The impact of rural small scale manufacturing industry on the economic and social development of the community; Case study: Gurunanak Oil Mill, Lira District

Abstract

The study investigates the impact of rural small scale manufacturing industry on the socio economic development of the community. In the study, a total of 150 respondents were interviewed using a well structures questionnaire. The research shows that rural small scale manufacturing industry significantly contributes to the socio-economic development of the community despite numerous problems they faced which includes extreme competitions, lack of infrastructure, lack of skilled labour, poor financing, marketing and distribution problems and delayed payments among others. The research revealed that RSSMI has greatly improved on the level of employment, level of income, standards of living of the people and the infrastructure of the area. The research recommends among others that government should improve its policies so as to reduce to an acceptable level, the rate of interests charged by commercial banks as well as encouraging rural based industrialization, whereby investors are encouraged to establish small manufacturing industries that would be based entirely on local raw materials, community based labour and labour intensive equipment since the survey results reported in the study, suggests that the RSSMI has a strong potential for employment creation and plays a pivotal role in the socio-economic lives of the people and can serve as a means for poverty alleviation in the rural area.