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Sustainable Rural Economics Development in Developing Countries

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 15637

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech – University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Interests: economics; rural development; poverty; land issues; food security; agricultural value chain

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the United Nations, “the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is at the centre of sustainable development”, and the organization considers that “sustainable rural development is vital to the economic, social and environmental viability of nations”.

Sustainable development can play a role in achieving the goal of poverty eradication. It should be remembered that poverty in the world mainly affects rural areas, and particularly in developing countries, and that the economy can help to reduce it by preserving the sustainability of systems and improving the livelihoods of populations.

Moreover, with the agricultural sector being predominant in rural areas, we encourage researchers and PhD students to offer any contribution related to the theme covered by this Special Issue, dealing with this sector which is so important for developing countries. 

This Special Issue may include contributions focusing, for example, on the following themes:

- Developing sustainable ways to ensure to farmers additional income;

- Promoting the use of land resources in a sustainable way to prevent land degradation caused by unsustainable exploitation of land resources or by land conflicts;

- Analyzing the new considerations in city–countryside relationships;

- Supporting access to market of smallholder family agriculture;

- Presenting success stories and lessons learned from new agroecological practices;

- Promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems;

- Promoting gender empowerment in rural areas.

Prof. Dr. Philippe Lebailly
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainable development
  • Rural development
  • Economic development
  • Developing countries

