It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a rural area in possesion of few active happenings must be in want of development. Or, at the very least, it is a widespread understanding that rural areas in Europe are often in need of rural development following decades of urbanisation and financial strain. The European Union has as a result launched the Rural Development Programme, a structured programme which is partly financed by the Eu but launched on a national level. In Sweden, the most recent Rural Development Programme started in 2014 and will end in 2022. Now, when this current programme period is nearing its end, there is a great chance of evaluating for the next programme period. There has also never been an in-depth evalution of the Swedish Rural Development Programme on a local Swedish level. Thus, the aim of this thesis was to study rural development by carrying out a case study in the municipality of Ljungby and studying how the Swedish Rural Development Programme has impacted the rural development in the rural areas of Ljungby municipality. Interviews and document studies were executed to collect data for the analysis, and through content analysis several themes arose. The importance of establishing service nodes, the tedious task of administering and how this affects the effectiveness in national agenices, as well as the lack of communication between actors who really ought to be collaborating are all part of the resulting themes.

A majority of the South African population live in poverty, particularly those in rural areas. During the year 2009, the South African government identified rural development as a key priority area in socio-economic issues and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform was created to focus specifically on this issue. This was followed by the development of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). The CRDP is a government policy on rural development. The main focus of the programme is on agrarian transformation and land reform as pillars of rural development, alongside infrastructure provision such as housing, energy, sanitation, schools, clinics, boreholes and water reticulation system in rural areas. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to assess the socio-economic impacts of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). The study used Muyexe village in Greater Giyani Local Municipality as a case study. The objectives of the study included assessing challenges facing the Muyexe village, such as provision of basic services, job creation, skills development and public amenities. The first phase of the literature review focused on the definitions of rural development, rural development theories, development challenges and approaches on rural development. The second phase of the literature review further explored the developmental challenges for rural areas in South Africa since 1994. For this study, the researcher collected the primary data by making use of face to face interviews, while secondary data was gathered from the compiled frameworks, policies, reports of government departments, books, journals, conference papers, proceedings, presentations and the internet. The findings showed that a lot still needs to be done with regards to the development of infrastructure such as road, transport and adequate access to basic services. It was also found that the unemployment rate in the area is a serious concern. It was raised that most of the jobs that were created were only on a short term basis, with lower wages. While the enterprises and cooperatives established were struggling with vii production and generating income. The recommendations intending to strengthen the implementation of rural development initiatives such as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme to have a better model of addressing rural development that will yield tangible results of sustainable development were also provided / Geography / M. Sc. (Geography)

Community participation is a concept meant to ensure that community members are an integral part of processes that determine their destination in relation to their development needs. It is a means of empowering people by developing their skills and abilities to enable them to negotiate and make appropriate decisions for their development. Community participation, however, is not without its challenges. In most development projects initiated by local municipalities and other government departments in South Africa, community participation appears to be an afterthought. Most often, community members are consulted after decisions are made by government agencies with regards to the kind of development projects that need to be implemented. As a consequence, community development projects which are intended to improve the quality of life of the majority of communities in South Africa, do not meet this objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate community participation in rural development projects and focuses on the Mokgalwaneng community in the North West province of South Africa as a case study. The research asks the following questions: What is the nature of and extent to which community members participate in rural development projects? What are the challenges to community participation in rural development projects and how can these challenges be addressed? An evaluative research design and qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used. The sample groups were the community members and the DRDLR officials and semi-structured questionnaires as interview guides for data collection were used. The study revealed that the majority of the respondents did not participate in the initiation and planning stages of the projects. And the study further revealed that no income and low-income, politics, favoritism, long working hours, illiteracy, low self-esteem, lack of training, lack of resources, lack of communication, lack of information and transparency about the projects are the challenges of participation. It is therefore recommended that, the government should support the community in all levels to ensure a strong commitment to participation in their development projects. It is anticipated that this study will enable the community members and all role players involved in the Mokgalwaneng development projects to realize the importance and advantages of community participation and that they will work through the challenges in order to increase community participation in development projects. