Background
Development in rural communities is a prerequisite in order to make a better place for the people in a country and serve as a key contributor to economic development and environmental preservation. Meanwhile villages in each country have differences and similarities in some respects, the success of rural development policies are modified by adapting and adopting local conditions. The fact that Indonesian government has endeavored to address the poverty and the backwardness of rural communities has been carried out through various development policies and strategies aiming at improving the lives of rural residents. However, those efforts have some limitations due to geographical conditions, rural situations, accesses to market of products from rural areas, diversity of characteristics of the villages and other factors.
According Village Law no 6/2014, villages have been positioned as development subjects with a reference to recognition of origins and local authority. Since then, villages have managed their development programs based on the potentials and existing challenges. These programs are intended to improve the welfare and quality of their citizens and alleviate poverty. In addition, they are also expected to improve basic need service, facilities and infrastructure, local economic potentials, and sustainable use of natural resources and environment. When simplified, the substance of rural development consists of three aspects: sovereignty politics, development politics, and village literacy politics (Yustika, 2017).
The main current thoughts regarding rural areas are related to sustainable development and innovation. Sustainable development is an effort to foster economic growth while at the same time to preserve the environment quality for future generations. It is a strategy that allows the rural poor and those living in rural areas may gain benefits from the development. Meanwhile, innovation is needed to improve the quality and diversity of products from rural areas. Innovation is widely assessed as one of the key factors to increase competitiveness that contributes to more creative uses of natural resources and human assets. The economic structure of rural areas is mainly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s). SME’s cannot usually afford to run an R&D department. Therefore, it is important to find an effective strategy to develop cooperation between public and private sector to boost the innovation process in order to produce creative products from rural areas.
It is generally recognized that a major problem for all forms of rural policy is the diversity of rural conditions. Therefore, the most challenging problems in rural communities need to formulate new strategies that are more responsive to the following issues such as low economic growth, unemployment, poverty, social welfare and income as well as health. In so doing, increasing the welfare of the villagers both nationally and globally becomes possible. The big question is how to get on with fundamental transformation in rural areas through sustainable rural development and innovation?
Theme
Rural Development
Sub Themes
- Rural Economies,
- Local Knowledge,
- Rural Governance,
- Rural Development Planning,
- Rural Empowerment,
- Rural Environment