Rural Poverty and Rural Policy Issues ( by Verenga Themba)

The process of development has been preached by numerous authorities and politicians since time immemorial. However, the development process of rural areas was relatively slower than that of the urban areas. This was a result of the fact that, development practitioners and governments have been prioritising the urban areas at the expense of rural areas. Of recent, statesmen and organisations started introducing policies and strategies to solve the plight of the non-metropolitan dwellers. However, rural poverty is still evident. This is because, some if not all of these policies are formulated, implemented and analysed without necessarily taking into consideration some of the factors which affect the formulation, implementation and analysis of good policies. These factors include the available technology, the power relations and participation of different stakeholders involved in policy process and a plethora of other social economic and political factors which affect good policy analysis, formulation and implementation. Without understanding these factors, rural policies are formulated and implemented in a way which hardly solve or at least alleviate rural poverty. This paper shall explore how these factors affect the assumption analysis and its consequences and influences to rural poverty reduction at large. Examples of the policies implemented in both the Third and the First World shall be used to substantiate the raised arguments.

A policy is a declaration that defines the intention of a community, organisation or government goals and priorities. Policies outline the roles, rules and procedures. They create frameworks within which administration and staff can perform their assigned duties. (Anderson et al, 1984). Policy process is a cyclical and iterative procedure which includes problem identification, problem analysis, policy making, budgeting and policy evaluation (Sabatier, 1999). With this rural policy process means all the iterative policy making, analysis and adoption put in place to solve the problems of rural poor people. Burke (2003) defines assumption analysis as a project management exercise that requires planners to identify all assumptions being made in project planning management stage as a means of risk reduction. Each assumption is then analysed to determine its accuracy and to identify all potential project risks if the assumption is later found to be inaccurate. This shows that for, accurate and project success to be achieved there is need for rural policies to be well analysed at each and every stage, that is from problem identification, problem analysis, strategy selection implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The rural policy process is ideally occupied by diverse groups of actors and stakeholders. Presence or absence of these actors in the analysis, implementation, evaluation and formulation of policies has influence towards the success of a policy process. According to Sabatier (1999) the rural policy process has to involve a wide range of actors, individuals, groups and networks. These groups and individuals may complement one another in each and every stage of the policy process. In the rural policy, stakeholders including the government agencies, Civic Society Organisations (CSOs), Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the rural people contribute their knowledge towards the elimination of poverty in rural areas. Government agencies can contribute its information through the stored data in different ministries, NGOs contribute the knowledge and experience they get when they come into direct contact with the rural poor people. The rural, poor people also express their lived experiences. This collaborative action of stakeholders ensures effective sharing of information and data thereby accurate understanding and analysis of rural development problems. According to Munzara and Gwaze (2006) a workshop organised by community Technology Development Trust (Zimbabwe) and Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (Malawi) was attended by participants from countries like Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. These stakeholders who included government officials and representatives from NGOs successfully deliberated on trade issues because of their diverse experiences. This is because all these stakeholders were targeting formulation of the rural policy to alleviate rural poverty. These actors if they mutually work in policy problem identification and analysis for instance complement each other and thereby identify the correct problem which rural people are grappling with.

Participation and power dynamics among the rural stakeholders also impact on the assumption analysis of the rural policy process. In most cases, there is a tendency of exclusion of other relevant stakeholders during the rural policy process. In this case there, the more powerful stakeholders may decide to exclude less powerful ones when formulating, analysing and implementing policies. According to Chambers (1983) when identifying the problems affecting rural areas, governments usually ignore and overlook essential, complex and diverse realities of the rural poor people. With this, the government and its agencies take the centre stage in identification, analysis and evaluation of rural development policy problems. This in most cases lead to the identification of wrong problems for right people. This is because, social phenomena are very complex and multifaceted which means that, those in the problem (rural people) should be at the centre stage in the identification and analysis of their problems. The inclusion of the rural poor people in contrast means that, there will be a better understanding of the problems, since they are the ones experiencing rural poverty. Thus, identified courses of actions will suit the problem being tackled.