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Community participation is a concept meant to ensure that community members are an integral part of processes that determine their destination in relation to their development needs. It is a means of empowering people by developing their skills and abilities to enable them to negotiate and make appropriate decisions for their development. Community participation, however, is not without its challenges. In most development projects initiated by local municipalities and other government departments in South Africa, community participation appears to be an afterthought. Most often, community members are consulted after decisions are made by government agencies with regards to the kind of development projects that need to be implemented. As a consequence, community development projects which are intended to improve the quality of life of the majority of communities in South Africa, do not meet this objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate community participation in rural development projects and focuses on the Mokgalwaneng community in the North West province of South Africa as a case study. The research asks the following questions: What is the nature of and extent to which community members participate in rural development projects? What are the challenges to community participation in rural development projects and how can these challenges be addressed? An evaluative research design and qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used. The sample groups were the community members and the DRDLR officials and semi-structured questionnaires as interview guides for data collection were used. The study revealed that the majority of the respondents did not participate in the initiation and planning stages of the projects. And the study further revealed that no income and low-income, politics, favoritism, long working hours, illiteracy, low self-esteem, lack of training, lack of resources, lack of communication, lack of information and transparency about the projects are the challenges of participation. It is therefore recommended that, the government should support the community in all levels to ensure a strong commitment to participation in their development projects. It is anticipated that this study will enable the community members and all role players involved in the Mokgalwaneng development projects to realize the importance and advantages of community participation and that they will work through the challenges in order to increase community participation in development projects. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Mining industry Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects are designed to improve the quality of life of neighbouring communities. However, it is increasingly argued that few of them actually result in tangible benefits for the communities where they are implemented. Moreover, few empirical studies have been undertaken on this subject. The dearth in research on this subject explains why there is inadequate evidence to draw informed conclusions and decisions. The current study sought to determine the nature of benefits accruing to rural communities from mining companies CSR projects in Moses Kotane Local Municipality of the North West Province. Specifically, the study sought to determine the characteristics of mining companies CSR activities, nature of community-perceived benefits derived from them and assess the perception of surrounding local communities on such initiatives. A case study design was used because of its power of providing detailed factual information on mining CSR activities. The study was carried out following a sequential mixed research method that integrated qualitative and quantitative techniques. Document review, questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. A total of 261 respondents randomly selected from households in five villages, 30 purposively sampled key informants who included 18 officials from various institutions and youth, were interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to draw meaning from the qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and inferential tests were carried out using the Microsoft Excel software. It was revealed that CSR projects were improving water infrastructure, in addition to being used to construct and refurbish schools and clinics. Although the CSR projects were supporting the livelihoods of local households, there was still considerable room for improvement particularly in relation to creating sustainable employment opportunities. Only 8 % of the respondents believed that CSR projects were beneficial to them. Lack of consultation when developing the CSR projects and limited awareness campaigns led to inappropriate initiatives being implemented. This highlighted the need for adopting inclusive approaches in decision making processes starting from planning to implementation.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / See the attached abstract below

Inadequate resources have always been suspected to be the main cause of persistent poverty and underdevelopment in many developing countries. Water is one such resource that is not readily available to many in South Africa. South Africa is a water-scarce country; access to adequate water provisions requires expensive infrastructure which can only be provided by the Government for most of the population. It is not certain whether there is a direct link between access to water and development or poverty alleviation. This study evaluated the impact that state water provision has on development especially in rural communities. The study concluded that there is indeed potential for community development where there is improved access to water. Findings further revealed the nature of several other variables that have significant roles in the relationship between access to government provided water and development. