Abstract: Somalia faces a number of major obstacles to development: civil conflict, the lack of a fully functioning central government, and natural calamities such as drought and floods. In addition, the ongoing armed struggle has often prevented much-needed humanitarian assistance from reaching the population. Poverty has inevitably increased since the early 1990s and the collapse of the government and onset of civil war. About 43 per cent of the population lives in extreme poverty, or on less than US$1 per day. For several decades, development agencies have placed great emphasis on urban development as a tool for Economic Development. But they have neglected rural development as a means to improve economic growth and mitigate poverty. Part of the reason for the lack of attention to rural development within development initiatives lies in the shortage of empirical evidence that it affects economic growth and Economic Development, There is limited emphasis on and support for rural development in Somalia and part of the reason for the exclusion of rural development from development initiatives lies in the shortage of empirical evidence to show the impact of rural development on economic development in Somalia. It was on this background that the study focused on providing empirical evidence on the effect of rural development on economic development in Somalia. The study was guided by four specific objectives; finding the effect of rural agricultural development on Economic Development in Jowhar Somalia, finding out the effect of rural Health Care facilities development on Economic Development in Jowhar Somalia, finding the effect of rural telecommunication development on Economic Development in Jowhar Somalia, finding the effect of rural education Development on Economic Development in Jowhar Somalia. The study was guided by the Endogenous rural development theory which is understood as the hypothesis that improvements in the socio-economic well-being of disadvantaged areas can best be brought about by recognizing and animating the collective resources of the territory itself. The study was conducted using a survey design; a survey is used to obtain information from groups of people. For this study, the survey design was preferred because surveys are relatively less costly. The study was conducted in Jowhar, Somalia, the country’s largest agricultural area. It selected a sample of 384 respondents from the different segments of the larger population in Jowhar. The study investigated the effect of agricultural development on economic development and the regression analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between economic development and agricultural development. From this analysis it was concluded that agricultural development has a significant impact on economic development. Findings indicated that that there is a significant relation relationship between economic development and health care facilities development. Basing on the findings the study recommended connecting education and training with agricultural sector. Strengthen rural health-care facilities and capacities, train and increase the number of health and nutrition professionals and sustain and expand access to primary health-care systems. Invest in essential infrastructure and services for rural communities: Increase public and private investments in infrastructure in rural areas, including roads, and transport systems.
Keywords: Agricultural Development, Health care facilities, Telecommunication & Education.
Title: EFFECT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF JOWHAR, SOMALIA
Author: Jama Mohamed Farah, Aaron Mukhongo
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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