Rural Development : Meaning, Definition and Concept

 Rural Development

As a concept, it connotes overall development of rural areas with a view to improve the quality of life rural people. 

As a discipline, it is multi-disciplinary in nature representing an intersection of agricultural, social, behavioural and management of sciences. 

In short, rural development is a process that aims at improving the standard of living of the people living in the rural areas. 

Definition of Rural Development

Rural development can be defined as, helping rural people set the priorities in their own communities through effective and democratic bodies, by providing the local capacity; investment in basic infrastructure and social services, justice, equity and security, dealing with the injustices of the past and ensuring safety and security of the rural population, especially that of women. 

According to Robert chambers, rural development is a strategy to enable a specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves and their children more of what they want and need. 

 It involves helping the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural development. 

 The group includes small scale farmers, tenants and the landless. 

 According to Agarwal (1989), rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of rural poor.

We shall define rural development as 

A Process leading to sustainable improvement in the quality of life of rural people, specially the poor. 

Concept of Rural Development

 The definition or rural development may be centered around income criterion in which the concept is made to address the problem of rural poverty. 

 The rural poor represents a reservoir of untapped talent a target group that should be given the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of development through improved education, health and nutrition. 

 This is one of the most important definitions of rural development as the provision of social infrastructures could provide the catalyst that would transform the rural areas. 

 Rural development may also be seen as an ideology and a practice. 

 It may mean planned change by public agencies based outside the rural areas such as the national Government and International organization. 

 Rural development as the improvement in the living standard of the rural  dwellers by engaging them in productive activities such as the establishment of rural industries that will increase their income. 

  In essence Rural Development may imply a broad based re-organization and mobilization of rural masses in order to enhance their capacity to cope effectively with the daily task of their lives and with changes consequent upon this. 

  According to the World Bank Rural Development must be clearly designed to increase production. 

 It recognizes that improved food supplies and nutrition, together with basic services, such as health and education, not only directly improve the physical well-being and quality of life of the rural poor, but can also indirectly enhance their productivity and their ability to contribute to the national economy. 

 It is seen by these scholars as a means of raising the sustainable living of the rural poor by giving them the opportunity to develop their full potentials. 

 In order to encourage increased production rural development may offer a package of inputs and welfare services for the rural masses. 

 Such inputs and welfare services include physical inputs (such as the provision of feeder roads, water and electrification), social inputs—(namely health and educational facilities) and institutional inputs such as credit facilities, agricultural research facilities, rural expansion services among others.