According to the sixth chapter of the National development plan; An Integrated and

Inclusive Rural Economy, the main barrier to rural development has been the need to
combat marginalization of the poor (NDP 2011: 195). In order for rural populations to have
equal access to basic services, skills acquisition opportunities, education and infrastructure,
several changes are needed. Although there has been a marked decrease in rural poverty since
1993 and improved access to basic services, rural areas are still plagued with a greater
proportion of poverty and inequality than urban areas.
The vision for 2030 aimed at addressing this disparity between rural and urban areas and
ensuring integrated rural area is therefore to ensure that rural populations are awarded the
opportunities to participate fully as economically, socially and politically active citizens. The
National Development Plan (NDP) focus is primarily on rural economic opportunities as a
driving force for improving the quality of education, health care, basic services, and social
security and for developing a human capital in rural communities.
The National Planning Commissions (NPC) strategy for rural development has 3 main areas
of focuses. The first is agricultural development overarching improved food security,
empowerment of farm workers and job creation through successful land reform and strong
environmental restrictions. Secondly, the NPC proposes a plan to support communities
through availing quality basic services with particular focus of health, education and
transport. Lastly, they plan to increase economic potential through industries such as agroprocessing, tourism, fisheries and small enterprise development.
Communal agriculture coupled with credible and well managed land redistribution and
restitution programmes have the potential for exponential job creation on small-scale farms
and for tapping into the value-chain of a variety of new markets as a livelihood asset for the
rural poor. The NDP recommends that that communication and transport infrastructure must
be improved to link farmers to South African and foreign markets. Recommended also is
empowerment of vulnerable farm workers through improved labour relations and support for
creatively innovative public-private partnerships. Lastly, regional food security strategies
must be put in place to ensure positive trade balances and price stability geared at the rural
poor.
The NDP also recommends focusing on non-agricultural activities such as agro-processing to
give poor producers a greater market power and redefining fisheries and tourism policies to
maximize employment of the rural poor in these industries.