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Environmental and socio-economic crises are creating compelling needs for radical social change. This project investigated the options and barriers for three Scottish rural communities (Fintry, Killin and Kinlochleven) to become sustainable and thrive in a future resource-constrained world. A unique, holistic and mixed methods approach was used to assess baseline sustainability, envision and model futures and develop possible options for sustainability. Central to this investigation was the development of a strong and holistic model of a sustainable community: the sustainable community design (SCD). This framework shaped the assessment of each community’s baseline sustainability. Sustainability was measured for the ten aspects of the SCD using a scorecard approach with a basket of indicators populated by primary data (collected in a household survey) and secondary data (national statistics). Sustainable consumption was analysed using the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP) to generate each community’s ecological footprint (EF) and results were compared to current estimates of per capita world biocapacity to gauge sustainability. Even the most sustainable community was only sustainable in three out of ten of the SCD’s aspects and this community had the highest EF. Although the most deprived community had the lowest EF, it was unsustainable in all ten SCD aspects. The results reflected the heterogeneity of rural communities and complexity of sustainability measurement. The SCD scorecard approach for sustainability measurement was shown to be sensitive and robust and can be applied to rural communities across Scotland. Future visions were created in focus groups, in which participants were asked to envision what their community would need to thrive in 2030 under the scenario of peak oil and a low carbon economy. Vision ideas and examples of best practice and technological innovation were used to create narrative scenarios for modelling transport, food and energy futures. The scenarios’ EFs were calculated in REAP for three discrete levels of change: a marginal change, a step change and radical transformation. The results suggested that radical transformation is required for communities to become sustainable. Key features are likely to be re-localised and highly co-operative societies, which utilise technological innovations (such as electric cars powered by renewable energy) and share resources to maximise opportunities for living in rural areas. A community’s transformation is likely to be bespoke and require local control, requiring changes to governance and supportive policy. Key barriers identified were availability of affordable technological innovations, energy injustice, power to achieve self-determination, community governance, property rights and sustainability literacy. A process model, incorporating the SCD scorecard approach, was proposed for furthering sustainable community development and research. In taking an interdisciplinary and mixed methods approach, this study has pioneered a novel approach to the holistic enquiry of the options for creating sustainable rural communities.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The historical significance of the socio-political changes in South Africa since 1994 cannot be disputed. The challenge is to place the redress agenda within a macro-framework geared to promote competitiveness that positions South Africa as a credible and valued player within the continent and globally. Of concern here is the plight of the rural poor and the neglect of rural space, viewed as central in redressing imbalances and competitiveness. This study posits that the marginalisation of the rural poor results from the deliberate, structural and systemic exclusion evident in previous regimes and perpetuated by the reigning neoliberal policies and the rural development paradigm. It provides an indepth analysis of the rural poor’s spiral of deprivation. The spiral is viewed to perpetuate “dependent survivalism” with reliance on unsustainable hand-outs and oppressive paternalistic relationships between those with, and those without resources. The argument is that the emergence of the poverty eradication agenda has not focused attention and effort on the treatment of the causes of poverty. The study objective is to offer alternative approaches for addressing these structural constraints, enabling rural household participation in viable and sustainable rural economic development programmes. To this end transdisciplinary methods premised on the view of the household as the nucleus of sustainable development are used. The study challenges the general economic theory that limits a household to only a source of labour and capital, with emphasis on household consumption. It shifts focus from the consumptive “dependent survivalism” mode to households as owners of productive assets, producers and suppliers, termed the “productive perspective”. To achieve this, an inclusive and sustainable development conceptual framework is proposed with an alternative rural development policy perspective. The framework emphasises the deployment of capital assets and rural economic development strategies based on the theory of value chains. The comparative analysis of marula commercialisation case studies is used to conceptualise the framework and formulate alternative approaches. Primary research focused on the Distell/Mirma Amarula Cream processing plant in Phalaborwa and the Marula Natural Products initiative at Thulamahashe, Bushbuckridge, South Africa. The findings demonstrated that marula supplying households are value chain actors with an objective function to maximise benefits and participate in the mainstream economy, but are structurally constrained. The profiles of the marula suppliers indicate that the majority are women who as heads of households bear the brunt of unpaid labour and the burden of care. The case study exposed the failure of the local and global economic systems to afford them their deserved opportunities and benefits as value chain actors. The study thus proposes a sustainable benefit-maximising system that is rooted in the value chain-based re-organisation of production, emphasising mainstreaming through institutional and systems change. The role of the state is emphasised as central in creating an enabling environment with regulatory frameworks that ensure sustainable resource use and sharing in value created. The study calls for the courage to turn the 2008/9 global financial crisis into an inclusive and sustainable development agenda. