ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstracting Service

Asia- Pacific Journal of Rural Development ( APJORD)

Vol.1, July 1991, No. 1

Agriculture and Rural Development in the Asia-Pacific Region: Present Scenario and Future Outlook

 By

AZM Obaidullah Khan

Abstract:

The paper very succinctly describes the positive aspects of agricultural development in the Asia-Pacific region, urges not to be complacent with the better performance achieved in the 1980s, particularly with respect to record production of cereal harvest, high production of livestock and building of a reasonably good food stocks, and finally proposes a set of actions for maintaining the prosperity in the 1990s and distributions of its benefit to the poor and the disadvantaged.

South Asian: Those who are Left Behind-Issues and Perspectives

 By

Nurul Islam

Abstract:

South-Asia contains 46.4 percent of the poor of the developing world and the large majority of them live in rural areas. The rural poor are predominantly small and landless farmers, the extreme poor amongst often them do mot have access to food providing minimum nutritional requirements. The mainstream thinking, regarding appropriate development strategy for alleviating poverty in these areas, seems to be veering around to the position that both economic growth and increasing social expenditures to deal directly with certain aspects of poverty are needed. This present paper concerns not so much with reducing inequality as with alleviating poverty. The paper with this end in view examines the income distribution in South-Asian countries. It suggests three inter-related sets of measures to alleviate poverty in South Asia: (1) necessity to stimulate the economic growth and at the same time to ensure that the poor participate in the benefits from the process of growth; (2) necessity to expand the social expenditure of the government on the broad-based improvement of the health, education, sanitation and nutrition of the entire-population; and (3) necessity to ensure direct measures either to transfer income or food (the most basic of the minimum human needs) or to undertake employment programmes, designed for the very poor to provide them access to minimum income.

Gender and Rural Poverty in Asia: Implications for Agricultural Project Design and Implementation

By

Constantina Safilios-Rothschild

Abstract:

In Asia, gender and rural poverty are inter-linked in different ways. Gender appears to be a principal criterion for the allocation of scarce resources in communities and households. The effects of intra-household and societal gender inequities leading to women’s lesser access to food, health care, education and skills for productive employment are significant with regard to poverty creation and its perpetuation. Gender inequities are also exhibited in the process of development thinking.

In Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, the trends in respect of continuing intra-household gender inequities are reflected in the allocation of scarce resources. Women are less endowed in respect productive assets that could enhance the returns to their labour.

Women constitute the central agents to the success of poverty alleviation efforts since their income meets the basic domestic needs. There is a lack of data regarding women’s contribution in agriculture. The government and donor organizations are not mainstreaming women in agricultural and other rural development programme. In most countries, women farmers are bypassed by agricultural extension.

Poverty and Gender Issues

By

Alexandra Stephens

Abstract:

Rural women have often been the victims of development processes and outcomes, as evident from the increasing duration of their work-day, the widening gap between male and female incomes and gradual trend towards their greater responsibility in the management of household affairs. In Asia and the South Pacific, they hardly get recognition as farmers or are paid as such, although half of their working hours is involved in food production. Their health is affected by working longer than men. Lack of medical care, food and social services results in higher mortality rates for women.

Women become the principal victims to environmental degradation. Women farmers seldom get the opportunity of farm management training. In South Asia, schooling for girls is very limited. They are highly constrained in upward mobility due to their low education and access to information. Hence, their contribution in decision-making is vitally hampered.

Women get very negligible access to the economic means, when compared to men. Their participation in rural organization is poor. In the developing world, women farmers are almost outside the ambit of high-tech agricultural scenario.

A women farmer is, generally, in darkness about land-use planning. Women are not adequately involved in the recent efforts towards post-harvest loss reduction at the farm and village levels. The concepts of food standards and quality control are beyond the reach of rural women.

FAO’s Action Plan centres round four spheres of life, namely, civil status, economic, social and decision-making. Each sphere contains its individual strategy for enhancing women’s status at each level of the society.

The author concludes that women-themselves should rise to the occasion and take necessary steps to redress the problem of gender imbalance.

