoua, Republic of Niger and to test the willingness of the companies and Non Government Organization (NGO) to recruit in rural area when the qualifications exist. The article used multi-stage sampling technique. At the 1st stage, one rural district was selected randomly from the rural town of the department of Madaoua. At the 2nd stage, two villages were selected from the selected rural district using simple random sampling technique. At the final stage, 120 respondents consisting of 60 from each village were surveyed. Another survey was conducted toward potential employers. The study revealed the existent of socio-economic and psychological impacts on unemployed rural young people. The study also showed that the personal and social costs associated with unemployment are reduced by better economic status of the unemployed person’s family. Finally, the study pointed out that the low level of work-related competences held by young people in rural area played a significant role on youth unemployment in rural area.

Young people’s willingness to farm under present and improved conditions in Thailand

Studies of young people’s willingness to farm usually analyse their plans based on the resources available to them, or their hopes if they had access to more resources, but rarely study the two jointly. However, in newly industrialized countries in Asia, such joint assessments are needed to disentangle the extent to which young people’s limited involvement in farming is due to lack of interest or to the fact that they see no way to get round the obstacles to starting the kind of farming they want to practice. This study analysed the vision of 86 young rural people in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, concerning farming, their plan to farm under prevailing conditions and their willingness to become a farmer if more opportunities to start farming were available. More than two-thirds of the interviewees were not farming at the time of the interview, but half planned to start farming, either part or full time, in the coming decade. One-third of the interviewees said that if they had better opportunities to start farming, they would reconsider their current plans to work in non-agricultural sectors and instead become full-time farmers. Public policies aimed at increasing the number of young people who become farmers should consequently not take the prevailing lack of engagement in farming by many young rural people as a given. Such policies should not only support young people who already plan to farm, but also those who would be willing to farm if they had better opportunities to do so.

‘Learning to leave’ or ‘striving to stay’: Considering the desires and decisions of rural young people in relation to post-schooling futures

This article presents an examination of how rural young people contemplate their post-schooling futures and how understandings of mobility inform this decision making. While the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ of rural living has been documented in the literature, rarely has this drawn on the combined perspectives of rural high school students and teachers. Drawing upon interviews and video transcripts created with rural young people and combined with teacher focus groups, this article provides nuanced insight into the complex and negotiated nature of decisions, desires and dreams about life after school. The data has been drawn from a research project that worked with young people to document their educational and professional aspirations post-schooling. Utilising a digital story methodology, this study created both visual and textual representations of shifts and how these choices were understood at a deeply personal level.

Faith is Not Gone: Listening to the ‘Ordinary Theology’ of Roman Catholic Rural Young People

ABSTRACTThis study listens to the voices of young Roman Catholics, between the ages of 18 and 35, living in a rural diocese within the Republic of Ireland who had experienced active involvement within the Youth Pastoral Councils. These young people had been invited to write their responses to four core questions, designed to access their understanding of God, to articulate their life experiences, to identify the influence of the Youth Pastoral Councils on the formation and retention of their personal Christian values, and to respond to the three values of Pope Francis: justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. Viewed through the lens of Astley's notion of ordinary theology the responses of these young people show that their faith has not disappeared, although their confidence in the church has been eroded.

A Comparative Analysis of the Risk Profiles of Australian Young Offenders From Rural and Urban Communities

Australian young people from rural areas, particularly Aboriginal young people, are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. Apart from broad evidence regarding the entrenched social disadvantages experienced by young people in rural communities, the literature is limited in describing why this might be case. Due to these social disadvantages, it is hypothesised that young offenders from rural communities will have higher levels of offending risk factors, as measured by the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory-Australian Adaption (YLS/CMI-AA). A total of 6,750 archival records were analysed, showing that significantly more Aboriginal young offenders live in rural areas. Contrary to the hypothesis, urban young offenders had significantly higher risk scores than rural young offenders. These findings suggest that there may be particular ecological factors that are not assessed in the current risk assessment instrument or that rural young people have a range of protective factors that may insulate against the broader context of social disadvantage.

