By Dr. B K Mukhopadhyay
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the definition for rural and urban development is distinguished by two hierarchical levels of territorial unit: local and regional. Local development explains the participative process to address and solve a diversity of socio-economic, cultural and environmental problems with the aim of producing sustainable development and improve the quality of life of the population.
Regional development activities are always aimed at addressing regional problems and issues through development interventions which are best carried out at the regional level i.e. a specific district, location, area etc. It focuses on good practice in the support and promotion of wealth as part of an integrated geographical approach, expressed at a regional scale involving regional actors.
However, where rural advancements are concerned, the fact still remains that even in this day and age, rural countrysides continue to bear the brunt of major challenges which arise mainly from globalization, demographic change and the rural migration of young, well-trained people. The current situation brings to light, the dire need for policy implementation in rural areas through existing strengths and opportunities.
THE REALITY SPEAKS BUT WHAT DOES IT REFLECT?
More than half of the global population already resides in cities. This number is projected to increase, with 60 percent of the population living in urban areas by 2030. The United Nations (UN) rightly warned that half of the world’s increase in the urban land will occur in Asia over the next 20 years and two of the region’s largest economies, China and India, will see the most extensive changes. In India, the loss of agricultural land to urbanization, aided by insufficient planning for food supply lines, will place a severe constraint on the country’s future food security for its growing population, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opined in its ‘The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook’ report.
Clearly, poverty eradication is the foundation for global peace and security and quality of life for all. It is crystal clear today that vibrant rural economies are vital not only to eliminate poverty in rural communities but also to economic growth in poor countries as a whole. The question is: how public, private and civil sectors must work together, coherently and efficiently, to translate their commitment to rural development into policies, activities, and investments that improve the daily lives of the rural poor and at the same time enhance their power to chart and lead their own development into the future.
The time is ripe to show the real willingness and ability to devise and implement an integrated and sustainable development strategy, supported by a realistic region-oriented development plan, based on a type of the identity, resources reflecting specific knowledge of the territory concerned. According to UN Sustainable Development, it is estimated that in 2015 still roughly 2.8 billion people worldwide lack access to modern energy services and more than 1 billion do not have access to electricity. For the most part, this grave development burden falls on rural areas, where a lack of access to modern energy services negatively affects productivity, educational attainment, and even health and ultimately exacerbates the poverty trap.
Hence, it is essential to use new information and technologies to make the products and services of rural areas more competitive; improving the quality of life in rural areas; adding value to local products [in particular by facilitating access to markets for small production units via collective actions]; making the best use of natural and cultural resources, among others.
NO SNAPSHOT PRESCRIPTION
Although a complex process, there are however few variables that could be factored in. For instance, road-based rural development [farm and non-farm sectors simultaneously dealt with] in developing countries must be founded on higher productivity by small-scale farmers. Additionally, it’s also imperative to ensure secure access to land, water, technology, financial and other institutions that support and reward efforts of poor farmers. They are also in need of better transport and communication infrastructure and facilities for storage, crop processing and marketing to anticipate higher yields and good harvests that are not followed by a collapse in prices.
The organization is also required from small-scale performers as well as to gain market access and to take charge of decision making. It is definitely noteworthy that international agencies are getting increasingly in this process – both developing countries and donor countries are steadily recognizing the very importance of rural and agricultural development in the fight to end hunger and poverty.
Among current challenges, like the implementation of plans and programmes, and this can be established by roping in more resources for rural development and poverty eradication. Alongside, it’s key to make sure that these investments are used, temporally, spatially, functionally and hierarchically.
Microcredit is one such example of ‘rural development’ that has been meeting the needs of low-income communities in South Asia, giving them the confidence to move forward. Through various microcredit programmes, Bangladesh has shown the way. According to a report by The Daily Star, The World Bank’s 2008 Poverty Assessment has two findings in the context of microfinance.
First, Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) programme coverage data suggest that, since 2000 microfinance has expanded more in areas that were poorer, presumably because the better-off geographical areas were covered in the previous decade. Secondly, the report shows that the reduction in poverty in rural Bangladesh has been much more in upazilas where microfinance membership increased more rapidly, after accounting for other factors which drive poverty reduction. India too has had its fair share of glories with regards to microcredit. In fact, The microfinance industry has seen tremendous growth over the past five years, growing at a 45 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). It has witnessed rapid evolution with regulatory reforms post the Andhra Pradesh crisis in 2010 to regulate the product, pricing, and protection of customer interest. This included the growth of regulated NBFC MFIs – a special class of RBI regulated entities carrying out microfinance, the formation of the first-ever Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) of the RBI, Aadhar based lending by NBFC MFIs and transformation of some of the entities into universal and small finance banks.
What’s strikingly odd is that, despite its highest exposure to microcredit even today, Asian economies still struggle to break free from the cycle of poverty. Even after experiencing unprecedented and consistent economic growth over the past two decades, South and South-east Asia is still home for over 40% of the world’s poor, the majority of them in rural areas. World’s two most populous countries [India and China] have more than two-thirds of food-insecure people in the region.
With nearly 195 million undernourished people, India shares a quarter of the global hunger burden states an article by United Nations in India. Nearly 47 million or 4 out of 10 children in India are suffering from chronic undernutrition or stunting. Stunting has consequences such as diminished learning capacity, poor school performance, reduced earnings and increased risks of chronic diseases. The impacts are multi-generational as malnourished girls and women often give birth to low birth-weight infants. There has also been an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in India, which has life-long consequences of non-communicable diseases in adulthood.
China experienced numerous food shortages In the past century but eventually corrected them by implementing a quota system (1955–1993) and land contract reform (1981) that incentivized farmers. Total grain output increased 74% from 354 million tons in 1982 to 618 million tons in 2017, surpassing the growth of its population by about 34%.
Today, China feeds 20% of the world’s population on 7% of the world’s farmlands. To accomplish this feat, China paid a heavy price. China’s excessive and inefficient use of chemical fertilizers, increasing 3-fold in the past three decades, efficiencies averaging at 32% compared to world average of 55%, contributed to its current harmful state of environmental pollution.
At this point it’s key to actively consider that higher productivity and output are prerequisites for sustained poverty reduction, yet the entire process would be very little effective given the absence of access to efficient markets, small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs in developing countries remain at an enormous disadvantage as most of markets are hostile or de facto inaccessible to the rural poor. As a result of which, the effort of poor farmers in remote areas of the world can be nullified by international processes that remain far beyond their control.
We know that agriculture is the largest employer, job creator, and export earner, hence, it has been a driving force in the economic growth in many countries for centuries. Given the integral role that agriculture plays in the success of any economy, Lennart Båge quoted that ‘for every dollar invested in agriculture, another two dollars is generated for a developing country’s national economy. It has been the often dramatic progress in agricultural development, translated into increases in productivity, that has generated increased income, which leads to savings and investments, and finally to greater demand for goods and services’.
Three-quarters of the world poor [about 900 million people] still continue to live in rural areas where they depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. That is to say logically: the Millennium poverty target cannot be met unless the world effectively addresses rural poverty. International cooperation is a must. So, better late than never!
THE WAY FORWARD
Empowering rural population [that includes a large number of vulnerable groups, including women, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, member of low castes, and ethnic minorities], still remains a far cry. Women, as is well known [thanks to the African Proverb: without women, we will go hungry] in particular are responsible for a vast majority of food production, household work, and care work. In the context of Bangladesh, the garment industry, for example, has been a thriving sector for women’s employment as 80% of its workers are female. Additionally, organizations like International Labour Force (ILO) play a major role in skills development for rural migrant women, through Technical and Vocational Training and Education (TVET) which ensures education as well as livelihoods for women coming from low-income communities. But even with its advancements, the provisions for women to have their own loopholes; quality education, child marriage, gender equality are still obstacles that continue to stunt women in rural areas. These, in turn, blocks the speed of the ongoing efforts directed towards mitigation of regional imbalances. Manpower wastage, marketing hindrances, inadequate availability of quality inputs and managerial ineffectiveness, among others, just go on adding to sectoral and spatial imbalances.
*The writer is a noted Management Economist, an International Commentator on Business and Economic Affairs, and Principal, ICFAI University, Tripura, India, can be reached at m.bibhas@gmail.com