The Differential Advantage Approach as A Rural Development Strategy: An Assessment of The “One Village One Product” (Ovop) Projects in Kenya

Abstract

Most of the world’s poor who are not economically active but economically dependent live in rural areas. Whilst poverty in the world’s growing cities is a major problem, a large proportion of the urban poor are migrants from rural areas. Differential advantage approach has been applied to unlock rural under development based on premises of making rural poor economically active by delivering valuable products or services for the market hence faster income growing. Rural firms’ needs adjustment and upgrading differentiating factors to achieve rural development. Lack of attention to product competitiveness, human resource development, marketing and cluster productive process differentiating factorsmay decline level of success for the approach on rural development. This study therefore sought to investigate the differential advantage approach as a rural development strategy. The study sought to; analyse the relationship between product competitiveness and rural development in the One Village One Product (OVOP) projects; find out the relationship between human resource development and rural development in the OVOP projects; determine the relationship of market accessibility contribute on rural development in the OVOP projects and establish the relationship between cluster productive process and rural development in the OVOP projects. The study adopted descriptive case design in assessing the four pioneer projects as unit of study. The selection of four OVOP projects (Jitunze, Watuka, Rumuruti and Kionyweni) was by use of pre-qualification characteristics and desired degree of accuracy determined by Slovin’s formula. Questionnaires, interview guides, FGDs and observations were methods used to collect qualitative data. Means and standard deviation were calculated, hypothesis was test and significant value was done by use of bivariate Pearson correlation and linear regression. The regression result indicated statistically significant of product competitiveness at 0.782;human resource development at 0.770; market accessibility at 0.788 and cluster productive process at 0.751 on rural development. The study concluded that differential advantage approach was a strategy of rural development through human resource development, product competitiveness, market accessibility and cluster productive process factors. The study recommended for: upgrading of village polytechnics; promotion of product development in the village cottage industries; develop bulking centers and joint village cooperatives; develop and promote industrial clusters; collective economic movement and strengthen consultative mechanisms policy for village land use. It was expected that the lesson provided by this study provides deep understanding the factors of differential advantage approach as a rural development strategy.