This paper presents some of the basic trends, issues, and questions regarding the last four decades of international development cooperation in agriculture. The impact of technical cooperation tends to account for only a small proportion of change; the bulk of the variance being caused by internal, rather than external, forces and events. The paper reviews both multilateral and bilateral technical cooperation, and then illustrates with the case of U.S. universities in international technical cooperation. It goes on to question the (...) difference between “development” and “merely change,” and asks who are the real beneficiaries? Finally, the paper suggests the following factors affecting continuity and change as forces to be analysed with respect to any attempt at technical cooperation: biological, physical, cultural, social, economic, administrative, political, and diplomatic. The world experience of the past four decades confirms that without consideration of such a human ecology of continuity and change, well-meaning interventions in international technical cooperation are likely to have unintended consequences for both “donors” and “recipients.”. (shrink)

This chapter presents a brief history of American Rural Sociology. It discusses the key early figures, such as C.J. Galpin, Kenyon Butterfield, Dwight Sanderson, and Thomas Carver Nixon. But the focus is on the next generation, and the distinctive institutional character of rural sociology as it developed in the twenties and thirties, and evolved in relation to events in the postwar period. Rural sociology shared many features with the “Social Survey” movement, including its commitment to community (...) class='Hi'>development, and to some extent its methods. The “Survey Movement” petered out, for reasons having to do with the willingness of communities to subject themselves to the kind of scrutiny needed for reform. The community studies of Rural Sociology were caught between similar forces, and were also politically vulnerable. Postwar rural sociology responded to these vulnerabilities, but faced changes in agriculture that undermined the original purpose of im - proving rural life. The field nevertheless retained its commitment to engagement, and found new ways of doing so. In this respect, it deviated significantly from general, which had an acrimonious split from the survey movement. Ironically, however, general sociology has returned to engagement, at a time that rural sociology has lost its original subject matter and raison d’être. (shrink)

RESUMEN Se aplicó una intervención socio sanitaria en el asentamiento rural El León de Camagüey basada en los resultados de un estudio anterior, desde la comunicación social, educativa, así como aspectos socioculturales evaluados que permitieron la realización de este estudio. Su objetivo fue implementar una estrategia de intervención basada en acciones sociales y educativas colectadas en un manual que organizó contenidos de antropología socio cultural, psicología, sociología de la salud y trabajo social comunitario, la que fue conducida por profesionales (...) de enfermería como prestadores, cuyo encargo social les asigna una mayor permanencia e intercambio con los pobladores, potenciándose el trabajo comunitario a partir de febrero de 2016,como etapa de sostenibilidad. La investigación constituyó un diseño mixto, con un estudio cuasi experimental sin grupo control combinado con métodos cualitativos. La evaluación final efectuada en el periodo 2017-2018 exhibió modificaciones positivas en indicadores de las historias clínicas familiares de los pobladores, repercutiendo en el Análisis de la Situación de Salud, realizado en abril de 2018 y el entorno comunitario. Se demostró la importancia de la aplicación de la estrategia de intervención comunitaria desde las disciplinas de las ciencias sociales, por el personal de enfermería como agente de cambio de desarrollo local y protagonista de sostenibilidad. ABSTRACT A social sanitary intervention was applied in the rural establishment El León of Camagüey, based on social and educational actions collected in a manual that organized social cultural anthropology contents, psychology, sociology of the health and community social work, which was led by infirmary professionals like lenders, whose social order assigns a major permanence and exchange of them with the settlers. The investigation constituted a mixed design, with a study quasi experimentally without control group combined with qualitative methods. The final evaluation carried out in the period 2017-2018 exhibited positive modifications in indicators of the familiar clinical history of the settlers, what reverberated in the Analysis of the Situation of Health, carried in April, 2018 and the community environment. It was demonstrated the importance of the application of the strategy of community intervention from the disciplines of the social sciences, by the infirmary personnel as change agent of local development and protagonist of sustainability. (shrink)

