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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Rural Development: A Comparative Analysis of Indian and Kenyan Experiences |
Author: | Opata, Grephas Pancras |
Year: | 2000 |
Periodical: | Africa Quarterly |
Volume: | 40 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 107-132 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Kenya |
Subjects: | rural development popular participation Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology |
Abstract: | This paper compares the experiences and prospects of decentralized development initiatives through district-based local institutions in Midnapore, West Bengal, India, and Kakamega, Kenya. The paper is divided into four parts. Part 1 briefly examines the historical background of the two countries. In particular, it studies the impact of colonialism on their economies and the influence it exercised on later prospects for sustained rural development. Part 2 gives a brief comment on the theoretical debate concerning the causes of underdevelopment in the developing world. In part 3, the paper compares, with a view to noting similarities and differences, the district-rural planning strategies in Midnapore and Kakamega. The last section concludes that in the case of Kenya, the experience with the District Focus for Rural Development (DFRD) reveals the inability of the planning authorities to explore the structural roots of poverty in the rural areas, and highlights the challenges of democratic decentralization under a rigid political regime. Bibliogr. |