PGD Rural Development

PDRD713: RESEARCH METHODS:
The relevance of Geographic research. Definition and sources of problems. Goals and types of research. The aims and objectives. Formulating hypotheses and testing. Analytical techniques. Sample and sampling techniques. Sources of data and methods of collection. Role of literature review in research. Data summarization and analysis. Presentation of research report. Writing a mini research proposal.

PDRD725: RURAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES :
Development as a concept and its evolution. Emergence of rural development on the centre stage of world development. Systems theories of rural development (ecological theory, functionalist theory). Decision-making theories of rural development (theory of elasticity, input-output relationship theory). Structural theories of rural development( social structure and conflict theory, commoditisation theory). Dynamic factors in rural transformation ((innovation diffusion, institutionalization of rural development, role of credit in rural development). Social relations of rural development.

PDRD727: RURAL PLANNING WORKSHOP :
Development of graphic skills for rural data presentation. Principal equipments for the rural development workshop, scale in rural land use mapping. Point symbols such as dot maps, proportional circles. Line graphs (simple and complex). Bar graphs (simple and complex). Pie charts. Choropleth maps. Socio-economic surveys of selected villages, village profiles. Movement systems in the rural area and development principles. Rural activities and location principles. Micro-regional studies.

PDRD729: GENDER AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS:
Concepts and their meanings: rural, gender, poverty, livelihoods. Gendered division of work in the context of rural poverty. Institutional context for livelihood building. Assest analysis: landed property, credit, technology. Food security and coping strategies. Gender and reproductive health.

PDRD731: POPULATION MOVEMENTS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
General socio-economic characteristics of rural populations. Causes and consequencies of population movement from rural-urban; urban-rural; rural-rural and urban-urban. Contributions of various forms of migrants both internal and international to their host regions/communities. Topical examples from different parts of the world.

PDRD728: RURAL LIVELIHOODS AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS:
Characteristics of rural livelihoods and the resources that support them. Primary production systems (cropping, livestock production, fishing, forestry). An over-view of their past and present states and the future prospects. Rural industries: exploration of available options in diverse rural settings. Rural energy systems. The market institution: it roles in rural livelihoods and production systems. Dynamics of rural change: population growth, rural transportation, government policies (internal policies as well as those externally induced. Foreign trade, foreign debt and idea of globalization. Rural poverty: indicators, complex web of causal factors. Nigeria’s approaches to poverty reduction.

PDRD730: PROJECT PLANNING:
Information input for project design. Projection of demand and production. Organization of local participation. Project design practices, project scheduling using critical path analysis. Technical, financial and organizational aspects of project evaluation. Cost-benefit analysis. The location of rural growth and service centers. Rural land-use planning. Institutional context of planning decisions. Rural planning techniques, Rural resettlement policies. Village planning.. Rapid rural appraisal. Principles and procedure in the design and evaluation of rural development projects. Principles and logistics of project implementation.

PDRD732: RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES :
The community development approach. Land reforms and rural spatial reorganization (Chinese, Tanzanian and other model. The sectoral development approach. Strategies of self-reliance. Rural economic democratization approach. Rural mobilization approach. Functional education and appropriate technology programmes. Integrated rural development strategy