This was a study of the problems of community involvement in the Integrated Development Planning process in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality. These problems affects the manner in which the community participation should be done in the process. This exercise is the fulfilment of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and Municipal Systems Act which emphases community participation in the IDP process. It was found that though surveyed legislation emphasized community participation in the study area, in Ditsobotla Local Municipality this was a problem. This was due to the fact that Ditsobotla Local Municipality had a vast area consisting of urban and rural areas, as well as a diversity of races and cultures. For example, it was easy to convene mass meeting in the black communities but difficult to get similar response among the white or Asian communities. Interaction was through the media, or written messages. The following are recommendations derived from the findings: That public participation should encompass a sense that the public's contribution will influence the final outcome. That the public participation process must reflect the interests of and meet the needs of participants. The participation process should facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected. Consideration should be given to how unorganized communities or interest groups could be brought together as participants. That participants should be involved in defining the manner in which they wish to participate. Participants should be provided with the information they need to make their contribution meaningful. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2002

(M.Soc.Sc.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

The Rwandan countryside is currently undergoing a process of rapid reform under ambitious government programs to modernize agriculture for participation in national and international markets. While the government asserts that it is pursuing pro-poor growth, many critics present significant evidence to the contrary. This thesis examines the use of farmers cooperatives within the ongoing government campaign of agricultural modernization, and it asks whether the co-ops themselves are sources of personal empowerment and material gain for the small producers. Adopting the “sceptical” post-development position advanced by Aram Ziai, the present research attempts to take a pragmatic look at the ways in which the co-ops meet or fail to meet the material and non-material needs of their members while appreciating that cultural preferences are heterogeneous and dynamic. While the use of farmers cooperatives appears appropriate for the Rwandan marshland, the co-ops examined very much fall short of the post-development social movement model.

This thesis is a study of rural entrepreneurship which attempts to understand what it is that rural entrepreneurs do within the rural context. Our understanding of entrepreneurship is fragmentary, often narrowly focused and discipline bound. Entrepreneurial theory lacks even a limiting definition of the phenomenon. As Bartlett 1988 claims, it is an intellectual onion; if you keep peeling off the layers you are left with nothing and come away in tears. This seems to suggest that entrepreneurship is a process rather than an entity. Furthermore, a major focus of entrepreneurial research has been the entrepreneur as an individual, yet paradoxically, entrepreneurship is essentially a social act. Accordingly the central argument of this thesis is that in order to understand the entrepreneur we must place entrepreneurial action in its social context, we must study the process of entrepreneurship. This study therefore endeavours to investigate the actions of the entrepreneur in one context, rurality. Consequently this study is a detailed examination of a rural environment and the interrelationships of this environment and entrepreneurs. Its purpose is to try to establish the nature of the relationships between rurality and to specify the conditions of the entrepreneurial process.

Land and water are critical resources for rural livelihoods and lie at the heart of rural development. Granting rural people land under the land reform without sufficient water resources is indeed problematic. This dissertation explores rural development with the links between water and land reform, especially within the redistribution processes. The focus is on both accessibility and water quality within transferred land reform projects. The results of a nationally-based study focussing on land redistribution post transfer projects as well as an intensive pre-transfer case study research conducted in Kwazulu-Natal indicate that land redistribution is not effectively considering the water needs of the beneficiaries. Infact, in some instances, the newly resettled communities ' access to water resources have worsened. This dissertation critically analyses and presents the relevant data, specifically highlighting whether land redistribution is addressing the water needs of rural communities. Furthermore, the role of the authorities in terms of providing water to land reform communities is critically appraised. Finally, alternatives, policy and implementation recommendations are forwarded to ensure that the availability and accessibility of water for both productive and reproductive purposes are sufficiently and rigorously considered within land redistribution projects. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002

Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves [273]-289. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xvi, 289 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

