Showing papers in "International Journal of Rural Management in 2014"

Important Types of LAG–Municipality Interaction When Collaborating on Rural Development Lessons from Danish LEADER LAGs

Abstract: This article analyses the prevailing types of interaction between two important actors, namely, Danish municipalities and the EU-funded LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs), in a qualitative case study of LAG-Djursland. In addition, parallels are drawn to the national implementation of the programme through a quantitative study. The analysis addresses interaction at the policy-making (board) level, the operational (staff) level and the implementation (project) level and employs inter-organizational theory. The analysis concludes that at LAG-Djursland, the policy-making level has the least integrated mode of interaction with the municipalities, followed by the operational level, and the implementation level is the most integrated. However, the analysis indicates that the operational level is most important for achieving the objective of delivering rural development. The study shows that the municipalities are valuable partners in fulfilling the LAG objectives; however, it is difficult to define the inflection point at which municipalities become too dominant and come into conflict with the rationale behind the LEADER approach to self-governance in LAG partnerships.

Abattoirs, Meat Processing and Managerial Challenges : A Survey for Lagging Rural Regions and Food Entrepreneurs in Ontario, Canada

Abstract: The meat processing sector is a significant contributor to the food economy, particularly in the Canadian province of Ontario. The sector contributed over $8 billion to the food manufacturing sector, and it employed over 647,000 people in 2011. In Ontario, there has been a great decline in the number of provincially licensed plants in the past 7 years. There were 183 provincially licensed slaughter plants in 2005; this number decreased to 142 by 2012. This study seeks to understand what challenges abattoirs and processors are currently facing and why abattoirs have closed in the past. The research shows that the major challenges facing abattoirs and processors are: regulatory challenges and administrative-related responsibilities, high overhead costs and a limited skilled labour force. These challenges have been mitigated by consumer preferences toward local food. Limitations of the study are presented and foundations for further research are suggested.

Issues of Conservation and Livelihood in a Forest Village of Assam

Abstract: The creation of the forest villages in the northeast Indian state of Assam, like the rest of India, was a part of the colonial forest management policy. These villages were established within the limits of the reserved forests for assured supply of labour for the colonial forest department. Later on, many recognized forest villages came up with landless peasants migrating to the forest areas in search of land and livelihood. However, their growing population and demand for land coupled with the highhandedness of the forest department gave rise to intense conflict between the two. This conflict has assumed a much more complex character in the recent times giving rise to serious contestations and challenges with regard to people’s rights and conservation approach of the state.

Rurality and Competitiveness. Some Observations on the Local Area: The Case of the Sardinian Region

Abstract: The article presents the results of a study on the classification of municipalities in the Region of Sardinia (Italy) based on the relationship between existing levels of rurality/urbanity and comp...

Microfinance Banks and Rural Development: The Nigeria Experience

Abstract: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the microfinance banking scheme on December 2005 as part of government strategies to achieve one of the cardinal agendas of the Millennium Development Goa...

Poverty–Growth–Inequality Triangle by Principal Component Analysis: With an Empirical Illustration Using Pakistan’s Data

Abstract: The objective of the study is to investigate the associations among rural poverty, agriculture growth and income inequality in Pakistan as problems that have emerged in Pakistan during 1990s and 2000s (i.e., the reduction of agricultural share in GDP, widening income disparities and increasing vulnerability) by adjusting for the influences of rural development, sanitation and education. The regression result indicates that rural development and national income per capita has a negative association with poverty and income inequality, and a positive association with agriculture growth in Pakistan. Similarly, FDI has a positive impact on rural development, income inequality and poverty. External debt has positive associations with the poverty and income inequality in rural Pakistan. Finally, health expenditures have a positive relationship with the poverty and inequality which indicates that Pakistan’s health reforms are intrinsically anti-poor.

Marketing Facilitation for Improving Livelihoods of Tribal Producers

Abstract: Government regulations constrained tribals’ integration with market economy and its benefits. Marketing facilitation institutions established by Government of India for minor forest produce trade h...

Financial System Approaches to Microenterprise Development: A Comparison of SHG Bank Linkage and MFI Model in Maharashtra

Abstract: Microenterprise development (MED) has been recognized as an important strategy for employment generation and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Microfinance has been identified as an impo...