| Author | Polgolla, A. M. L. B. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. HS-88-23 |
| Subject(s) | Rural development projects--Sri Lanka
|
| Note | A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for t he Award of the Degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. HS-88-23 |
| Abstract | The study was undertaken as an impact evaluation to see whether the
rural poor, the target group of IRD strategy, have benefitted f rom t he
Kurunegale District Integrated Rural Development Project.
The study highlights the socio-economic changes that have taken place
in the Divullegoda ASC Division of t he Nikaweratiya Electorate as a result
of the Project implementation. The conclusions are drawn by comparing the
eight year period after the project was started ( 1980 - 87) with the period
before project (1972-79).
Although the survey findings s how a substantial increase of paddy
production due to the increased productivity of l and it has not increased
the income of the poor and employment opportunities for t hem as expected
by the project planners. As a result, the improvement of living conditions
of the poor has been very limited.
The survey has identified beneficiaries and non -beneficiaries from the
project in relation to the type of land owned by t he poor and the
contribution that the supportive components emphasised by the project
made to increase their productivity. Obviously the beneficiaries are the
people who have sufficient land under irrigation to cultivate .
Non-beneficiaries are twofold: the landless or those who cultivate land
that cannot be irrigated and who have land that might have been irrigated
but wasn't . In the area studied , they make up a substantial proportion
of the rural poor .
The study discloses other reasons for the limited benefits to the rural
poor: shortcomings in project planning and implementation, constraints
faced by the people and, very importantly, the failure to appreciate
adequately the needs of the rural poor in this area and how to help them.
This has led to several components being overlooked in the plan.
It has emphasised the need to identify the target group, mobilise
people's participation, provide for income generation through non-farm
employment and rainfed highland or ' chena' cultivation in the dry zone,
increase accessibility of rural poor to credit facilities and modify
existing project components to ensure more benefits reach the rural poor . |
| Year | 1988 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. HS-88-23 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Dias, Hiran D.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Weber, Karl E. ;Routray, Jayant Kumar
|
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Canadian International Development Agency; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1988 |