Food Policy and Rural Poverty Alleviation in India

By

R. Thamarajakshi

Abstract:

Food policies determine the ‘exchange entitlement mappings’ of rural labour, the most deprived categories of the population, and thus the state of nutrition and poverty in an economy. The effectiveness of food policies can be traced through the nature of their implications for the rural labour market. This paper attempts to examine the effect of food policies in India on the rural poor with special reference to agricultural labour in the post-seventy period when technological change got established in two important cereals viz., wheat and paddy. India has a long experience of Government intervention in foodgrain market and has been supporting farmers and providing food security to the poor. She has also been successfully implementing wage employment programmes for rural labour besides income generation programmes for the poor. It is observed that totality of factors, such as the introduction of high yielding varieties, expansion of irrigation, investments in infrastructure, delivery of credit and critical inputs on easy terms and a good extension service, along with a supportive price policy have made possible a sustained growth in the production and productivity of agriculture in general and of wheat and paddy in particular with consequential decline in cereal barter terms of trade in the last two decades. Growth in agricultural production has been accompanied by growth in employment in agriculture although employment elasticity in that sector has been less than unity and is declining. Further, the rural employment programmes of the Government have not only been generating substantial quantum of additional employment but also improving the bargaining power of the rural labour. As a result, real wages have risen, The Public Food Distribution System has been making special efforts to cover remote and for-flung areas and distributing foodgrains to tribal population and the target groups of rural wage employment programmes at subsidised rates Cereal prices have been moderately stable. The dally status unemployment rate in rural areas has shown a decline in this period. Government’s agricultural production and price policies, rural employment policies, public distribution policies and most importantly the overall growth of the economy have all combined to bring down rural poverty in a significant measure.

Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development in Selected Asian Countries

By

Durga Prasad Paudyal

Abstract:

Agrarian Reform and Rural Development programmes play a key role in the countries of Asia-Pacific region. The present sectoral approach to assess the impact of these programmes, give inadequate and often partial pictures, because a number of ministries/departments and their field level agencies are involved in the implementation. Therefore, there is a need to design a comprehensive M&E mechanism at the national level with proper linkages with the concerned agencies at national, sub-national and project levels. This article explains the existing M&E mechanism of four Asian countries and argues that the M&E mechanism development by CIRDAP, may generate a better data-base.

Asia- Pacific Journal of Rural Development ( APJORD)

Vol.II, July 1992, No. 1

How Poor are Women in Rural India?

 By

A.K.Rajuladevi

Abstract:

Women constitute and increasing percentage of the poor and households headed by women suffer severe deprivation, and lack access to resources necessary to improve their lot. The process of proletarianisation and pauperization, caste structure etc, play important roles in determining female participation in work; female work participation rate is highest not only amongst the poorest households but also among the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

This paper, through review of relevant literature shows how poverty focused strategies mostly provide channels through which new ties of dependence and exploitation are established. It discusses further, that as the economic status of poor women’s households decreases, they combine domestic work with wage work. It analyses those regional factors which act as powerful determinants o rural household strategies for the deployment of female labour other than caste and household economic status. This paper also examines whether the increase in rural women’s labour force participation is a sign of deepening poverty which has forced them into the labour market for survival or an indication of new economic opportunities which are forcing households to move against the cultural milieu and send them out to work. Finally, the paper focuses on gender based inequalities in access to employment opportunities and explores the intra-household gender discriminatory practices in the distribution of food, health care and education within poor households.

Participatory Planning for Rural Development and Disaster Management in Bangladesh

 By

Hiroyuki Nishimura

Abstract:

Based on empirical studies conducted in several villages in Bangladesh, the paper attempts to identify the types of disasters that occurred in the past and the effects of such disasters, especially floods on agricultural activities, It them goes on to examine how disaster management could be incorporated into rural planning focusing on the need to adopt a participatory approach to make such planning effective.

Managing Development Through Institution Building

 By

Salehuddin Ahmed

Abstract:

Impact of various efforts for improving the socio-economic conditions of the poor in the developing countries can be maximized through proper management and implementation of development programmes/projects. Effective project management and implementation are also crucial for sustainable development. Institutions, which encompass entities at the local level, community level, regional level, national level and in parastatals, project management units and so on are integral parts of project management and implementation. However, despite strong statements about the essential role of institutional development, and the realization of its potential contribution to development efforts, the issue of institutional development has received relatively little attention by policy makers, planners and implementators of  programme. This paper presents some issues on institutional development which are currently being focused on. In the context of developing countries, institutional development should not be looked at merely from a technical point of view and should not be taken merely with a distinct project entity. An interdisciplinary approach to institutional development, not a partial and iterative approach, is required for efficient management of development programmes/projects.

