An assessment of four community-based agricultural initiatives in South Africa's former Black Homelands indicates that the success of such ventures in terms of community self-reliance, job creation, and poverty alleviation depends upon access to markets; community resources and infrastructure; and training and technical assistance provided by…

Endemic problems in EU "lagging rural regions" (LRRs) are well documented and various support mechanisms have long been in place to help overcome structural difficulties. Nevertheless, new rural development architectures are now being sought and some scholars have posited that LRRs may benefit from the "quality (re)turn" in…

The annual conference of the National Public Policy Education Committee (NPPEC) is held to improve the policy education efforts of extension workers responsible for public affairs programs. This publication contains 26 conference papers: "Rural America and the Information Revolution: An Exploration of Possibilities and Potentialities"…

Current interpretations of central Appalachia's chronic poverty focus on the region's economic dependence on the bituminous coal industry, controlled by absentee investors and serving an external market. Such theories overlook the ways in which the agricultural sector shaped subsequent industrial development. By analyzing the farm economy of 16…

Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this research was conducted to investigate topics concerning the following four aspects of rural poverty: (1) documentation of the dimensions of rural poverty; (2) description of past public programs to raise incomes of the disadvantaged; (3) an outline of some of the strengths and…

More than 100 books and articles on rural development published during 1976-77 are annotated in this selective bibliography. Concentrating on social science literature, the bibliography is interdisciplinary in nature, spanning agricultural economics, anthropology, community development, community health, and rural sociology. Types of works…

In agricultural development, the production of food and fiber at optimum levels of quality, quantity, and cost per unit is viewed as the dependent variable, while the independent variables include all of the elements of production technology and other support activities. People and the opportunity for vocationally, economically, physically, and…

In fulfillment of the Colombian National Government's educational policy aimed toward improving the rural population's level of living, two fundamental projects have been implemented. These projects have led to the creation of schools, the continuous extension of grades, and the creation of "Concentraciones de Desarrollo Rural." They…

A set of conceptual schemes that can provide a partially articulated framework to serve as a basis to relate educational policy to the ends of rural development is described in this paper. Education is viewed in a sociological perspective as a process and as a social institution. Rural development as a social process is examined by means of a…

Describes and identifies U.S. labor market areas (LMAs) and focuses on relationships between rural LMAs and local resources. Includes graph comparing labor-force educational levels of rural LMAs. Two U.S. maps identify rural LMA by industry, including resource (e.g. mining, agriculture), manufacturing, and public education/administration. (TES)

Discusses the importance of biological education in the rural development of under-developed countries. Argues that if the peasant farmer possessed even the most basic rudiments of biological knowledge he would be much more adaptable and amenable to technological innovation. Also describes how such an educational program might be implemented. (JR)

To design public issues education programs to meet the needs of small farmers, the Cooperative Extension programs at Prairie View A&M University (Texas) and nine other 1890 land grant institutions surveyed small farmers' opinions concerning the 1995 farm bill. Responses were received from 644 farmers in the states in which these institutions…

One of several studies initiated by the Economic Research Service to provide research approaches in the problem areas of rural poverty and economic development, this study examines (1) rural activities within the context of national activities, (2) regional growth theories, (3) growth forecasting, (4) developmental programing, (5) determining a…

Bank failures are at record high levels with about two-thirds of the failed banks in rural areas, especially farm areas. Most failed banks are purchased and reopened immediately with little disruption to rural communities except that new ownership tends toward lending practices that are more conservative than the average. (JHZ)

Unless disparities in education are addressed, market-oriented reforms in Vietnam will generate inequitable agricultural growth. It is argued that if the marginal gains from investment in physical capital depend positively on knowledge, but a household cannot hire skilled labor to compensate for low skills, then even if it has access to credit,…