Rural Small-Scale Industries: Profile, Constraints and Policy Issues*

Abstract

Rural industrialization has been identified as one of the strategies for the promotion of employment and income in the rural areas. However, lack of locational incentives has made rural industrialization to be mainly centered around rural small-scale industries (SSIs). This paper presents empirical evidences from a survey on rural SSIS, highlighting the characteristics and nature of industries, profile of operators and the problems faced by them, including finance, inputs, cost and marketing. The paper also reviews strategies to assist the rural SSIs and discusses some policy issues and implication, especially regarding linkages, marketing and finance.

ABSTRAK

Perindustrian desa telah dikenalpasti sebagai satu strategi untuk meningkatkan guna tenaga dan pendapatan di kawasan desa. Bagaimanapun, kekurangan insentif lokasi telah membataskan perindustrian desa kepada industri skil kecil desa. Kertas ini membentangkan hasil kajian industri skil kecil desa, menekankan ciri-ciri dan sifat industri, profil pengusaha- pengusaha dan masalah yang dihadapi, termasuk kewangan, bekalan input, kos dan pemasaran. Kertas ini juga menilai strategi untuk membantu industri skil kecil desa dan membincangkan beberapa isu dan implikasi dasar, terutamanya berkaitan dengan rantaian, pemasaran dan pembiayaan.