Literacy plays a significant role in community development. Without literacy, development goals cannot be achieved easily. Through literacy, the community does not face any challenge to improve their quality of life. For this reason, developed and developing countries nowadays are investing a lot on social and natural innovations, plus human capital in communities to increase their level of literacy. Iran is no exception. For this purpose, the government of Iran has formulated several community literacy development programs in (...) the country. One of the major programs that has been implemented for this purpose is the Community Learning Centers Program (CLCP) (Mehdizadeh, 2003). In the Islamic Republic of Iran, CLCP was implemented in early 2000. It has had very encouraging results in solving the problem of illiteracy in this country. All communities that have pioneered the program have experienced a remarkable increase in their literacy level (Ebrahimian, Bahirai, & Iranian National Commission for ISESCO, 2006). What are the reasons of such achievements? Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that have contributed to the success of CLCP in community literacy development in the Islamic republic of Iran. (shrink)

The idea of a profound urban–rural divide has shaped analysis of the 2016 U.S. presidential election results. Here, through examples from agri-food systems, we consider the limitations of the urban–rural divide framework in light of the assumptions and intentions that underpin it. We explore the ideas and imaginaries that shape urban and rural categories, consider how material realities are and are not translated into U.S. rural development, farm, and nutrition policies, and examine the blending of (...) rural and urban identities through processes of rural deagrarianization and urban reagrarianization. We do not argue that an urban–rural divide does not exist, as studies and public opinion polls illustrate both measured and perceived differences in many aspects of the lived experiences that shape our individual and collective actions. Ultimately, we suggest that the urban–rural divide concept obscures the diversity and dynamism of experiences each category encompasses. Additionally, it ignores the connections and commonalities that demand integrative solutions to challenges in agri-food systems, and draw attention to the power relations that shape resource access and use within and across urban and rural spaces. (shrink)

This paper focuses on smallholder agriculture and livelihoods in north-central Tanzania. It traces changes in agricultural production and asset ownership in one community over a 28 year period. Over this period, national development policies and agriculture programs have moved from socialism to neo-liberal approaches. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we explore how farmers have responded to these shifts in the wider political-economic context and how these responses have shaped their livelihoods and ideas about farming and wealth. (...) This case study clearly debunks the idea that rural farmers are slow to respond to “modern” farming methods or that smallholder farming is stagnant and cannot reduce poverty. While changes overall are very positive in this rural community, challenges remain as land sizes are small and markets often unreliable. This research cautions against a shift in emphasis to large-scale farming as a strategy for national development. It suggests instead that increased investment in supporting smallholder farming is critical for addressing poverty and rural well-being. (shrink)

To redefine work as a concept, the author develops the theoretical contours of a multidimensional continuum model of women's work that moves away from older dual spheres models, using oral histories of older rural white women from Iowa and Missouri. Based on a grounded theory analysis, the author discusses three important dimensions of a continuum model of work: economic benefits, location, and time control characteristics. These dimensions tend to funnel women into multiple work strategies where they combine several labor (...) options to maximize economic benefit. A multidimensional continuum model allows us to observe some of the mechanisms operating in women's labor decision-making process. It suggests new ways of thinking about women's life course patterns. By providing us with a definition of work that more accurately reflects observed experience, it casts doubt on some of our social policies, especially those regarding the care of children and the elderly. (shrink)

