Conceptualizing Rural Development in the Twenty-First Century (Published)
The need to more accurately conceptualize the concept of rural development has increased during recent decades. This is largely the result of the absence of a universally accepted definition of rural development, the absence of universally accepted theories of rural development and the growing interest to theorize it, the persistent increase of rural poverty, and the growing need to formulate effective rural development policies that could address poverty in rural areas, but also because of the multifaceted ways in which rural development could be realized. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to offer a new definition or concept of rural development in the twenty-first century. To achieve this objective the study purely used secondary data. Thus, both theoretical and empirical literature deemed necessary to better understand the concept of rural development was rigorously reviewed. The review result shows that there is no universally accepted definition of rural development. As a result, the concept of rural development is widely recognized in the literature as a disputed notion both in practice, policy, and theory. Thus, this study approaches the task of conceptualizing rural development by providing a conceptual definition that serves both academics and practitioners. Moreover, the study also proposed different mechanisms through which rural development can be realized. Generally, the study concludes that emphasizing the need to supplement the theory behind the new rural development hypothesis with new definitions that help us to more precisely understand what is meant by rural development, this study offers a new definition of rural development as a necessary step in that direction.
Keywords: Poverty, Rural, Rural Development, concept, theories of rural development
Reducing Poverty through Fertilizer Subsidy Programe “Evidence from Rwanda (Published)
Farm input subsidies are assumed to improve agricultural production and productivity for small resource poor farmers in developing countries by promoting the use of improved farm inputs, mainly inorganic fertilizers and hybrid seeds. This is expected to contribute to increased income from produce sales, improved food security at household and national levels, and consequently, contributing to poverty alleviation. However, little insights exist on the impacts of this program. The overall objective of the study was to determine the effect of the fertilizer subsidy program on reducing poverty among small holder farmers in Gatsibo district, Eastern province of Rwanda. Multi stage sampling techniques were employed to select respondents. Structured questionnaires was employed to collect data from 200 smallholders maize farmers including (86 farmers with fertilizer subsidy and 114 without subsidies in the period 2015B, 2016A and 2016B agricultural seasons in the selected sectors of Kabarole, Rwimbogo and Rugarama). Propensity score matching using a “with” and “without” the fertilizer subsidy project evaluation approach was used to estimate the effect of fertilizer subsidy and descriptive statistics using t-test was used compare effects of fertilizer subsidies across respondents. Based on the study objectives, results from propensity score matching indicated an effect on yield between fertilizer subsidy users and non-users.
Keywords: Agriculture, Agriculture input subsidies, Fertilizer Subsidies, Poverty, propensity score matching