Analysis of the role of people's participation in the development of the villages of Khokhbijar

Dissertation for Master Degree (M.A)

Field: Geography and Rural Planning

Abstract

Rural growth and development is closely related to the participation of villagers, because participation actually increases the efficiency of economic, social and cultural programs and the quality of decision making for rural areas. The weak participation of the people in the rural society reduces the dynamism of the villages. And the growth and prosperity of the villages faces difficulties. The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of public participation in the development of villages in Khokhbijar sector, Rasht city. Based on this, a study was conducted on 400 villagers in 18 sample villages of Khokhbijar section of Rasht city, and two documentary methods (library) and field studies using questionnaire tools were used to identify the participation status in the sample villages. To achieve this goal, after preparing the questionnaire and checking its validity and reliability Cronbach's alpha value (0.81), the questionnaires were distributed among the sample villages and their results were used to confirm or reject the hypotheses. In order to test the hypotheses using the components of education level, household economic status, level of satisfaction and the level of participation of villagers, in the process of rural development through Wilcoxon, Spearman correlation and Kruskal Wallis tests, the conducted studies show that in the scope of the study, in addition to the potentials and fields of participation of villagers in rural development, there are obstacles and problems in economic, social, cultural and political dimensions on the way of active participation of villagers, which each of them can be solved It requires the use of basic solutions. The set of measures mentioned above requires the provision of a solution and planning in accordance with the capabilities of the rural area in question.

Key words: village, participation, rural development, Khokhbijar sector, Rasht city.

Introduction

In the historical process of developments related to rural development, in the first decades after the Second World War, the change from the attitude of growth towards social development and human development contained the message that the economic factor And centralized planning alone cannot explain the development equation. In these decades, many developing countries tried methods under the title of development strategies in order to achieve social and economic development, especially in rural areas. Development is primarily related to cooperative organizations and the institutional structure of development, which increases the capacity and ability of people to control life and manage society's problems (Michael, 2002, P5). The issue of participation (in its multidimensional meaning) is considered one of the most important issues in development and progress (Simpson, B. Cala, C., 2001, P1). Today, most rural development experts believe that achieving sustainable development without the participation of people It is not possible, and without a doubt, with the participation of the transitional people, the development will be facilitated, accelerated and less expensive. The historical experience of our country, while emphasizing the application of the top-down strategy in development, indicated its failure in the process of rural development. Therefore, based on this experience and increasing the field of epistemology and scientific knowledge, it is necessary for the society to pay attention to rural development with popular participation at the forefront of its plans and measures. Spontaneous and endogenous development dictates that in all stages of development and in different conditions, the basis of work is to attract the participation of local people in order to mobilize resources and institutionalize local partnerships with an emphasis on empowerment and capacity building. People's participation makes people not feel alienated with new programs and elements, and on the other hand, they participate during the design and after that in carrying out and maintaining the plans, they consider the design and the product as their own, and they cooperate the most in its maintenance and dynamics. In the category of rural development, the participation and empowerment of local people is very important. In the past, the option of working for the rural people was emphasized, but today, from a participatory perspective, the option of working by the rural people is emphasized. Therefore, empowering the rural people effectively helps them to recognize, analyze issues and events and, as a result, make the appropriate decision in the face of unpredictable and changing conditions (Hayati, 2016, p. 176). The villagers of that area should be kept informed.After the completion of the programs and projects, due to the lack of participation of the villagers in the process of decision-making, planning and implementation, it is not possible to use and exploit it (Najafi Kani, 2013, p. 120). Therefore, in order for the plans and expenses made in the villages to lead to development, the needs and wishes of the villagers should be identified and they should be involved in doing the affairs. Because, on the one hand, the participation of the villagers will lead to the strengthening of rural institutions and social organizations that facilitate the development process, and on the other hand, it will lead to the use of the abilities and talents of the villagers in the direction of national development and maintaining the population of the villages and reducing regional inequalities (Sarour and Mousavi, 2010, p. 119). But unfortunately, it is sometimes observed that development plans are implemented in a region, without the villagers of that region being aware of the affairs. After the completion of programs and projects, due to the lack of participation of the villagers in the process of decision-making, planning and implementation, there is no reception in its use and exploitation. In order to avoid such a problem, the villagers should be involved in decision-making and planning, and even they should be asked to actively participate in the implementation, maintenance and evaluation phase as well (Najafi Kani, 2013, p. 120).

In order to examine the relationship between people's participation and cooperation and the level of development of the villages of the dry Bijarpayan sector, this thesis is compiled in five chapters as follows:

Chapter 1) Research Plan: In this chapter, The statement of the problem and the necessity of the research, the objectives of the research are stated, and after formulating the hypotheses and the research method, the concepts and terms of the research are stated.

Chapter Two (theoretical foundations, methodology and research techniques): In this chapter, the definitions and concepts of participation and issues related to participation and the opinions of experts are discussed. to be In terms of natural features, Khokhbijari is one of the six parts of Rasht city, which is located in the northeast, and in terms of human features, based on the results of the 1390 general population and housing census, the study area has 37 villages, 20,116 people and 6,566 households, and currently the literacy rate in the study area is 76.29%. From an economic point of view, the most important source of income of the villages in the study area is based on agriculture and mainly rice cultivation, and the amount of rice production depends on natural factors, especially the weather and the amount of rainfall at the right time. Chapter 4) Research findings: In this chapter, the analysis of the findings in most of the tables resulting from the answers of the villagers has been done. The results show that the participation of the villagers in rural development plans and projects and paying attention to the wishes and needs of the villagers in the preparation of rural development plans is essential. In order to achieve this important goal, the planners must prioritize the income problems of the villagers in the study area and use the existing capacities and potentials, including the development of agriculture and rural tourism, which is a source of employment and income and an important tool for economic-social development in the study area.

Chapter Fifth) Test of hypotheses, results and suggestions: In this chapter, the test of the four hypotheses of this research and the presentation of results and suggestions are discussed.

Statement of the problem

In recent decades, attention to the phenomenon of participation and emphasis on its role as one of the most important factors of development is largely due to the experience of the failure of development programs in the 1950s and 1960s. In the review of programs, the lack of benefit from participation has been evaluated as the main factor in the failure of the development program. What emerges from the flow of development planning in the past decades indicates that this program was mainly based on a top-down, centralized design. The failure of these approaches was that, in general, most people were rarely involved in development planning. Currently, although the role and effect of people's participation in rural plans and programs and decision-making to advance the development process in villages It has been completely confirmed, but we still see that in our villages, people's presence and role in the development of villages has not been paid attention to, and participation has not been able to find its place in the eyes of the people and its development officials as it should.