Mining Resettlement and rural Development in Malaysia

 By

Hassan Naziri Khalid

Abstract:

This article focuses on the formation of mining resettlements in tin-rich Kinta Valley Malaysia, comparing this type of resettlement with other types of resettlement schemes under the rural development programmes in that country. Mining resettlements are set up as compensation from mining companies to villagers whose lands are acquired for mining of tin. As these mining resettlements are under taken by private ventures, they are set up in an adhoc manner with little consideration for humanitarian needs, in contrast to the government sponsored resettlement schemes. Mining resettlement could be improved by coordinating the efforts of the mining companies and government agencies carrying out rural development programmes.

Farmers’ Use of Communication Media in Adopting Agricultural Technologies-a farm level study in Bangladesh

By

M.A.Kashem, A. Halim and M. Qulfikar Rahman

Abstract:

The present study was designed to analyze the relative contribution of various communication media in the transfer of modern agricultural technologies to farmer. Data were collected from a sample of 150 farmers from two villages under Sadar upazila of Mymensingh district from 23 April to 25 May 1991. A weighed score was used in order to compute the relative use of different communication media. The frequently used media were Block Supervisors, neighbour, veterinary hospital, on-farm trial, radio etc. in adopting different agricultural technologies. However, individual contact media were also used. Agricultural knowledge, competence as farmer and age were significantly related to the adoption of rice technologies; innovativeness and behaviour intent were significantly related to livestock production; behaviour intent was significantly related to fish culture; and agricultural knowledge, competence as farmer and age were significantly related to overall agricultural technology adoption.

Asia- Pacific Journal of Rural Development ( APJORD)

Vol.II, December 1992, No. 2

Can and Should Social Science Disaster Research Knowledge and Findings from Developed Societies be Applied in Developing Societies? 

By

E.L.Quarantelli

Abstract:

The paper considers the extent to which social science research findings about disasters primarily derived from developed countries can and should be applied in developing societies. It is first noted that the conceptual distinction made between developed and developing social systems may lead to an underestimation of the existing capabilities for preparing for and responding to disasters in developing nations. The general differences between organizational structures in developed and developing societies are then noted because organizations everywhere are the prime actors in disaster preparedness and response. However, most of the paper discusses six major observations with respect to the extent to which empirically based research findings about the behaviour of organizations in highly urbanized and industrialized societies can be extrapolated to or applied in developing social systems. The paper concludes that it is not a matter of either/or, and that there are certain social features in developing societies which might lessen the necessity of importing disaster social technology from developed countries.

Community-Based Resource Management as a Strategy for Sustainable Development

 By

Francisco P. Fellizar, JR

Abstract:

Community-Based Resource Management (CBRM), a strategy aimed at achieving sustainable development, has been conceived as a process by which the people are given the opportunity and/or responsibility to manage and utilize resources with a concern for future needs. CBRM is practiced in many countries including the Philippines. Through a presentation of CBRM undertakings in the Philippines, the paper attempts to identify the features of CBRM, focusing on the experience of such projects. The paper concludes by identifying the elements of CBMB and factors critical to its adoption and implementation.

Subsistence farming in Asia: Income and Resource Allocation 

By

Salehuddin Ahmed and Shafiqur Rahman

Abstract:

Most of the households in the rural area of the Asia-Pacific region operate at a subsistence level. In as much as the basic decision making unit in the rural sectors of these countries is the household, an understanding of its resource and income allocation pattern is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of policies and strategies of rural development. The policies and programmes of agricultural development pursued so far not have been directed towards the receiving and delivery mechanisms of the agricultural sector as well as the small and marginal farmers. Empirical evidence has indicated that the subsistence farmers have derived less benefits from agricultural development programmes compared to the medium and the large farmers. The study of rural subsistence farm households therefore becomes necessary to ensure that government programmes for agricultural transformation, including programmes for the creation of non-farm employment are based on empirical evidence. This has been attempted in this paper through the analysis of income and expenditure behaviour of farm households and a discussion of the allocative efficiency of production inputs.