Integrated pest management (IPM) has been widely promoted in the developing world, but in many regions its adoption rates have been variable. Experience has shown that to ensure IPM adoption, the complexities of local agro-production systems and context-specific folk knowledge need to be appreciated. Our research explored the linkages between farmer knowledge, pest management decision making, and ecological attributes of subsistence maize agriculture. We report a case study from four rural communities in the highlands of southeast Honduras. Communities were (...) typified by their agro-environments, IPM training history, and levels of infestation by a key maize pest, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith). Although variable, infestation levels generally did not justify pest management intervention. Consequently, crop losses from this pest were considered of low importance and most farmers proceeded in a rational fashion by refraining from action in their fields. Farmers attributed the low degree of pest infestation predominantly to abiotic causal factors (rainfall, temperature). The role of natural enemies in controlling this pest (i.e., biological control) was deemed of low importance by farmers; nevertheless, a broad array of such organisms was mentioned by farmers as operating in their maize crop. Farmers’ knowledge of natural enemies only partially matched scientific knowledge and was associated with the ecological features of their respective field settings. Local knowledge about natural enemies was mainly restricted to abundant and easily observable predatory species. Farmers who were knowledgeable about biological control were also familiar with a larger variety of pest management alternatives than uninformed farmers. Management options covered a wide range of curative techniques, including conservation biological control. Farmers who relied on insecticides to manage pest outbreaks knew less about biological control and pesticide alternatives. In contrast, farmers who received IPM training mentioned more types of natural enemies and were familiar with a broader range of alternative pest management tactics. Our research suggests that IPM training modifies local knowledge to better fit its environmental context. This paper provides insights in the environmental context of local agro-ecological knowledge and its linkage with pest management decision making. It also constitutes a basis for modifying IPM extension programs to deliver locality-specific technologies while strengthening the local knowledge base. (shrink)

This paper explores changing production relations in agriculture in context of increasingly widespread and longer-duration male outmigration, as against previous, short-duration and seasonal migration. It investigates how de facto women-heads of households (WHHs) are changing a resilient crop-sharing system in absence of adequate access to productive assets, formal training or experience in farming, and while contributing labour to farming and coping with gendered demands on their time. Based on qualitative inquiry in one of the poorest parts of South Asia, the (...) Eastern Gangetic Plains, the paper shows that a section of WHHs are replacing sharecropping arrangements with fixed-value rental arrangements that resemble commercial contracts. The paper ends with a discussion on the implications of this emerging development. (shrink)

This paper aims to investigate the origins and evolution of IslamicBanking and Finance from the early days of Islam up to the formal establishmentof Islamic banks in the sixties of the last century. It also sheds light on thebanking practices in the later parts of Islamic history which is an almost unresearchedarea. It records the existence of interest free lending societies at theend of the 19th century and the situation preceding the development of modernIslamic banks in the second half (...) of the twentieth century. The paper concludesthat Islamic banking was an attempt to practice an aspect of economic life inan Islamic way and it first emerged in rural and agricultural economies andnothing to do with the petrodollar or oil boom of the Middle East as usuallyput forward. (shrink)

This article investigates the construction of urban/rural binary distinctions in 18th - and 19th-century social scientific literature, and in particular in the writings of the statistical societies in England. The 18th-century writers were primarily concerned with the spread of luxury, vice and effeminacy among the upper social strata in large cities. Later on, statisticians began to focus on moral hazards among the urban working poor. These writings are significant in several respects: they contributed to the spatial mapping of moral (...) character, played a role in the development of quantitative social scientific techniques, and foreshadowed later sociological debates over the nature and consequences of social evolution from simpler to more complex societies. (shrink)

This paper attends to find out the relationship among religious belief, society and Song-Jiang Battle Array in southern Taiwan, by using the qualitative methods which include literature analyses and the fieldwork investigations. In the process of research, the origin and development of Song-Jiang Battle Array are emerging step by step, which demonstrates that development and evolvement of Song-Jiang Battle Array are most related to contemporaneous social formations. They influenced the relationship between government and people and also affected the (...) relationship between religious belief and Song-Jiang Battle Array. In the end, people’s devotions toward religion are the main force of uniting people in rural society of southern Taiwan and have played an essential role in helping maintain their heritage. All of that is not established in one night. It has been evolving for hundreds of years. Keywords: Song-Jiang Battle Array , S outhern Taiwan , R eligious belief , Government , F olk art array. (shrink)

