CONCEPT PHILOSOPHY, IMPORTANCE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Lecture 01

Rural Areas

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large

areas are described, country towns and smaller will be included. They have a

low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture. The degree to

which areas of wilderness are included in the term varies; very large wilderness areas are not

likely to be described by the term in most contexts.

Development

Development is a long term process of resource identification and utility for growth in all areas

proportionately. In socio-economic context it is the effective & efficient utilization of

resources/socio-economic structures for the welfare of the people in any economy & society.

Rural development in general denotes economic development and community

development actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-

urban neighborhoods, remote villages and the countryside. Economic activities typically relate

to the primary sector production and processing of food stuffs and raw materials.

Rural development aims at finding the ways to improve the rural lives with participation of the

rural people themselves so as to meet the required need of the rural area. The outsider may not

understand the setting, culture, language and other things prevalent in the local area. As such,

general people themselves have to participate in their sustainable rural development.

In developing countries like Nepal, India, integrated development approaches are being followed

up. In the context of many approaches and ideas have been developed and followed up, for

instance, Bottom-up approach, PRA-Participatory Rural Appraisal, RRA- Rapid Rural

Appraisal etc

Concept of Rural Development:

Rural development is a process, in which typically a large number of actors in many

different sectors of society is involved. In fact Rural development is a long term process of

improving infrastructure and life of rural area i.e. way of rural life, agriculture development,

rural civil works (roads, railways, bridges, water courses, canals, tube wells, schools, hospitals,

police building).

While agriculture development is a long term process by which farms crop or livestock) becomes

productive per unit area by using agriculture inputs i.e. certified seeds, chemical fertilizers,

irrigation, credit, farm machines, insecticides/ pesticides etc.

Philosophy of Rural Development:

In spite of the fact that rural development a long history in this country. Their efficiency is still

in doubt, and there is considerable dissatisfaction with the performance of rural development

programmes. These extension services which can and should serve as an important tool of rural

development, are not being fully utilized. The Govt. of Pakistan is making continuous efforts to

improve extension services to the growers, with aim of maximizing agriculture production. In

this regard several rural development programmes have been launched either in agriculture

sector exclusively or as an integrated part of multi sectorial programmes focused on rural

development general principles, laws, causes and effects explaining facts.

Rural development is part of the overall socio-economic development

Rural poverty is caused primarily by a limited access to resources. This limitation may result

from an imbalance between population and available resources. We all know the difficulties of

improving the balance by applying a successful population policy, and we know that a solution at

long term will require a gradual closing of the gap between economic and population growth.

Besides the problem caused by population growth, access to resources is quite often limited for

the rural poor because of the current socio-political situation. Here, the limited access to

resources is deliberate, and the result is, that the available resources are underutilized because of

obstacles of a socio-cultural and political nature. There are numerous examples of such a

situation. Landless people cannot obtain land for cultivation, while landlords use their land

extensively only; subsistence farmers have difficulties in obtaining credit; scarce means of

production are supplied to certain sectors of the population only, etc.

If access to resources, i.e. to the factor responsible for rural poverty, is determined by the general

socio-political situation, there cannot be a "rural" explanation to the rural situation. The reason

for the poverty of rural areas is often to be sought outside these very areas. The ultimate cause of

rural poverty is the lack of integration of rural areas into the overall socio-political and economic

system. This holds true, not only for the national, but for the international system as well.

Poor rural areas and rural population find themselves in a marginal situation; they-are not part of

the overall system. They do not participate in the development process, either actively as

producer, or passively as receiver of goods and services. Likewise, they hardly participate in the

decision-making process. The result of this marginality is widespread apathy, especially among

the older generation of the rural poor, and a dangerous gap between aspiration and reality-

among the youth.

The centre-periphery model of development theory offers a certain insight into the-

consequences. According to this model, the interests between centre and periphery are-

controversial, and only a change in the relations makes the integration of the periphery into the

overall system possible. If this applied to our problem of rural poverty, it means-that the situaton

of the rural poor can only be improved if these are integrated into the overall system. This

demands that society becomes aware of the poverty problem and creates a suitable political

climate which could result in budget allocations in favor of the poor areas. At the international

level, it may require a new international division-of labour.

Here, it becomes clear that development is more than economic growth. The necessary political

decisions will not come from change in production methods and economic situation alone. They

also require a change in the social and political infrastructure, inhuman relations and especially

in the power structure.

Importance of Rural Development:

Rural development is a vital component of fighting global Poverty and eradicating human

dependency on other countries or communities. It creates a new level of self-sufficiency and

satisfaction for members of a society who may have never experienced such development.

As a consequence of globalization and the new challenges it continues to present to those in the

developing world, rural development is more necessary and pressing than ever before

1. Agriculture

Developing agriculture and infrastructure in rural areas ensures that small communities,

potentially those excluded from normal trade routes, are able to sell their produce. Profits from

this can provide standard of living more equal to that of the rest of the country, if not the world.

Along with agriculture there are other areas to be addressed in development of rural areas, such

as an improvement of healthcare and education. This assists to further enhance people’s standard

of living.

Rural development needs to be focused on an individual community’s needs, not solely on one

area of development. It is with general and widespread rural development, and consultation with

local leaders that rural development can not only occur but also be successful.

2. Education

Industry needs a literate labour force. But most of the people live in villages 67% in Pakistan).

So rural development is needed to increase the education level of the majority of the population. 3. Finally, rural development is needed to reduce the migration of people from villages to cities.

The current rate of rural-to-urban migration in country is unsustainable. It is much more than the

rate at which industrial jobs and urban infrastructure are growing. So rural development is a must

to slow down the rural-to-urban migration.

It is of prime importance that students, teachers and rural personnel involved in improving rural

way of life know about the extension programmes. Agriculture is a centrally important sector of

Pakistan Rural Economy. It employs 52% of labour force and accounts for 6.6% of GDP.

Agriculture contributes 70% of export earnings. Pakistan is rich in natural resources. It has large

areas of deep soils. Favorable topography, suitable climatic conditions and water resources. Out

of 31.34 million hectors of cultivated land, about 20.43 million hectares are being cultivated.

Increasing population and limited resources are global issues. The problems are more serious in

almost all developing countries. Pakistan is no exception. To meet the need of rapidly growing

population, agriculture production will have to be at least double during next two decades. This

task can only be achieved by launching various rural development programmes such as

development of appropriate production technology, dissemination of modern technology to the

end users and formulation of suitable agriculture policies. Dissemination of appropriate

technology top the farmers are of vital importance if benefits is to be derived from technological

advances. Though overall objectives of multi-sectorial programmes was the enrichment of

material and social welfare of rural populations, agricultural development as the main focus. All

possible works and developmental programmes were used for the diffusion and adoption of new

ideas, practices and techniques of production. Local rural organizations such as village

cooperative credit societies, women’s organizations and health services centers were developed.

Village guides served as multi-purpose extension workers of all national building departments.

Rural Development strategy is Village Based, People-centered, action-oriented, self-reliant, Environmentally sustainable integrated agricultural and rural development programme to

alleviate poverty and to improve the quality of life of the rural poor.