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 761 KiB  
Article
Factors Influencing Small-Scale Fishers’ Individual Perceived Wellbeing Satisfaction in Southern Benin
by Sètondji Ben-Vital Kolawolé Kpanou, Houinsou Dedehouanou, Sylvain Kpenavoun Chogou, Augustin K. N. Aoudji and Thomas Dogot
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116279 - 2 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3219
Abstract
In southern Benin, the rapid growth of demographics and the need for fishery products have forced public managers to adopt various management measures in the face of anti-ecological methods used by fishers; however, these strategies are often formulated independent from the context. These [...] Read more.
In southern Benin, the rapid growth of demographics and the need for fishery products have forced public managers to adopt various management measures in the face of anti-ecological methods used by fishers; however, these strategies are often formulated independent from the context. These measures have not remained without consequence on the daily lives of fishers. This paper examines factors influencing fishers’ individual perceived wellbeing satisfaction using the social-ecological system framework. Data on 205 small-scale fishers’ demographic information, perception of job, and individual wellbeing satisfaction and governance subsystems were collected and analysed by the use of an ordered logistic regression. The results demonstrate that job satisfaction and ownership of water bodies (in contradiction to Ostrom’s advocation for commons management) affected fishers’ individual perceived wellbeing satisfaction. Fishers likely value ownerships, affecting their perceived wellbeing mainly in the South East. The prohibition of certain fishing gear decreases fishers’ individual perceived wellbeing, indicating their attachment to these. Therefore, the question remains as to whether or not the scenarios of eco-sustainability of artisanal fisheries can be managed in the same manner as those related urban dwellers and the public sector. This is in particular reference to the line between urban land property rights, urban dwellers and the state, and property rights on water bodies, fishers, and the state. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Economics Development in Developing Countries)
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18 pages, 1070 KiB  
Article
Can a Short Food Supply Chain Create Sustainable Benefits for Small Farmers in Developing Countries? An Exploratory Study of Vietnam
by Thi Nga Bui, An Ha Nguyen, Thi Thu Huong Le, Van Phuong Nguyen, Thi Thanh Hao Le, Thi Thanh Huyen Tran, Ngoc Mai Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh Le, Thi Kim Oanh Nguyen, Thi Thu Trang Nguyen, Hong Van Dao, Thi Ngoc Thuy Doan, Thi Hang Nga Vu, Viet Hung Bui, Huu Cuong Hoa and Philippe Lebailly
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2443; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052443 - 24 Feb 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6111
Abstract
A number of studies have indicated that short food supply chains could create economic, social, and environmental benefits, but most of those chains were implemented in developed countries. This research aims to find out the characteristics of short food supply chains and their [...] Read more.
A number of studies have indicated that short food supply chains could create economic, social, and environmental benefits, but most of those chains were implemented in developed countries. This research aims to find out the characteristics of short food supply chains and their benefits to small farmers in Vietnam, which is a developing country, based on the survey results from 338 small farmers in the third quarter of 2020, with the support of Stata 14 software. The results showed that the short food supply chains in the survey sample in Vietnam were characterized by two main actors: small farmers and distributors. Farmers could sell products flexibly at the local market. There was some initial evidence to prove that these chains helped to stabilize the input, output price, and revenue; formulated sustainable income; and increased the satisfaction and confidence of farmers. They eliminated gender discrimination in rural areas and improved livelihood for ethnic minorities. These chains also enhanced the mindset on green, organic, and clean production of farmers, which in turn created environmental benefits. COVID-19 has posed a negative impact on the income of farmers and made them change their production and sales method. Therefore, the research could suggest some policies to sustainably develop the short food supply chains in Vietnam in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Economics Development in Developing Countries)
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19 pages, 3589 KiB  
Article
Rural Economic Development Based on Shift-Share Analysis in a Developing Country: A Case Study in Heilongjiang Province, China
by Donghui Lv, Huiying Gao and Yu Zhang
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1969; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041969 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2778
Abstract
Identification of local priorities within each potential sector and implementation of a targeted development policy would definitely accelerate rural economic growth. In this sense, it is useful to examine each region’s industrial structural evolution compared to the whole economy and aggregate industries. Shift-share [...] Read more.
Identification of local priorities within each potential sector and implementation of a targeted development policy would definitely accelerate rural economic growth. In this sense, it is useful to examine each region’s industrial structural evolution compared to the whole economy and aggregate industries. Shift-share analysis has been confirmed as a useful method to measure regional economic differences and analyze the contribution of industrial structure. This paper selects five representative counties in Heilongjiang province and applies shift-share decomposition to analyze the change in rural economic development from 2000 to 2018. The change of economic growth in each selected county is decomposed into three components: national growth effect, industrial structure effect, and competitive effect, taking the national level as the reference. The results showed the following: (1) the trend of rural economic growth fluctuated greatly for nearly 20 years, distinguished by a mismatch of industrial structure with competitiveness for the selected counties; rural economies with an inappropriate industrial structure did not experience strong growth, despite high competitive potential. (2) The low-end agricultural structure and secondary industry structure led to the loss of each competitive effect; the tertiary industry structure based on economic structure servitization was rational, but the competitive effect did not work out. (3) Finally, this paper provided differentiated suggestions in accordance with local resources and priorities of the selected counties, so as to avoid excessive convergence and the lack of characteristics in industrial structure in rural transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Economics Development in Developing Countries)
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17 pages, 1909 KiB  
Article
Adapting to Climate Extreme Events Based on Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from Rural Areas in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam
by Dao Duy Minh, Nguyen Dang Hao and Philippe Lebailly
Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10498; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410498 - 15 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2311
Abstract
The key farming communities in Vietnam are generally poor and lack resources to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate extreme events (CEEs), but the extent of their adaptation strategies is not well understood. This study aims to analyze the impacts of [...] Read more.
The key farming communities in Vietnam are generally poor and lack resources to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate extreme events (CEEs), but the extent of their adaptation strategies is not well understood. This study aims to analyze the impacts of CEEs, current barriers, and adaptation strategies based on three categories of livelihood strategies. The classification method is first used to divide the livelihood strategy into these three categories, and a multinomial logistic model (MLS) is then applied to determine the set of parameters that affect adaptation options. CEEs result in significant damage in terms of both financial and health dimensions. Various barriers remain, such as the low capacity of relevant staff, lack of local budgets, and outdated methods being used to estimate and mitigate the impacts of CEEs. Notably, there were over 44%, and 28% conducted reactive and proactive adaptations, respectively, while a high percentage of households did not implement at least one adaptation method, around 27%. The MLS model is able to explain about 51.2% of the driving factors that influence adaptation strategies. In addition, the behavior of households in choosing adaptation methods shows the difference between perceptions of CEEs’ impacts and livelihood strategy profiles. There is a need for a package of adaptive solutions to address the impacts of CEEs that cover the many different household perspectives and involve stakeholders at multiple levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Economics Development in Developing Countries)
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