POLI 211 Introduction to Development Studies

Transcript:POLI 211 Introduction to Development Studies:
POLI 211 Introduction to Development Studies Session 5 RURAL DEVELOPMENT Lecturer: Dr. Maame Adwoa A. Gyekye-Jandoh Contact Information: mgyekyej@yahoo.com Session Overview Overview This session brings us to a study and analysis of some real life issues of development. It introduces the varied and important issues regarding rural development. Rural development is increasingly seen in Development Studies as very important and necessary for the overall development of a country. Thus, this session will discuss agricultural progress and rural development, and the types of agriculture common in developing countries. Slide 2 Session Outline The key topics to be covered in this session are as follows: Topic One: The Imperative of Agricultural Progress and Rural Development Topic Two: Agricultural Stagnation and Growth Since 1950 Topic Three: The Nature of Agricultural Systems of Developing Nations Slide 3 Reading List Todaro, Michael. 2000. Economic Development. England: Pearson Education Limited. Michael Todaro and Stephen Smith (2012). “Agricultural Transformation and Rural Development”. Major newspapers and news magazines both locally and internationally, regarding rural and agricultural development. Slide 4 The imperative of agricultural progress and rural development Topic One Slide 5 The Imperative of Agricultural Progress and Rural Development Today, development economists have come to realize that rather than a passive, supportive role in economic development, the agricultural sector and the rural economy must play an indispensable role in overall national development (Todaro 2000). Without such integrated rural development, development economists point out that industrial growth would be stunted, or even if it succeeded, it would create an imbalance in the economy, making worse widespread poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Michael Todaro (2000), for example, argues that if sustainable development is to take place, it will have to begin in the rural areas in general and particularly in the agricultural sector. He continues to argue that core problems of widespread poverty, growing inequality, rapid population growth, and rising unemployment, tend to originate in the stagnation and decline of economic life in the rural areas of developing nations. Slide 6 An Agricultural and Employment-Based Strategy of Economic Development In Africa, three quarters of the population live in rural areas. Of greater importance is that the vast majority (almost 70%) of the poorest people in the world live in rural areas and engage primarily in subsistence agriculture. More than 800 million of these people do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. An Agricultural and Employment-Based Strategy of