The political developments in post-socialist countries are taken as a general frame for discussing rural development in the transition from centrally planned to market economies. Rural communities and agriculture in post-socialist countries are facing major problems related to decollectivization of property, the stimulation of effective private agricultural units, and the building up of integrated rural communities and their local autonomy. After presenting the developments in Slovenia in detail, the author comes to the conclusion that no foreign/western (...) development model can be literally applied to any post-socialist state. These nations must define their own goals and formulate the strategies to reach them based on the analysis of their specific situations, and in doing this they must engage their own scientists/professionals and take foreign experts only as occasional advisors. (shrink)

In South Africa, the way oral history archives of rural villagers are managed calls for attention as it can limit the inclusivity, visibility, accessibility and socio-economic development of rural communities, especially the younger generation. This article reports on a study that aimed to unpack some of the opportunities and challenges regarding the preservation and publishing of oral history archives faced by a village community in the KwaZulu-Natal province. In addition, the study aimed to determine what the community (...) knew about the South African legislative requirements regarding the management of oral history archives. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, grounded theory design and a constructivist paradigm. The postmodernist theory helped in gaining insight into how the principle of provenance is central when trying to understand the importance of inclusivity in the management of archives in this digital era. The 21st century is haunted by many socio-economic challenges such as the coronavirus disease 2019, poverty, unemployment, inequality and social exclusion and giving space to the long-neglected oral history archives and counter archives or identity archives cannot be over-emphasised. In this context, such an initiative is viewed as critical in curbing the scourges of inequality, social exclusion and unemployment, particularly among the younger generation.Contribution: This article calls for the reimagining of the way oral history archives of a village are managed, preserved and published. In doing so, the use of a postmodernist approach and the provenance principle are viewed as critical in helping promote inclusivity and visibility of the long-neglected archives. The article argues that this approach may also help improve some of the socio-economic challenges faced by a village community when managing their oral history archives. (shrink)

This paper is based on an open lecture given at OCMS on Tuesday 21 December 2004.

Agricultural development strategies to date were chiefly based on Western technological solutions, with mixed success rates. Farming Systems Research (FSR) was advanced as a way to increase the use of indigenous knowledge of farming to make new technologies more adaptable and appropriate to farming conditions. FSR has enabled researchers to focus attention on people and their knowledge by increasing people's participation in problem identification and new technology validation. In practice, though, FSR continues to be a top-down approach: technologies continue (...) to be developed (in most cases) in the exogenous, Western knowledge system. Little has been done to develop indigenous technology generating and diffusing capacities already present in the rural areas. In this paper, a model adapted from Bell (1979) will be advanced that is based on cooperation and collaboration between the exogenous and indigenous knowledge systems leading to a synthesis of the two. The underlying principle of the model is that the ultimate solution for rural development is not the dumping of more scientists upon rural people (of whatever discipline) to make exogenously-generated technologies more adaptable and in-line with people's problems, but to strengthen, empower, and legitimize indigenous capacities for identifying problems and developing solutions for these problems. The “empowerment” of the indigenous knowledge/technology system (however difficult that may be politically) so that it has equal footing with Western knowledge may well be the most important step in a strategy of enabling the people in the developing countries themselves to alleviate their poverty. (shrink)

《一代直聲百年盡瘁：梁簌溟鄉村建設運動研究》系統梳理了20世紀30年代梁漱溟主持的山東鄉村建設實驗的相關內容，以及不同時期相關實踐者和學者對其鄉村建設實驗進行的各種討論和爭議，試圖全方位挖掘梁漱溟鄉建 思想與實踐的深層學術價值和現實借鑒意義，冀望對今天的農村現代化建設和農村改革，尤其是“三農”問題的解決和優化提供有益的借鑒。.

