INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT AND PRESENTATITON TASKS

Rural Development (DSH 112)

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT TASKS (Give concrete/empirical and specific examples

and relate your answers broadly to all the rural regions of the less developed
countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America)

1. Discuss the rationale for rural development

2. Evaluate the radical perspective on rural poverty
3. Critique the conservative perspective on rural poverty
4. Critique the improvement approach to rural development
5. Assess agricultural intensification as a rural livelihoods strategy
6. Assess agricultural extensification as a rural livelihoods strategy
7. Describe the nature and character of the peasantry mode of production .
8. Assess gender-related obstacles to rural production

Tutorial Group Presentation Tasks (Give concrete/empirical and specific examples

and relate your answers broadly to all the rural regions of the less developed
countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America)

1. Discuss key issues affecting the process of rural land distribution and
resettlement
2. Evaluate the following rural agricultural institutions and production models or
strategies
(a) Land tenure
(b) Farmer organizations
(c) Contract farming
(d) Farm mechanization (including small scale irrigation)
(e) Conservation farming

3. Evaluate the role of the Growth Pole policy in promoting rural industrialization
and rural off-farm activities
4. Assess the performance of rural micro-credit markets
5. Assess the effectiveness of decentralized rural development management
practices
6. Evaluate the practice of integrated rural development management

7. Discuss key challenges to the effective management of the rural natural stock of
common property or common pool resources

8. Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional and modern grassroots leadership in the

management of rural development
9. Discuss the origin, role and limitations of the third sector in the development