This study is about the place of traditional authorities in local level land administration and rural governance in contemporary Mozambique. It came about as a result of the publication of the Decree 15/2000 that recognised traditional authorities after their abolition more than 20 years earlier. This study seeks to examine four inter-related themes: the role of traditional authorities in local level land administration in Mozambique / why the government recognised traditional authorities in the year 2000 after having abolished them more than 20 years earlier / whether the recognition of hereditary traditional authorities is consistent with principles of democracy / and lastly to investigate whether the practices taking place on the ground are an expression of democracy as envisaged by the country&rsquo / s constitution.<br /> <br /> The study is based on documental research on the subject, as well as on fieldwork in the community of Chirindzene, Gaza Province in Southern Mozambique. It argues that generalisations about the role of traditional authorities in local level land administration may be misleading. Drawing from the case study in Chirindzene, it shows that it was only the lowest level of the traditional authority structure (the lineage level) that continued having influence in land allocation and distribution after independence in this area. With regard to the recognition of traditional authorities, the study argues that an appreciation of the changing global context is important to understand this dramatic shift. The study argues that the Decree 15/2000 and its regulations are weakening the democratic experience initiated in 1970s by allowing rural populations be ruled by hereditary rulers who are not elected. For this reason, the rural population does not enjoy full citizenship rights because they are ruled by both elected structures and appointed ones.

The central government has attached great importance to the development of rural enterprises in China. As a result, rural enterprises have developed rapidly and become an important part of the national economy. The primary aim of this study was to examine how public policy has influenced the development of rural enterprises. The changes in public policy since 1978 did play a positive role in developing rural enterprises. These positive roles have been manifested in the ideological base of policy, financial and tax policies, improving management and technological strategy.

No description available.

China faces enormous challenges in generating sustained and inclusive agricultural and rural development. However the rapid growth occurring both inside and outside the agricultural sector provides new opportunities to meet the challenges. The development of higher value agrifood chains may provide opportunities for rural households to increase their levels of specialisation, scale and incomes, and for rural areas to broaden their employment and tax revenues bases. Facilitation of these developments effectively forms an agricultural modernisation strategy that is becoming increasingly described and prescribed by Chinese policy makers, researchers and development agencies. Despite the attention that has been given to this agricultural modernisation strategy, it has not proceeded without problems in China and has been subject to little rigorous scrutiny. This thesis uses a detailed industry case study approach to examine the way that Chinese agriculture is modernising and, as an applied study, to identify areas where China’s agricultural modernisation strategy can be refined. China’s agricultural modernisation strategy is analysed through the window of a particular Chinese agricultural and rural industry, namely the beef industry. The beef industry resembles many other agricultural and livestock industries that are commercialising, modernising and segmenting with important implications for food safety, the environment and rural incomes. In addition to providing insights into developments in the broader agricultural and livestock sectors, the Chinese beef industry is also worth examining in its own right because of its significant place in the world beef industry and in China’s livestock sector, and because it is used as a “pillar industry” in the development of many poor areas. While the thesis focuses predominantly on the beef industry, differences and similarities with other livestock industries are noted throughout the analysis. The use of an industry case study allows for a detailed analysis of a cross section of China’s markets, agribusiness and production sectors, and the integration of the sectors that form the industry. One novel aspect of the thesis is that the industry modernisation process is seen as a movement from low to high value agrifood chains in all of these sectors and for the industry as a whole. The thesis examines the drivers of and constraints to the movement from low to high value agrifood chains, the sustainability of the development of the higher value agrifood chains, and the implications for industry participants. The study draws on multiple forms of data, including extensive interview and fieldwork data over a ten year period across China, budget and scenario analyses; and macro-level data and policy documents. The cross-verification of this data allows for a rigorous, multi-disciplinary and “grounded” form of analysis that can complement other studies which draw on fewer sources of data. The thesis also provides a longitudinal and diachronic perspective of the agricultural modernisation process in contrast to a shorter term snapshot. The thesis examines the reasons and the measures by which China is attempting to move the agricultural sector beyond its primary reliance on traditional, low value agrifood chains. While the logic of these reasons and measures can be discerned, it is argued that China has attempted to “skip” development stages by over emphasising the development of large scale modern high value agrifood chains. The attempt to force the pace of modernisation has led to significant distortions and detrimental impacts. The thesis argues the need for China to refine its agricultural modernisation development strategy to be both more market conforming and to bring more benefits to industry participants in rural areas. This is best done by taking a more incremental approach to agricultural modernisation with an increased emphasis on mid value agrifood chains and the development of market facilitating policies. The analysis, findings and recommendations of the thesis may be of interest to policy makers, development agencies and researchers working on China’s agricultural and livestock sectors.