A growing literature on scholarly and practical approaches to conservation and development uses a livelihood approach to understand rural peoples’ diverse assets and activities, especially as they serve to minimize vulnerability to economic and ecological shocks. In recent years, the suite of potential assets available to rural households has been theorized as human, natural, physical, social, and cultural capitals and includes the context in which they are used. Here we explore Wounaan livelihood strategies and how they articulate (...) with the dynamic political economic history of eastern Panama. Known in Panama as forest dependent swiddeners, semi-structured interviews and participant observation revealed Wounaan’s increasing reliance on fishing, artisanship, and ecotourism in their income profiles. While these income sources are linked to decreasing land availability and increasing market opportunities, we address the role of cultural beliefs and values in Wounaan negotiation of their income strategies. (shrink)

Contributed articles, with reference to India.

This paper reports on the LEADER+ programme and on the work carried out supporting rural communities in EU countries under the LEADER+ programme. This is a programme that supports development in particularly vulnerable rural regions of the European countries that are members of the EU. It supports creative and innovative projects that can contribute to long-term and sustainable development in these regions. In this paper, we will focus on three specific areas: networking, facilitation of groups, and (...) information and communication technologies. Some case studies are shortly described. (shrink)

International agricultural development as practiced by U. S. sponsored research groups in developing countries has emphasized technical questions of production, ignoring more fundamental social and economic issues that underline rural poverty and hunger. Rethinking the role of U. S. development assistance will require transcending the view that the only way to impact agriculture in the Third World is by increasing the intensity of land use in high potential agricultural areas. The challenge is to find ways of how (...) to further increase agricultural productivity so that the rural poor significantly benefit, while at the same time conserving and regenerating the resource base. U. S. scientists must realize that this is only possible by improving the access of resource-poor farmers to land, water, other natural resources, as well as to equitable credit, markets, appropriate technologies, etc. Solidarious collaboration will emerge from the U. S. siding with progressive governments and/or community-based initiatives that promote political change aimed at securing farmers' control over resources and inputs, and changing the structural conditions and policies that perpetuate poverty. (shrink)

Tirana, immediately after it was declared the capital of Albania on 11 February 1920, has undergone many changes in its morphology and city context. The capital is located in the heart of the country. During its lifespan, Tirana has adopted four important regulatory plans starting from 1923. The Western ideologies of the time influenced drastically the city development. The influence of such ideologies was stopped immediately though the imposition of communist ideas, after the Second World War. Rational building forms (...) were created which could be standardized in order to reduce construction costs. Meanwhile, in Western Europe, this current was implemented during the 1920s, as a response to social problems. The communist regime established strict anti-urbanization policy that aims to foster the development of rural areas and the suburban industrial districts in order to control urban growth and demographic mobility. All the regulatory master plans of Tirana, climate data of the city, the actual situation of the specific neighborhood, its orientation toward north, are considered in order to gather information and to implement the correct bioclimatic eco-renovation in the area. A special attention will be given to the underground tunnels which were constructed during the communist regime all over the city (1945–1983) as a response to a hypothetic nuclear attack, in order to shelter the inhabitance against bombing. These reinforced concrete tunnels will serve not only as an area for water collection and recycling strategies but also for cooling with zero energy expenditure for the inhabitants as a consequence of differences in temperature and air pressure. This strategy benefits from the underground air temperature in both seasons (winter and summer). It envisages the handover of these tunnels by the community. Nowadays, such structures are abandoned and denigrated. The realization of these structures required large amounts of money from the state budget. Considering that fact they need to be vitalized and reused, using different methodologies and strategies as part of the city. After the communist regime in the city of Tirana, two other regulatory plans were implemented which observe the city from another perspective, determining and evaluating Tirana’s real values as a city of the future, but not defining yet Tirana as an Ecocity. The ecological potential of Tirana including its outskirts is to be considered. Its flora and fauna are very rich, containing a mixt of species and plants. Regardless, the city of Tirana is suffering from different kinds of pollution such as air and noise pollution which are above EU and WHO norms. Tirana benefits from a Temperate Mediterranean climate. Furthermore, the benefits of the solar radiation are enormous. Unfortunately, nowadays, the city of Tirana is not profiting much from it. This chapter is in search of an overall view of the city of Tirana, and its great potential discovering its underground and upper ground historical secrets. (shrink)