According to Narayan (2000) within the rural people themselves, there are asymmetrical relationships which may affect in problem identification and analysis of their social problems. According to the study he carried out in Bangladesh, the poorest people in rural areas had little contribution in government initiated referenda, elections and opinion polls. This will then mean that, the rural policies formulated will be set to solve the plight of the well up rural people at the expense of the real poor people. Since the purpose of rural policies is to alleviate poverty in rural areas, if the formulated policies are not relevant in solving the plight of the poorest, we can say they are not relevant to rural areas. Power dynamics within the rural poor people also tend to affect the evaluation of the rural policies. If the only elite rural people participate during policy evaluation, it will mean that professional evaluators may be deceived to believe that the implemented project and programs were very successful while in reality the poor people will continue to suffer. With this in the future poor projects which may be full of dangers to the livelihoods of the poorest rural people will continue to be implemented. This means that, for rural policies to be successful there is need for professional policy makers to understand the power dynamics among different groups of the rural people. Then policy makers will then try to foster equal participation of the poorest groups in the rural areas.

Technologies also affect the effectiveness of assumption analysis in the rural policy process. Technological advancement influences the nature and progress of stakeholder interactions and sharing of information between actors. In the present day policy formulation, analysis and implementation can be effectively aided by the use of more technologically advanced methods like telephone or computer conferencing. (Harande, 2009) this ensures timely formulation and analysis of policy alternatives before the nature of the problem changes or is altered by the environment.  Lack of such technology in the policy process in contrast delays or in some cases lead to poor alternative analysis and alternative selection. This is because; in practise rural issues are very fluid and easily changed by the environmental factors. According to Brugha et al (2002) findings brought forward by researchers during the evaluation and analysis of the health policy to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the United States of America were being superseded by events. This is because during that period, information was manually collected through arranged meetings by the government and other data collection methods like surveying. In the past and in present day technologically backward societies, decisions were and are not timely because there is need for involvement in weeks of data gathering and bureaucratic decision making. With this, alternative policy strategies will be introduced to tackle the already changed problems. Thus, technological advancement helps in the effective selection, analysis and implementation of good policies to solve the right problem.

Global pressure can also contribute in the analysis, implementation and formulation of policy strategies. According to Hajer and Wagenaar(2003) there are new sources of politics where concrete changes of the practices of policy making and politics are influenced by global decisions as well as domestic actions.  In this case, experience from overseas rural areas can be applied in solving local rural development problems. Rural problems are identified at international level and the problem shared as a global concern. Individual countries will then shape their rural policies to fit the interests of the global village. Multilateral and bilateral organisations engage in researches in the Third World rural areas and then influence rural policies in the countries with rural policies. Rural policies in the Third World countries are a reaction to the internationally set standards through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to Hanyani-Mlambo (2002) in Zimbabwe for instance the study on the pluralistic Agricultural extension paid allegiance to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) which is an international body formulated to solve the problem of poverty and starvation. That research was funded by the governments of Finland and Norway. This means that in some cases problem analysis and identification in this present day world is influenced by global pressure. All these activities are targeted at solving the rural poverty in the Third World rural areas. This then means that the choice and prioritisation of policy issues can also be directed by global international pressure.

Global international pressure can also create negative implications to the local rural policy processes. This is because in some cases, the formulation, adoption and analysis of policies can be just done as a need to satisfy the bilateral and multilateral organisations. This is mainly done because of the call for papers done by most donor organisations and countries. Some bilateral and multilateral organisations like SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency, and the USAID can call for governments and NGOs to submit proposals which suits their set goals (Sabatier, 1999). These policies may however be alien to the local environment and culture. This means that in this case governments and NGOs can engage in risky and less relevant policies without necessarily making through analysis of the policy environment but occupied by the need to get international funding. Mkandawire (1999) cited NGOs in Malawi which tried to implement piggery projects in a bid to solve the problem of food shortages. These projects were however turned down by the rural people since they were not in tandem with the local religion. It is also interesting to note that globally pressurised rural policies are flawed in that authorities in most cases falsify evaluations in order to get more funding. With this it is found that, international pressure can disturb local assumption analysis in rural policies and lead to the implementation of risky policies.

