I am beginning a small research project to identify challenges to rural development in a small island in Addu Atoll, Maldives and would like to find out of research on rural community revival projects.
Without generalizing unduly, the challenges that small island nations face include remoteness, sparse but growing populations, limited resources, susceptibility to natural disasters, excessive dependence on international trade, vulnerability to external shocks, and fragile environments. Their growth and development is constrained by the high costs of communication, energy, and transportation as well as irregular international transport volumes. Because of their size, infrastructure and public administration are disproportionately expensive and these nations have very little opportunity, if any, to create economies of scale. Rural development may not be the right concept to wield: excepting plantations, some forestry, and perhaps small livestock, agriculture is of the subsistence variety and one should not forget fisheries and (as the case may be) aquaculture; and so, a livelihoods approach may be more appropriate.
Article The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach
PS: FAO's work in small island developing states is publicized at http://www.fao.org/sids/en/.
Direct Action Program to support Rural Development Program
1. Increase accessibility to rural area by development of infrastructure mainly road,
2. Agriculture infrastructure development is a must: farm road, source of water utilization as the most determining factors in agricultural base rural development with seasonal crops main target.
3. Human resource development through training by doing to improve skill and knowledge in farming system.
4. Farmers or people that are willing to accept (WTA) agriculture as their main source of income is advised to consolidate farming management by forming cooperative or farmers group that lead by a skillful and knowledge people to improve: farming efficiency and effectiveness, bargaining position either at domestic as well as international market, technical efficiency, financial profitability, social acceptability, and environmentally friendly.
5. Finally, need expertise, enough budget, political will from government, and can do spirit of target group and stakeholder.
That are some mu advise for rural development action program in small island country. "Can Do Spirit"
Thank you very much for your comments. Olivier, I have looked up the livelihood approach and will use it in the questionnaire but will go beyond to explore the complexity of each individual situation.
Made, we do have a farmers' cooperative. I will look into how it is going. I will explore "can do spirit", as we used to have that. Unfortunately government "benevolence", has taken away our perceived capacity to do things ourselves. Presently we list what needs doing and wait for someone to come and do it for us and we are never satisfied. It is always what next. What can be our next complaint. I think we have moved from a fully fledged sustainable vibrant community, yet, very very poor community to not so poor but not so sustainable community since survival skills are not taught to the children nor do we teach pride of rural livelihoods. I think this is stemming from marginalisation through urban planning and urban policy garbed as national planning. This is the first week of this research project. Please keep posting. All your suggestions are valuable in the remote isolation in which I am working.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Analytical Chemistry
- Extraction