Rural Development Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rural Development - Case Study Example Poverty alleviation and addressing the problem of hunger remains as the priority action areas for the Niger government. Persistent landlessness, lack of business opportunities and child hunger erode the initial gains made in Niger placed last out of a total of 177 countries on the United Nations list in 2007. The U.N. aid had stated that 300,000 children under the age of five facing the risk of death from malnutrition every year in the Sahel region which encompasses Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, among others. The hunger problem which afflicted the country had stemmed from the apathy that was present in the Niger government. Thus, the government failed to fulfill its serious obligation to provide food to its citizens. (Mousseau and Millant, 2007) Business conditions have dire prospects. Niger's population lives on less than a dollar a day. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $320 in 2007. Approximately 40 percent of the Niger children suffer from chronic malnutrition and Niger's less than five years old mortality rate is very high. (Mosseau and Mittal, 2006) The regional integration of West African countries via the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meant to assure an adequate food supply in the region. However, this organization failed to establish a regulatory mechanism that to ensure food supply and stable food prices. Irregular food production, exchange rates, government policies, international commodity prices, and regional conflicts exacerbated the hunger crisis. High food prices led to the sale of livestock, capital goods, and land, thus putting more people at a high poverty risk.The Government must do three tasks. First, attain food availability for all of its citizens soon. It has done this based on recent developments. The Board of Directors of the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) had approved the request of the Niger Government for a grant of CFAF 3 billion (US$7 million) to finance the Emergency Food Security Support Project in August 2008. The main objectives of the grant are to pro vide support for irrigated rice production and to achieve household food security.The State of Niger will supplement this grant with resources derived from mineral exploitation. The hike in the food prices during the Ramadan period made the Government subsidize the prices of consumed food products. This operation provided 3,000 metric tons of rice and sugar on the market at half the real price. The Government has channelled CFAF 11 billion (US$25 million) for trade channels for the marketing of cowpea.Second, the government must establish an arrangement with its major food suppliers to deliver food to the country on a regular basis by setting up a Food Exchange Market and funding it through its mineral resources. Third, the government can promote a holistic training in skills and education to make available a healthy and well-educated work force which can generate substantial income for their families and communities. Rural development in the NorthRural development is responsible for economic regeneration among the countries in the North, particularly the UK.

The UK hardwood industry and Global Furniture Corporation Essay

The UK hardwood industry and Global Furniture Corporation - Essay Example In the year 2010, the companies in UK had imported 5.7 million cubic meters of sawnwood and had produced only 3.1 million cubic meters of sawnwood (Forestry Commission, 2011). Global Furniture Corporation (GFC) which is a 200 year old company is situated in UK and still remains one of the leading hardwood processing companies of the country. The longevity of the company determines the company’s efficiency and effective resource utilization capacity. There were various contributing factors to the success of the company which are loyalty of the employees, high quality products, efficient supply chain and management. GFC has been able to adapt to the changing marketing trends and technological developments. The flexibility of the company to adapt to the internal and external changes is one of the key reasons for the success of the company. The company imports hardwood from South American and Asian countries and processes the hardwood into finished products like Hardwood flooring, panelling and decorative strip wood. GFC also owns a subsidiary company known as Real Furniture Company (RFC) which processes imported hardwood into readymade furniture meant for domestic purposes. The operations of RFC are carried out in the overseas locations of the company. Answer 1 The practice of financial management concepts varies from company to company. Financial management helps the managers of the company to formulate various financial strategies for effective utilization of funds. Financial management decisions include investment, dividend and financing decisions (Brigham, 1985). GFC has also adopted various accounting and financial practices over the years. Currently, the company follows the new accounting regulations and principles. GFC pays the supplier of the company in the home currency of the company which is British pounds. The sales is converted into British pounds and then deposited into the company’s UK bank account. The fluctuations in the home currenc y are of paramount importance to the GFC and other companies who import most of the raw materials from abroad. For example if the home currency of GFC appreciates against the suppliers home currency then GFC will gain however, if the home currency of GFC depreciates against the suppliers home currency then GFC will bear losses (Conklin, 2006). This is because under the appreciation of the home currency, GFC has to pay fewer units of its home currency to buy the equivalent amount of inputs in foreign currency. Problem arises when the home currency of GFC depreciates then the company has to pay excessive amount of money against the suppliers home currency units. The cost management issues also depend on the relationship between the suppliers and the company. If the suppliers of the company share a long term and stable relationship with the company then the ability of the company to insulate its cost from the impact of the currency movements will be high or vice versa. This indicates t hat the company’s ability to reduce losses while the company’s home currency depreciates depends upon the nature of contracting with its suppliers (Conklin, 2006). Therefore, one can say that currently GFC is not following a very practical approach it should adopt a flexible approach which can help the