SALAHUDDIN

Improving the well-being of rural communities is one of the most important challenges faced by the developing world today. It is essential to pay special attention to rural communities because most of the poor live in rural settings. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2015-2016, 30.7% of the rural population is below the national poverty line compared to 12.5% in urban areas. The poverty level in the urban population has declined faster than in the rural population. Therefore, improving the well-being of the poor also means ramping up efforts to eradicate poverty nationally. While it is an ambitious goal that we must strive towards, there are several obstacles in the way that we must consider.

Obstacles

The first obstacle is that there is a serious disconnect between rural communities, aid agencies, and the central government. The disconnect leads to a poverty headcount that is way below the real numbers. Rural poverty is underestimated by the ‘outsiders’, in this case, the aid agencies and public institutions, who are in control of making policies and designing interventions for the poor. The outsiders working from the urban ‘cores’ have limited knowledge and experience about the rural peripheries. Even when they do visit the rural communities, their interaction with the rural people is influenced by certain biases and insufficient time. Their visits are often glamorous and far from every reality of the rural population. They end up making up their mind based on the fictional image presented to them by the ‘influentials’ within the rural communities and the government officials. Understanding everything about a certain community might prove to be difficult, but the importance of social norms, social structures, gender roles, and local institutions must be taken into account while designing and implementing developmental projects. When outsiders try to implement solutions that are not appropriate for a particular rural setting, or when the benefits of interventions do not reach the intended groups, it can create mistrust for outside institutions and agencies.

The second obstacle is the lack of adequate and well-functioning infrastructure in rural communities. Inadequate infrastructure means that the rural communities have limited employment opportunities and do not have access to quality education and healthcare. They also do not have easy access to markets due to the poor road conditions and inadequate digital infrastructure. Because rural communities are seen as ‘backward’ and strategically less important, national governments are obsessed with the development of urban areas. Most senior government officials don’t have any meaningful and direct contact with the rural population and therefore, they tend to divert resources away from rural development towards industrialization and urban development. This urban bias leads to the neglect of important rural sectors, particularly agriculture. The lack of investment is not only from external sources, but the low-income levels of rural communities lead to a lack of investment internally as well. Low incomes mean that there are not sufficient funds to invest in infrastructure building and basic services. The rural poor do not have the means to obtain the equipment and machinery to improve their agricultural productivity. Since rural economies are predominantly agricultural, this leads to economic stagnation and the rural communities soon find themselves in a poverty trap. The lack of schools also keeps the rural communities poor as the children of poor parents do not get the necessary support and knowledge to escape the vicious cycle.

The third obstacle is food insecurity and malnutrition. Rural people spend more than 70% of their income on food. Yet, they are at risk of hunger and malnutrition. A healthy life is a prerequisite for improving the overall well-being of a person. And healthy eating is an essential constituent of a healthy life. Surely, the demand for food has increased with the increase in the world population. But then again, agricultural production has also increased and there is enough food to feed the entire world. However, despite having enough food, more than a billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition daily. This is a very miserable state of affairs, especially, given how much food is being wasted every day in the developed world. The delivery of food to those who most need it is a key challenge. Most rural communities work to provide enough food for themselves, yet, they also aspire to a pleasant life where they can participate in festivities and afford consumer goods. Therefore, the challenge for policymakers is to go beyond just providing the minimum level of income to satisfy the dietary needs of the rural communities. The focus should also be on improving the livelihoods by creating new opportunities so that these communities can continue to grow and gain access to other products and services in the markets.

Opportunities

While there are many other obstacles, such as insecure land rights, gender inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, political instability, and certain cultural and religious elements, it does not mean that rural development is a futile exercise not worth pursuing. Several opportunities can help improve the well-being of the rural poor. The first opportunity is to make use of the abundant labor force present in the rural communities. While agriculture can be a physically demanding occupation, it can be done by using few farmers, especially given the size of rural landholdings. Agriculture is also seasonal in many places, which means that the labor force is available to do other jobs. The additional labor force can be used to build infrastructure projects such as roads and water channels. NGOs and governmental institutions can make use of this labor force to build community-owned projects and give them the responsibility to maintain the infrastructure. The extra labor force can also play a very important role in the rural non-farm economy. Specific programs can be designed to target females in particular who have a huge influence on the health and education of their children.

The second opportunity is to make use of the local knowledge to improve the current understanding of rural landscapes and bridge the gap between the rural communities and outside agencies. Rural communities have specialized knowledge about local conditions such as soil fertility and are aware of the weather patterns. They also know of local resources and know which plants grow where and what is the best way to grow a certain crop. The intercropping techniques that the rural communities use can be employed to improve agricultural productivity. Outside agencies and investors can work with the locals to support the agricultural sector where it is a viable solution. Given the high efficiency of rural agriculture, the returns that the rural farmers get are inadequate. Outside agencies can help connect farmers to markets and give them the necessary knowledge regarding marketing and packaging so that the farmers can try to maximize their profits. Besides developmental and related agencies, foreign investors can also benefit from local knowledge. By employing the locals with sound indigenous knowledge, the foreign investors can safeguard their investments against unforeseen events that they might not be aware of. This can be mutually beneficial, especially as foreign investors have the financial muscle to build infrastructure and multiply the livelihood options for local people. Foreign investors can also provide employment opportunities for the extra labor force and possibly improve the knowledge and skills level of the personnel that they might hire.

The third opportunity is to improve the rural non-farm economy. In many developing countries, the non-farm economy has become an important driver of economic growth. The growth of the non-farm economy leads to an inflow of investment. The emergence of small and medium enterprises increases the demand for credit. This in turn attracts banks and other businesses that provide further employment opportunities. The inflow of investment leads to the building of infrastructure such as roads that improve the linkages of rural and urban areas. Furthermore, rural areas could provide potential markets for consumer products and services that would look to invest in supply chains and marketing channels. Investments in the non-farm economy can increase the overall employment prospects and further diversify the sources of income. Where agriculture is not a sustainable occupation, it can also be used as a way to reduce poverty by transferring some human capital from agriculture to non-farming activities. The local knowledge can play a role in the promotion of the non-farm economy as well by reducing the cost of consultancy for setting up businesses. Furthermore, the use of local labor force would be cheaper than bringing in workers from urban centers.

Improving the well-being of the rural communities requires action on multiple fronts. While the world has made much progress in terms of poverty reduction and more rural communities are being successfully transformed, the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of rural people is yet to be realized. There are multiple obstacles that we must think about when dealing with rural development, however, these obstacles must not discourage us from pursuing the end goal. We, as the privileged ones, have a moral responsibility towards the betterment of the whole of humanity, and we must contribute in one way or the other towards achieving that goal. The issue of rural development is very complex, and it can be difficult to achieve in one part compared to the other. It is important to recognize the unique features of each rural community instead of employing a one-size-fits-all solution to all developmental problems. Rural communities provide multiple opportunities for human development and the policymakers must make use of these opportunities sooner rather than later.