Rural Transformation

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Residents of Pandanlandung Village, Wagir District, Malang Regency, East Java, built drainage using village funds, as seen on Monday (07/09/2020).

President Joko Widodo has again initiated a paradigm reversal for economic development in rural areas as a buffer zone for the urban economy. Is this possible?

The classical view that rural resources are only suited to the development of primary commodities, like agricultural and horticultural food crops and products, livestock or fish, needs updating. The idea to transform poor agricultural villages into a thriving industrial area is not just political rhetoric. One example is Huaxi village in Yansu province, China. Like many other villages in China, Huaxi was previously a poor village with excess manpower but a shortage of agricultural land.