Growing opioid misuse in the United States has resulted in more children living with an adult with an opioid use history. Although an abundance of research has demonstrated a link between opioid misuse and negative parenting behaviors, few intervention efforts have been made to target this underserved population. The Family Check-Up has been tested in more than 25 years of research, across multiple settings, and is an evidence-based program for reducing risk behavior, enhancing parenting skills, and preventing the onset of (...) substance use. It is designed to motivate parents to engage in positive parenting practices and to change problematic parenting and has been tested across a variety of ages including early childhood and adolescence. It is highlighted in NIDA’s Principles of Substance Use Prevention for Early Childhood: A research-based guide as one of only three effective selective prevention programs for substance abuse among families with young children. Recently, we developed an online version of the FCU that has now been adapted for early childhood and families with opioid use histories. The online platform and telehealth model allow for wide-scale dissemination, ease of training with community providers, and increased public health reach for families in remote, rural areas. This is particularly important when targeting families with opioid misuse and addiction because there are high rates of addiction in remote areas, yet few services available. In this article, we describe the FCU Online and review new content in the model that targets a population of young adult parents with substance abuse histories, including opioid use. New modules include content focused on harm reduction for this high-risk population of parents, such as safety in the home, substance use while parenting, and managing conflict with partners and friends. (shrink)

Three quarters of Vietnam'sland area is in the uplands and foothills,which contain some of the poorest communes inthe country. The Ngoc Lac Natural ResourcesConservation and Management Project, in ThanhHoa Province, is one of several large uplandrural development projects that receivessubstantial funding from foreign governments inVietnam. The project was designed in 1995 toaddress the environmental constraints tosocio-economic development of Ngoc LacDistrict, while improving agriculturalproduction and natural resources management.During the first three years of operation, theproject focused on the introduction anddissemination (...) of various ``model'' technologicalpackages for improved agriculture, forestry,and animal husbandry. These models includedtree nurseries, sloping agricultural landtechnologies, integrated fish pond-livestockpen-home garden systems, and several animalhusbandry activities. However, the distributionof the models was not socially equitable, thesustainability of the models by model farminghouseholds proved problematic, and the adoptionof these technology practices by non-modelhouseholds was quite low. Four lessons can beidentified from past rural developmentexperience: beware of ``participatory'' ruralappraisal, start small and go slowly, introducelimited technologies, and help farmers adaptthe technologies. There are two promisinginitiatives underway in Vietnam. These are theparticipatory curriculum development and theparticipatory technology developmentinitiatives of the Social Forestry SupportProgram. (shrink)

Boyer's minimalist model is a compelling account of ownership psychology that is more efficient than previous models. However, it is unclear whether the two simple systems that make up this model – acquisitiveness and cooperation – are sufficient to both explain the nuanced development of ownership concepts and to account for the prominent influence that history has on ownership psychology.

The “smart village” flourishes – at least in policy papers that envision the revitalization of rural areas through the civic deployment of networked media and telecommunications. Yet, while such aspirations are widespread, little is known about the views of those tasked with supervising and supporting digitally driven public participation for rural progress. To address the lack of insight into what these intermediary administrators conceive as catalysts and challenges for the realization of smart village conceptions, we surveyed representatives of (...) regions in Germany who oversee rural development schemes, most notably within the European LEADER framework. For these key actors, digital participation does not mainly hinge on broadband access and IT availability. Instead, they emphasize the importance of human and administrative resources as well as multi-actor collaboration, which we discuss in terms of digital readiness, digital willingness, and digital activity. Building the smart village, we conclude, seems not so much a matter of technological infrastructure, but rather of sociotechnical infrastructuring. (shrink)

