Rural development as the engine of economic transformation

Rural development is the single most powerful lever for inclusive growth in countries where a large share of the population lives outside cities.

- BY VISVALINGAM MURALITHAS

Rural road development. Image courtesy Access Engineering

(Access Engineering)

For Sri Lanka—where a significant portion of people depend on village-based livelihoods—scaled rural renewal can raise productivity, reduce poverty, and broaden participation in the digital and export economies. Comparative lessons from India (mass rural connectivity), South Korea (Saemaul Undong community-driven modernisation), and Vietnam (agro-industrialization and market reforms) offer concrete models that Sri Lanka can adapt.

A substantial share of Sri Lankans live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, fisheries, and small-scale enterprises. Therefore, rural productivity directly affects national poverty levels, food security, and domestic demand. Investments in rural infrastructure— such as roads, water, electrification, value-added agro-processing, and human capital—create local markets, raise household incomes, and attract private investment into non-farm jobs.

India’s flagship rural roads programme (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana - PMGSY) demonstrates how systematic rural connectivity transforms access to markets, schools, and health services while raising rural incomes. Large investments in all-weather roads reduced travel times and opened new livelihood opportunities across hundreds of thousands of habitations. For Sri Lanka, prioritised rural road networks and feeder routes to market hubs would immediately reduce post-harvest losses and transport costs.