Rural Entrepreneurship "Marketable Products/Services"

Am I turning back the course of modern civilization when I ask the villagers not merely to grow raw produce, but to turn it into marketable products and thereby add a few more pies to their daily income?

There is a big divide between rural and urban areas in developing countries. Rural areas lack infrastructure such as roads, electricity and telecommunications, and institutions such as schools and hospitals. A large section of rural population remains engaged in agriculture and related sector.  This is largely because there are very few other opportunities for livelihood. Industries and private sector enterprises are largely absent in the rural landscape.

For younger population, the lack of employment opportunities in villages is a serious issue and there is a large-scale migration from rural areas to urban areas in search of jobs. However the jobs are scarce even in the cities. In absence of education and skills, they end up working as daily labourers in construction sites, as household labour or doing other odd jobs.

Such unorganised labour pay barely enough to subsist. They are unable to afford rents and end up staying on streets, in slums or unauthorised colonies, and are unable to save or provide decent food, education and healthcare for their families. They hit a hurdle again in terms of livelihood opportunities and their situation barely improves, and often becomes worse than what they started from.

Migration to cities cannot be an answer for all underemployed or unemployed rural citizens. There is a need to create employment opportunities on a large scale in rural areas so that people can earn decent livelihood without being forced to leave their fields and families behind in search of work. 

This requires a change in mindset and vision, followed by good planning and implementation of that vision.

To start with:

1. We need to start thinking of rural areas and people living there as assets

By investing in their education, training and skill development, rural people and their children can perform the same task as those being done by people in urban areas. The daughter or brother of a  farmer need not be farmer. S/He could be a doctor, an engineer, a scientist, an IT professional or an artist. It will mean millions of young and hard working people can join the modern knowledge economy and contribute to it. This would lead to greater innovations and productivity gains and will benefit everyone. The rural people will themselves come out of poverty and also generate surplus welfare gains for all.

2. Revival of Industries in Rural Areas

We need to stop looking at rural areas as bowls of natural resources, to be consumed and then discarded. Instead we need to bring industrialisation and technology to the villages, so that they can improve their agricultural practices, bring value addition to their farm produce, and diversify their economies. At the moment, most farmers simply sell their farm produce raw, and often to the middlemen and have to withstand fluctuation of prices. Industrialisation and value addition will allow them to increase their income and get assured returns.

It will also open greater employment opportunities in farm and non-farm sector, such as product research and designing, meterology/weather services, marketing, trading, advertising, EIA/studies and other skilled jobs.

Here technology can play some leap-frogging role. When we think of industrialisation, we need not think of big factories with polluting chimneys. Instead industrialisation can be at the level of households (such as grading machines) or at the level of cooperatives (such as grinding and processing) or at level of entrepreneurs (such as e-commerce for direct marketing of farm produce to consumers in urban and semi-urban areas). And yes, it can also be in the form of modern industries such as call centres, software development, indigenisation of technologies, and more.

3. Enabling Environment

To achieve the above, we need to invest in rural roads, electricity, transportation and communications. In addition, it requires availability of vocational institutes, workshops and training centres, and these should be staffed by good teachers, professionals and good managers.

Government departments such as agriculture centres, industrial development and enterprise support units, and other institutions such as banks need to be there and functioning properly.

Support of these institutions is required to to provide an enabling environment to rural entrepreneurs and youths and to encourage interested professionals to come and provide training and support in rural areas. This will allow more economic activities to be carried out in villages,  develop expertise and capacities within these villages, and increase employment opportunities and household incomes in rural areas.

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BINTI ATOROKEA UINGEREZA AKIKWEPA KUTOMASWA NA MFALME MSWATI

Hapa King Mswati III akiwa na mmoja wa wake zake aliyemchagua katika sherehe za kuchagua na kuoa mke mpya (Kigori au Bikira) zinazofanyika kila mwaka nchini Swaziland.

Msichana mdogo ameomba hifadhi ya ukimbizi nchini Uingereza baada ya kukataa kwa dharau harakati za ndoa za wake wengi za Mfalme Mswati III wa Swaziland na kugoma kujiunga kwenye nyumba harimu ya wake 13.

Tintswalo Ngobeni, mwenye umri wa miaka 22, alitimkia Uingereza kutoka taifa hilo la kusini mwa Afrika akiwa na umri wa chini ya miaka 18 baada ya kuvuta hisia za mfalme huyo milionea, mtawala maarufu mkandamizaji kwa maisha yake ya anasa.

Ikiwa ni sehemu ya mila za Swazi, Mfalme Mswati III, mwenye umri wa miaka 45, anaruhusiwa kuchagua mke mpya kila mwaka.
  