This case study investigates Gram Vikas' innovative social entrepreneurial approach to sustainable rural development through its 'Water and Sanitation Programme'. We explore its key innovation of 100 % inclusion and the process of creating democratic, self-governing management systems. This allows us to demonstrate how a social enterprise tries to realize its vision of "an equitable and sustainable society where people live in peace with dignity", and ultimately, how it contributes to the United Nations Millennium Goals of improving health, (...) empowering women and breaking the vicious circle of poverty. We also discuss the management challenges that the organisation faces in the area of finance, personnel management and scaling up. (shrink)

Despite the growing body of excavation finds and the steady publication of museum collections, the numismatic evidence remains an underutilized historical source. Historians who study Late Antiquity rely on archaeological evidence but tend to ignore coin finds, partly because numismatics developed as an independent field with its own set of specialized tools and research questions. Insufficient dialogue between the disciplines has delayed a proper appreciation of Early Byzantine coins as historical source and the development of a clear methodology for (...) their use in conjunction with the literary and archaeological evidence. In order to overcome such disciplinary divides, this paper proposes several research directions by highlighting the main benefits of integrating the numismatic evidence more fully into the historical narrative. These research directions include a greater emphasis on bronze coinage, the study of the long-distance circulation of people and goods, and distinctions between urban, rural, and fortified contexts. This methodological discussion is followed by a case study from Byzantium’s Lower Danube frontier. (shrink)

This article concentrates on 1890 land-grant colleges' and universities' contributions to rural development in 16 southern and border states. The author contends that lifting rural dwellens out of ignorance and poverty has been a major objective of 1890 institutions. During the early years the 1890s sent out change-agents to encourage rural dwellers to improve their standard of living through education and self-help programs. These agents went into rural communities and taught farm families to raise better (...) crops and livestock; improve their homes, schools, and community life; and despite inadequate funding of teaching, research, and extension at these schools, the 1890 schools made significant contributions to rural development. Moreover, the writer contends that the 1890 schools are not outmoded, but essential to rural development and to the education of American citizens during the rest of the 1990s and into the 21st century. (shrink)

Development Agencies established with the Law on the Establishment, Coordination and Duties of Development Agencies No. 5449 dated 08.02.2006 on the condition that the pre-accession financial assistance program can be utilized in the 2003 European Union Accession Partnership Certificate, were obliged to increase the regional and rural development capacity of the region and to provide support to the projects in this context. The aim of this study is to show how and in what way Development (...) Agencies contribute to rural development. In order to make this assessment available from the current 26 Development Agencies in Turkey; West Mediterranean Development Agency (BAKA), Eastern Anatolia Development Agency (DOĞAKA), Eastern Black Sea Development Agency (PJC), the South Aegean Development Agency (REER), the Silk Road Development Agency (ICA), KARACADAĞ and Trakya Development Agency (TRAKYAKA)'s activity reports and regional plans for 2016 were scanned and interviews were conducted with experts. (shrink)

Agricultural and rural development programs can only succeed if they are based on effective participation and support of actors from the policymaking stage through all levels, including field personnel and primary producers. But these actors must possess the knowledge, attitude, and skills necessary to execute their tasks. For this reason, agricultural education and training has an integral part to play in any agricultural and rural development effort. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (...) has made significant contributions to the development of agricultural education in its member countries. FAO's contributions have focused on institution building, group training, and fellowship/study tours. This paper reviews some of the lessons learned through FAO involvement in these areas and recommends directions for improvement. These recommendations include the following:Higher agricultural education institutions should become more involved in rural development by participating in appropriate activities leading to the formulation of national development policies.These institutions should develop education programs and curricula responding to the need of development by providing the knowledge and skills required to meet the needs of the people concerned and to solve their technical and socio-economic problems.More emphasis should be placed on improving the quality of teaching and on practical training.The same institutions should undertake to play a leading role in the agricultural and training systems at the national level.Research should be an integral part of higher educational institution programs and the research themes should include interests of small and poor agricultural producers and measurement of research impacts.Regional and inter-regional collaboration among higher agricultural education institutions should be encouraged. (shrink)

