Bachelor of Rural and Development (BRD)

Introduction of  the BRD program

The development of rural sector is a major concern of Tanzania Government based on the fact that about 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas and 75 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, which is the key enterprise of the rural economy.  The rural sector still faces several challenges including poverty, ignorance and diseases. Also there are other experienced impediments to the realization of sustainable rural development. These include poor water supply, poor rural infrastructure, use of inappropriate technology in agriculture, inefficient legal and judicial systems, poor environmental management, gender imbalance, HIV/AIDS and elements of poor governance. In order to address these challenges, under the overall strategies for implementing the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction (NSGRP) / MKUKUTA, the Government acknowledges a need to have adequate numbers of extension staff and rural development specialists.

The purpose of BRD programme is to train rural development specialists and practitioners who will be capable to find solutions of rural development challenges. Specifically the programme intends to:

  • Produce  highly qualified rural development specialists and practitioners who are competent in rural development
  • impart skills of socio- economic techniques to evaluate rural development interventions
  • build capacity to students in social science research techniques to facilitate informed decision 
  • produce graduates  who are acquainted with knowledge on social, political and economic contexts of rural areas
  • produce graduates with ability to mainstream gender issues in development interventions.
  • prepare graduates who are competent in analysing the impact of  international politics on the local economy

Bachelor of Rural Development is comprised of the following courses

Semester 1

Course Ante (Core)     Course title                                                                                                      
Credit hours          
DS100 Introduction to Development Studies Discipline 2
RD 102 Principles of Economics 1 1
RD 107 Agriculture and Rural Development 2
RD 111 Introduction to Natural Resources Management 1
AEA 101 Introduction to Agricultural Economics 1.5
EE 101 Introductory Sociology 1
                                                                                               
 Elective courses    
 SC 100  Communication Skills I 1
EE 106 Introductory Psychology 2
RD 105 Rural Production System 1
MB 100 Basic Mathematics 2
     

 

Read more for the courses of other semesters