Rural Unemployment in Gujarat and West Bengal

Based on NSSO data sets, this study covers the period from 1993 to 2010 and focuses on a comparison of rural unemployment in Gujarat and West Bengal, chosen because of their contrasting characteristics. In the past few decades, Gujarat has emphasised growth through modern industrial production, while under a different ideological regime, West Bengal aimed to achieve agricultural growth, land reform and more egalitarian patterns of agricultural incomes. Recent evidence suggests that meanwhile Gujarat’s agriculture has registered high growth in output during 2000–08, while West Bengal has failed to kick off industrialisation, despite making some pressing efforts. The article clearly identifies the limited scope for agriculture to provide full employment for all young rural people in India. However, given the important role of the agricultural sector in safeguarding national food security, it becomes obvious that apart from careful attention to agricultural developments, sustainable alternatives to traditional agricultural employment need to be activated. The concluding section therefore considers various policy options for tackling the risks of rural unemployment and underemployment in India.

Cultivos flexibles y juventud rural trabajadora: de la caña de azúcar en Brasil al aceite de palma en Colombia

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las condiciones de trabajo de jóvenes rurales, quienes se destacan entre los asalariados rurales no solo en términos cuantitativos sino también en lo cualitativo, al constituir el foco de atención del capital precisamente por sus condiciones físicas y sociales ideales que se prestan para ser explotados en la fase actual de expansión territorial del agrohidronegocio de cultivos flexibles en América Latina (como la caña de azúcar, palma de aceite y soya); situación que es potenciada por el ciclo de exportación de commodities y la producción de agrocombustibles. Para analizar esta realidad, se presentan datos sobre la composición etaria de los trabajadores rurales jóvenes en la caña de azúcar en el estado de São Paulo (Brasil) y la palma de aceite en los departamentos de Meta y Casanare (Colombia).

Youth Empowerment in Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) of Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies’ (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of General Memorandum of Understanding (GMoUs) on rural young people involved in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for sustainable livelihood in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Designed/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected from primary sources, using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique of semi-structured interview (SSI) questionnaire. The use of a participatory research technique in collecting CSR impact data especially as it concerns the rural young people is because it involves the people being studied, and their views on all the issues are paramount. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Inferential statistical tool-estimation of logit model was used to test the two research hypotheses. Findings – The results indicate that general memorandum of understandings (GMoUs) have not given adequate attention to the young people as a special target sub-group who live in rural areas and depend mostly on NTFPs. Results also show that a number of factors hindering rural young people from the use and development of NTFPs include a policy vacuum, non-destructive harvesting, and destruction of natural habitats, bushfires, population growths and high demands. Research limitations/implications – The semi structure interview questionnaire was directly administered by the researchers with the help of research assistants. The use of local research assistants was because of the inability of the researchers to speak the different local languages and dialects of the many ethnic groups of Ijaws, Ogonis, Ikweres, Etches, Ekpeyes, Ogbas, Engennes, Obolos, Isokos, Nembes, Okirikas, Kalabaris, Urhobos, Iteskiris, Igbos, Ika-Igbos, Ndonis, Orons, Ibenos, Yorubas, Ibibios, Anangs, Efiks, Bekwarras, Binis, Eshans, Etsakos, Owans, Itigidis, Epies, Akokoedos, Yakkurs, etc, in the sampled rural communities. Practical implications –An appropriate GMoU-intervention framework for a sustainable promotion of NTFPs, domestication of NFTPs, improving harvesting and processing techniques are necessary to facilitate good security, reduction of poverty and improved livelihoods, particularly for the economically-marginalized and forest-dependent rural young people is imperative. Social implications – Sustainable livelihoods of the forest-dependent rural young people in sub-Saharan Africa would require some focused CSR interventions on the NTFPs for sustainable livelihood. Facilities pertaining to storage, grading, processing and value addition through convergence of existing schemes and programmes should be promoted and created. MOCs are in a position to empower the rural young people with information about the market, policy and products to enable the rural people strategize and access returns from NTFPs in sub-Saharan Africa. Originality/value – This research adds to the literature on multinational enterprises (MNEs) CSR initiatives in developing countries and rationale for demands for social projects by host communities. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of sustainable livelihood.

The Specifics of Migration in Russian Regions

The world today is marked by strong migratory flows where Russia is not left behind by the global trends as the displacements of people between Russian regions and within a particular region are increasing that does not remain unnoticed for national and regional socio-economic development. The paper is aimed at identifying the specifics of the migration in Russian regions with special sampling and econometric models used to research into the interrelation ‘migration – economy and social sphere’. The study has identified the specifics of the migration: the centralizing nature of migration flows and migrants gathering in a few certain large and favourable Russian territories; depopulation of rural territories in Russian regions, increasing migratory flows among young rural people, including women. The reason is in huge and growing imbalance between the levels of socio-economic development of municipal areas within a republic and across Russian regions.