Conventional gender analysis of development policy does not adequately explain the slow progress towards gender equality. Our research analyses the gender discourses embedded in agricultural and rural development policies in Myanmar and Nepal. We find that both countries focus on increasing women’s participation in development activities as a core gender equality policy objective. This creates a binary categorisation of participating versus non-participating women and identifies women as responsible for improving their position. At the same time, gender (...) (in)equality is defined exclusively as a women’s concern. Such discourses, as constitutive practices, produce specific knowledge about rural women and new subjectivities that prescribe and govern them solely as subjects of development. Our research suggests that such a limited discursive practice invisiblises gendered power relations and structural and institutional issues, ultimately slowing progress towards gender equality. We demonstrate the importance of studying policy as discourse, beyond the effectiveness of policies or mainstreaming tools, and call for empirical evidence on the impact of these discourses on women’s subjectivities and lived experiences. (shrink)

Of the three strategies available for managing common property resources (CPR)—centralized control, privatization and local management—this essay focuses on the last, which has proven quite effective in various settings throughout the Third World, with the key to success being local ability to control access to the resource. The major factors at issue in the Sundarbans situation are: historically external pressure on the forest; currently dense population in adjacent areas; a land distribution even more unequal than the norm in Bangladesh; and (...) a decentralized local government structure initiated in the mid-1980s. The first three factors have encouraged the local population to view this CRP as a frontier to be exploited,rather than as a resource to be preservedfor sustained yield. Thus to the extent that the new local government structure proves to be democratic and responsive to popular needs, it would most likely accelerate destruction of the Sundarbans, using the area as a cheap and easy way to provide some livelihood to the rural poor and landless. Accordingly, decentralization cannot be a viable strategy for preserving this unique forest resource; only a strong central control can ensure its survival into the next century. (shrink)

While today an often stated concern of development planning in the Third World is the participation of people in the decision-making process, in many cases the nature of popular participation in the planning process is generally limited in its jurisdictional scope and restricted in its application. This article explores perceptions of development professionals and local citizens regarding barriers and willingness to participate in decision making, local leadership, and local institutionalization processes across three types (state agricultural universities, central research (...) institutes, and nongovernmental organizations) of Farm Science Centers in eleven or ganizations in India. Findings suggest that willingness to participate may turn on reconciling competing institutional beliefs and working relationships. A strategy emphasizing cultural sensitively for enhancing local action relevant to agricultural and rural development practitioners is presented. (shrink)

AllSweden Shall Live! is an umbrella movement of 2,300 rural development organizations that has taken shape in reaction to political and economic threats to “the living countryside.” The movement's strategy combines self-help activities and political mobilization. Ritual events celebrating a shared culture, a culture that blends traditional and newly invented elements, are crucial means of maintaining solidarity and mobilizing energies. The article investigates a self-help activity, saving country stores, and a political event, a “Countryside Parliament,” both motivated by (...) a commitment to sustain rural communities in a critical time. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the factors of housing construction affecting the development of rural areas, identifying their relationships, as well as the specifics of the implementation of the program of preferential rural mortgages in the regions and the damage of its impact on the village. The scientific novelty of the work carried out consists in confirming the hypothesis of the insignificance of the impact of the preferential rural mortgage program in (...) the improvement of housing in remote rural areas and the acceleration of the process of deurbanization. As a result, using the example of the subjects of the Russian Federation and specifically the Stavropol Territory, it is demonstrated that factors of housing construction and home improvement affect the development of only large rural settlements located near administrative centers. (shrink)