Purpose: Why do farmers not take better care of their soils? This article aims to give insight into how farmers look at soil quality management. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses diverse land management practices and visions on soils and soil quality of ten agroecological and 14 conventional smallholder farmers in Araponga, Minas Gerais,…

Purpose: New approaches to extension service delivery are needed that stimulate increased agricultural production, contribute to collective action and which also foster the emergence of agricultural innovation systems. Research in Peru and Mexico explores some of these new approaches. Design/methodology/approach: In both countries, a qualitative…

The rural population of semi-arid lands in Kenya face multiple challenges that result from population growth, poor markets, land use and climatic changes. In particular, subsistence oriented farmers face various risks and opportunities in their attempt to secure their livelihoods. This paper presents an analysis on how livelihood assets and…

This article explores the role of children in household livelihoods among the Gedeo ethnic community in Ethiopia. Three themes are discussed--reproductive activities, entrepreneurial work in marketplaces and sociospatial mobility--in the context of recent theoretical debates over children's agency and social competence. With shifts in rural…

We may be involved in a replay of the Indian genocide and dislocation characteristic of early U.S. history through the workings of international economics. This historical account briefly outlines the recent economic developments in the Brazilian Amazon, the effects that those policies have on the natives, and the United States' involvement in…

Posits that, in order to reduce underdevelopment, solutions must be found for problems of production and productivity, and for the improvement of living conditions of the rural population through the elimination of structural constraints on development. (Author/JOW)

The survey by the UNESCO secretariat on the equality of access of girls and women to education in the context of rural development forms the basis of this report. A questionnaire (Annex I) was sent to all Member States and associate members of UNESCO. Replies from fifty-six countries were considered, with 45 detailed replies furnishing the main…

Focuses on how India's economic planning and development efforts since 1950 have affected rural areas and small towns, which comprise nearly 80% of India's population. Presents several case studies of rural development and concludes that the major keys to the stability of India as a democracy are population control, a unifying language, and…

The contributors to this document compare the main approaches to agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa; the cost-effectiveness in view of precarious national budgets; the weaknesses of the system for generating technology; the difficulties in forging productive partnerships between researchers, extensionists and farmers; the ineffective…

Education is a necessary investment in the modern state since it is the key to overall national development. Its two parts consist of formal and out-of-school education. The first includes the regular classroom--primary, secondary, technical, and university education. The second consists of nonformal education and training. Economic development is…

The confluence of three major forces has given a new significance to nonformal education for the developing countries--denied educational opportunities and resource constraints, questions about the relevance of formal education, and growing awareness of the importance of lifelong education. The absence of inadequacies of concepts and priorities of…

Examines the relationship between education and development in developing nations. Advocates the fostering of a technical humanism--the development of knowledge in all its forms as a basis for action. In this system, technical education is as highly valued as general education. The system, and its applications to rural education is discussed. (CP)

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) uses a three-tiered approach to help other nations solve development problems. At the broadest level, the TVA is an educator, because it shares with others the benefits of what it has learned over the last 55 years. At the second level, the TVA is a regional planning consultant, and at the third level, the TVA…

A paper from an International Labour Office seminar states that the economic and social development of rural workers must be through their labor organizations. In principle, such organizations for rural workers are the same as those for urban industrial workers. Services provided by unions are discussed. (MF)