Asia- Pacific Journal of Rural Development ( APJORD)

Vol.III, July 1993, No. 1

Development of Rural Industries and Transformation of China’s Rural Economy 

By

Momtaz Uddin Ahmed

Abstract:

The paper examines the contributions of rural industries in the process of modernizing transformation of the Chinese rural economy. Rural industries in China experienced phenomenal growth, ranging between 20-25 percent in the post-reform period and played a crucially important role in absorbing surplus rural labour, raising employment and income status of rural households and in facilitating the development of a modern industrial base in rural townships. The economic dynamism displayed by rural industries in China has been a consequence of the encouragement provided by the government to the development of market economy and private enterprise systems in the post-reform years. The Chinese experience of rural industrial development seems instructive for the agriculture dominated developing Asian countries which are grappling with problems of surplus labour absorption, raising income and living standards of the rural poor, and keeping rural-urban migration within reasonable limits.

A Framework for Analysis of Macro-Micro Transmission Mechanisms in Bangladesh: some preliminary considerations

By

Mustafa K. Mujeri, Quazi Shahabuddin, Salehuddin Ahmed

Abstract:

Since independence, Bangladesh has been subjected to policy interventions and shocks that profoundly influenced its macro-economy and future growth prospects. During recent years, the pursuit of structural adjustments (SA) as an integral component of macro-economic policy has raised a number of issues relating particularly to consideration of equity and alleviation of poverty. The assessment and analysis of the impact of SA on poverty requires the establishment of links between such policies and the welfare of households involving analytical framework of macro-micro transmission mechanisms. This article examines the major conduits of macro-economic transmissions  in Bangladesh and presents the preliminary outline of a general equilibrium model to analyze the issues and indicates the data and information requirements for its empirical implementation.

Questions of Gender in Development Planning: Women’s Experiences in a New Settlement of the Mahaweli Project in Sri Lanka

 By

Joke Schrijvers

Abstract:

Women settlers in a new settlement of the prestigious Mahaweli River Development Scheme in Sri Lanka felt that they were living “like wild animals in a jungle.” Deprived of the support of their  relatives and without direct access to the means of production, they became dependent upon their husbands. Violence in the scheme increased considerably. Yet these  women should not be seen as helpless victims of a development planning based on biased gender conceptions. The thoughts and actions of female settlers, however restricted and invisible from the outside, to some degree co-determined the actual outcome of the planning. What was their impact, and what were the limitations of their activities behind the screens? How to support women as active participants in their own right, from the very start of a development intervention? In order to answer such questions new research methodologies are needed, which combine gender-awareness with a bottom-up, dynamic, actor-oriented perspective.

Asia- Pacific Journal of Rural Development ( APJORD)

Vol. III, December 1993, No. 2

People’s Participation: Some Methods for Measuring Intensities Across the Development sectors

 By

Lokendra Prasad Poudyal, Karl E. Weber

Abstract:

Participation encompasses assorted features of work. Some of these ate intensive, while others are moderate or peripheral in terms of their conduciveness to the achievement of set goals. They pertain to specific stages of the planning process, namely, decision making, implementation benefit sharing, or evaluation. These distinct features of work influence participation differently. Some works are induced by family pressure, while others are backed by community needs. Works also differ according to their occurrence; some relate to singular activities, while others are related to recurrent activities. Examining the intensity of participation under these diverse conditions is methodically difficult. As great as the difficulties are, as strong is the necessity of measuring intensity as it could provide a basis for planning participatory development.

This paper discusses a few methods of measuring participation. These methods are empirically appraised to see their applicability across different sectors of development. The results obtained from such appraisal are verified with qualitative conditions that prevailed at the field. Those verifications revealed that for participation to become more operational, specific approaches commensurate with the nature of work are required. In this vein, adoption of a sectoral approach to participation appears sensible.

Integrated Rural Development-Problems in Methodology and Institutional Environment

 By

Dirk Van Dusseldorp

Abstract:

The concept of Integrated Rural Development (IRD) has remained on the stage of development fashions for a long period of time. Its success is difficult to measure due to the ambiguous way in which IRD is defined, the numerous and often conflicting objectives it has to realize and the lack of conceptual clarity in its preparation and implementation. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the basic problems encountered in IRD and draw some lessons from past experiences.

The paper begins with an overview of the historical background of IRD. Then the intellectual basis on which every planned development effort has to be based, namely the dynamic and integrated analysis of the situation that has to be changed purposefully and directionally is discussed. As this analysis has to give an insight into the causalities (the processes) that led to the present situ