Tintswalo, ambaye sasa anaishi mjini Birmingham, alikuwa na umri wa miaka 15 tu wakati Mfalme huyo alipofanya harakati zake baada kumuona kwenye jumba la kifalme la mke wake wa nne, LaNgangaza. Binti huyo alisema 'alitishika' pale alipogundua dhamira zake za ndoa.

Aliongeza: "Alianza kunipigia simu kwenye shule ya bweni. Aliniuliza kama ningetaka kuwa sehemu ya familia ya kifalme. Ilinibidi kukaa kimya kuhusu mashaka yangu lakini nilifahamu sikutaka kuolewa naye na kujitolea maisha yangu kwa mfalme huyo.

"Wake zake wamewekwa kwenye majumba yao, wakizingirwa na walinzi, na hakika hawawezi kwenda kokote isipokuwa tu mfalme akisema hivyo. Kitu pekee wanachofanya ni kwenda Marekani mara moja kwa mwaka, wakati mfalme huyo anapowapatia posho kwa ajili ya manunuzi."

Tintswalo alikuwa amelazimishwa kuachana na maisha ya starehe kwenye shule moja ya bweni huku shangazi yake, ambaye alikuwa mlezi wake mkuu, akisuka mipango ya kutorokea Uingereza kuungana na mama yake, ambaye alihamia mjini Birmingham miaka mitano kabla, akimtoroka mume wake mnyanyasaji.

"Sikuwa na jinsi," alisema. "Hakuna aliyewahi kumwangusha mfalme huyo au kuthubutu kumdharau, hivyo nikatoweka tu."

Tangu kuwasili nchini Uingereza, Tintswalo amekuwa sauti ya upinzani dhidi ya utawala kandamizi za Swazi, ambapo vyama vya upinzani vya siasa vimefungiwa na wanaharakati wamekuwa wakikamatwa mara kwa mara au kushambuliwa.

Hatahivyo, shughuli kuu za Tintswalo, ikiwamo maandamano ya kila wiki nje ya ubalozi wa Swazi mjini London akiwa na kikundi cha Swazi Vigil, zimesikika kwa mamlaka hizo nchini kwake na sasa anaamini yuko kwenye hatari kubwa zaidi kuliko ilivyowahi kutokea.

Alisema: "Hivi karibuni nilipata taarifa kwamba watu wametumwa kutoka Swaziland kuja kunikamata, jambo ambalo hakika linanitisha mno. Kama nikirejea, nitakamatwa au mbaya zaidi huku pale kuna watu ambao wanateseka, kupigwa au kuuawa kwa kujihusisha na siasa."
  
Tintswalo sasa anaishi katika mashaka ya kuweza kurejea nchini Swaziland, baada ya ombi lake la kwanza la hifadhi ya kisiasa nchini Uingereza mwaka 2007 kukataliwa mwaka 2011.

Mwezi uliopita, alikamatwa na kupelekwa kwenye kituo cha kushikilia wahamiaji baada ya miezi 18 ya kuripoti kila wiki katika mamlaka hizo.
 
Hatahivyo, baada ya shinikizo kutoka TUC na ofisi ya Mbunge wa Birmingham kupitia chama cha Labour, Roger Godsiff, Tintswalo aliachiwa na sasa amekata rufaa wizara ya Mambo ya Ndani.
 
Godsiff alisema juzi: "Tumefurahishwa mno wanasheria walifanikiwa sana katika kuwezesha kutazamwa upya kwa kesi ya Ngobeni."

Baba huyo wa wake 13 na watoto 27, Mfalme Mswati III alikuwa mgeni kwenye harusi ya William na Kate na pia kwenye sherehe za Miaka 50 ya Malkia wakati wa majira ya joto mwaka jana.

Mke wa sita wa mfalme huyo alitoroka kutoka kwenye jumba hilo harimu mwaka jana, akielezea miaka kadhaa ya 'machungu na udhalilishaji wa kimwili' uliofanywa na mume wake. 
  
Msemaji wa Wizara ya Mambo ya Ndani alikataa kuzungumzia chochote.

POPULAR NIGERIAN TV PRESENTER ALHAJI RAZAQ AREMU GAWAT FOUND

According to unconfirmed reports, Alhaji Razaq Aremu Gawat, the popular TV presenter of the Islamic programme ''e dide e ji sari'' has beeen found. He was reported missing after his car was found abandoned around Apongbon early wednesday morning with no signs of him. The Lagos state League of Imams conducted prayers at his residence yesterday for his safe return. He was allegedly found in Ibadan, today, no further details are available at present but he is said to have been found and is allegedly safe and sound.

We have printed a retraction to this story, the popular presenter is still missing. we join his family and friends in prayers for his safe return.