Harande (2005) points that, for rural policy to be successful and relevant there is need for reliable and accurate supply of information to the rural poor people. Reliable and accurate information makes the rural poor people aware of their contingencies and therefore contribute positively in the formulation, adoption and the setting of goals in the policy process. Uninformed and ignorant rural people also find it very difficult to follow the guidelines in implementing the projects and programs supporting a certain given policy. The ideal rural policy should include the rural people in the formulation, analysis, choosing the best alternative courses of action and policy evaluation, without reliable and accurate information concerning the national policies, the rural poor will hardly participate in the policy implementation exercise. According to Diso (2005) in Nigeria, the state information system is unreliable to an extent that, even serious information like disseminating agricultural research results is often subtly reduced to persuasive to persuasive propaganda to make people appreciate their state as benevolent enough to make them prospering. With this, people will hardly participate in the decision making and adoption of suitable and best alternative courses of action in the rural policy processes. Thus for rural policies to be successful, there is need for dissemination of reliable policy information in rural areas.

Linked to that, is the extent of literacy among the recipients of policy packages. In this case the rural poor people who happens to be the immediate beneficiaries of development policies. Obasanjo and Mabogunje (1991) indicate that for the rural people to exercise their effective responsibility for development they must be literate and have necessary resources and adequate revenue allocation. This is because, for rural people to be effective in the analysis of assumptions on different stages of the policy cycle they must be in a position to explicitly qualify and quantify their experiences. During the goal setting exercise in a literate population, quantification of the likely outcomes will be a bit easier as compared to carrying out the exercise in an illiterate rural community. If cost benefit-analysis is being carried where necessary comparing and contrasting two or more courses of actions will be a bit more effective in a literate society than an illiterate one. When it comes to monitoring and evaluation of the policy strategies literate rural communities are likely to provide reliable and accurate data. This minimises risk of carrying out unprofitable courses of action during the policy process. In illiterate communities in contrast there is a high tendency of falsifying data because of ignorance. With this future projects to support the policy will be more likely to be more flawed in illiterate communities as compared to literate ones.    

The health of rural policy process is also directly or indirectly affected by the availability of financial resources. According to Sullivan (1990) economics is one of the variables capturing the dynamics shaping the future of rural communities and interdependencies among those communities. Financial resources allow the government, private sector civic society organisations and professional planners to collect as much data as possible. That data will then be used to analyse the developmental problems affecting rural poor people. Stakeholder analysis and general collection of data can only be done effectively if there are reliable financial resources. This is because for rural information to be collected properly there is need for reliable supply of financial resources to cater for long distance travelling expenses into the poor rural areas. Chambers (1983) noted that, during the policy evaluation exercise in India, professionals engage in what he called tarmac bias. This is when policy or project evaluation is carried out in places near the main road only. In this case they only opt for near road accessible areas at the expense of the most remote parts of the countryside. Moreover problem analysis is done with the people nearer to the main road and better off people who can easily access places where activities like surveys, policy round tables, and consultation by government agencies are carried. With this, formulated policies hardly meet the needs and expectations of the real rural poor people. This is because without reliable financial resources the real poor rural people hardly contribute in the policy process.

Dukeshire and Thurlow (2002) noted that effective policy is facilitated by expensive methods of data gathering and awareness methods which include legislative hearings, policy round table, campaigns, consultations and engagement of groups and citizens by the government.  All these necessitate effective selection of courses of action. More so, with reliable financial sources, governments, planners and rural dwellers can be comfortable in choosing expensive courses of action and policies. Unlike policies which are supported by reliable sources of financial institutions, financially stable societies in contrast plan and implement programs and projects which suit their shrinking budgets. In most cases however, relevant courses of action requires more financial resources. Thus, policies formulated in financially stable environments are likely to be reliable and relevant in solving rural poverty.

In conclusion, rural poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon which cannot be solved by the voices of government officials and their private organisations counterparts. Rural poverty can only be solved when the development practitioners make thorough analysis of the resources available for the formulation, analysis and implementation of the rural policies. Need is there for professionals to make sure that they mutually cooperate with the rural people during executing each and every stage of the policy process. In doing so there is also need for the professionals to study the power dynamics within the rural people themselves so as to foster equal participation of them in the policy process. Without taking that into consideration, the problem of unequal development between the rural and metropolitan areas will continue, the gap between the rural poor and the rural elites will continue. There is need for the development of policies which meet the interests of the real poorest rural people.

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