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die historiese betekenis van die sosiopolitieke veranderinge in Suid-Afrika sedert 1994 is onbetwisbaar. Vandag se uitdaging is om die regstellingsagenda in ’n makroraamwerk te plaas wat daarop gerig is om mededingendheid te bevorder en Suid-Afrika sodoende op die kontinent en wêreldwyd te vestig as geloofwaardige en waardevolle speler. Die lot van plattelandse armes en die verwaarlosing van die landelike ruimte is sentrale kwessies in die herstel van wanbalanse en mededingendheid. Hierdie studie voer aan dat die marginalisering van plattelandse armes spruit uit die doelbewuste, strukturele en sistemiese uitsluiting wat in vorige regimes voorgekom het en voortgesit word deur neoliberale beleid en die paradigma van landelike ontwikkeling. Dit bied ’n indringende ontleding van die plattelandse armes se benadeling, wat beskou word as die voortsetting van “afhanklike oorlewing”, met afhanklikheid van onvolhoubare aalmoese en verdrukkende paternalistiese verhoudinge tussen diegene met hulpbronne en diegene daarsonder. Daar word betoog dat die agenda vir die uitroeiing van armoede op die tafel geplaas is sonder dat dit die aandag en energie op die behandeling van die oorsake van armoede toegespits het. Die doelwit van die studie is om alternatiewe benaderings te bied om strukturele beperkings die hoof te bied en plattelandse huishoudings in staat te stel om aan lewensvatbare en volhoubare ontwikkelingsprogramme vir die landbou-ekonomie deel te neem. Hiervoor word transdissiplinêre metodes aangewend wat voortbou op die siening van die huishouding as die kern van volhoubare ontwikkeling. Die studie betwis die algemene ekonomiese teorie wat ’n huishouding tot ’n blote arbeidsbron reduseer en kapitaal aan verbruik vasknoop. Die fokus word dus verskuif van “afhanklike oorlewing” na die huishouding as eienaar van produktiewe bates, en as produsent en verskaffer, te wete die “produktiewe perspektief”. Die primêre navorsing is toegespits op Distell/Mirma Amarula Cream se verwerkingsaanleg in Phalaborwa en die Marula Natural Products-projek in Thulamahashe, Bosbokrand, Suid-Afrika. Die maroela-gevalstudie het die nood van huishoudelike produsente en verskaffers blootgelê tesame met die onvermoë van plaaslike en wêreld-ekonomiese stelsels om hulle die geleenthede en voordele as waardekettingspelers te bied wat hulle toekom. Die profiele van die maroelaverskaffers toon dat die meerderheid vroue is wat as huishoofde die las van kwesbaarheid, onbetaalde arbeid en versorging moet dra. Die navorsing se ontleding het ook die sleutelelemente uitgewys vir die verbetering van prestasie en voordele aan die arm verskaffers sonder dat die lewensvatbaarheid en volhoubaarheid van ondernemings ingeboet word. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat behoorlik uitgewerkte en ondersteunde programme vir plattelandse ekonomiese ontwikkeling die handelsgeleenthede van natuurlike hulpbronne kan maksimaliseer vir bedryfsgroei en voordele vir plattelandse gemeenskappe. ’n Alternatiewe, volhoubare stelsel vir die uitbou van voordele word dus voorgehou wat gesetel is in die reorganisasie van produksie volgens waardekettings, met die klem op hoofstroming deur institusionele en stelselverandering. Die rol van die staat is sentraal in die skepping van ’n bemagtigende omgewing, met reguleringsraamwerke wat volhoubare hulpbrongebruik en waardedeling verseker. Die studie bepleit moedige optrede om die wêreldwye finansiële krisis van 2008/9 om te skep in ’n inklusiewe en volhoubare ontwikkelingsagenda.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / There is a great need for development, especially in impoverished rural areas. One such area is the Caprivi in Namibia. This study analyses the viability of the Caprivi Development Project and how it is perceived by the communities in terms of improving their livelihoods. The first part of this study sets out the theoretical framework on rural development over the past half century. Theories such as the modernist, small-farm orthodoxy, neo-liberalist, integrated rural development, participation models and the sustainable livelihood framework are reviewed. The usefulness of participation and the sustainable livelihood framework for the purpose of this study is emphasised. Thereafter the lessons learned from mechanised dry-land crop farming initiatives are explored. The extent to which the natural environment such as rainfall and soil fertility and organizational structures which include the project design, technology and infrastructure, the formation of cooperatives and finance, government policies, training and development and the project objectives that affect the permanence of agriculture are assessed. The importance of community commitment to a project for its sustainability is emphasised. Hereafter, the case of the unique Caprivi and the need for development in this impoverished and isolated region is presented. The history, environment and politics are discussed. The economic activities in the region, the people and their lifestyles along with the livelihood strategies they pursue are outlined. Against this background, the aims of the Caprivi Development Project, the project design, its structure, the stakeholders and the challenges faced in making this project a success are presented. The study then reports on how this project is perceived by the farmers involved in this rural development project, with special reference to its perceived benefits this project holds in terms of improving their livelihoods, and what could contribute to its possible failure. In the final chapter, theory, lessons learned and research findings are brought together, before reaching some final conclusions relating to the two research questions posed, namely whether this project has the elements of a successful development project and whether the community supports and see this project as an opportunity to relieve poverty and improve their livelihoods.