Register and pay before January 31, 2025 and qualify for 10% discount| Seminar starts February 26-28, 2025- Polokwane-Limpopo Province and in other 7 Provinces
Format: In- Person
Seminar Overview
The future of the economy in rural areas is dependent on many of the same factors that drive the wider economy and demands innovation, new skills and a supportive business environment. Indeed, structural convergence between rural and urban areas, and in particular the dominance of the service sector means at regional level it no longer makes sense to talk of a single, distinct rural economy.
The relationships between the major urban areas, market towns and their rural hinterlands are now recognized as a highly interdependent economic system. Rural areas contribute to, and benefit from, the prosperity of urban
centres. However, sparse or more remote areas are often characterised by low growth and low-wage economies.
There is evidence that focusing on the economic gains from building stronger complementary relationships between the urban and rural areas will deliver significant and sustainable economic gain for these remoter areas, as well as for those closer to their urban neighbours. These relationships should recognise the opportunities for:
¨ Appropriate development to support and enhance the value of these areas
¨ Addressing the economic challenges that prevent these areas from reaching their full contribution to the growth
¨ Enhancing the quality of life of the region as a whole.
Rural areas will play an active role in the development of a dynamic and sustainable knowledge-based economy. Country’s important rural assets are agriculture. The rural areas also help to create an attractive environment for the region, increasing quality of life for the whole population. While many of the issues are similar in urban and rural areas, the strategies will often need to be tailored so that delivery is appropriate to local needs.
The provision of affordable rural housing, business support and space for rural enterprise, and access to other services whether health, transportation or ICT infrastructure, need to be balanced with the issues climate change impact in creating successful responses to rural economic development.
Such Strategic ambitions could include:
¨ Positive planning framework, that enables:
¨ Increased provision of affordable housing
¨ Provision of employment space that allows rural businesses to start up and grow
¨ Deployment of affordable renewable energy.
¨ Effective delivery of skills and workforce development to rural periurban communities
¨ Improved connectivity and transport services between rural areas and regional cities to increase connections markets
¨ Successful development, management and conservation of environmental assets to deliver tourism, biodiversity and healthy living objectives
Seminar Outline
Day One
08:00 Morning Refreshments and Registration
8:30 -12:00. Focusing on Key elements of growth and change
¨ Bold and visionary strategy for the economic development of the area led by the local authorities, identifying and supporting a limited number of sectors and clusters of international and national significance, alongside outlining improvements in the general environment for businesses that serve local and regional markets
¨ Effective partnerships
¨ Recognition as major economic centres and labour markets, and therefore targeting of appropriate services and investment.
¨ Integrated Development Programmes and strong investment planning approaches that identify the phasing and financing of major physical infrastructure and growth
¨ Planning framework and system that provides clarity and confidence to the market, including master plans or area action plans for areas of transformation
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-15:00. Resource mobilization for rural and urban economic development
¨ Developing community based patterns resource mobilization for economic development
¨ Understanding the role of government in setting and delivering on the economic strategies for the poor communities
¨ Understanding and strengthening the role of partnerships in mobilizing resources
DAY TWO
08:00 Refreshments and Registration
08:30 -11:00 – Improving service delivery
¨ Housing
¨ Water and electricity
¨ Sanitation and health
¨ Affordable education
11:00 -12:00 Developing infrastructure
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-.14:00 Entrepreneurship and new business development
Innovative strategies to economic development
Finding realistic ideas
¨ Assessing feasibility of projects
¨ Finance and budgeting
14:15-15:30 Financing economic development
¨ Identifying resources
¨ Justification of projects
¨ Creating project positive visibility
¨ Funding issues
Day Three
08:00-08:15: Morning Refreshment and Registration
08:30-11-30. Agriculture development
¨ Agriculture as the prime source of livelihood for rural communities
¨ Impact of land reform on agriculture
¨ Developing skills in agriculture sector
¨ Improving access to finance, resources and markets
¨ Maintaining the agriculture and food sector, supported by leading research centres of excellence and knowledge exchange in fields such as non-food crops and agricultural engineering
12:00-13:30 . Skills development and Job creation
¨ Effective delivery of skills and workforce development to rural periurban communities
¨ Identification of target group
¨ Provision and sustaining of permanent jobs for the youth
