Rural development is essentially a part of the process of structural transformation characterized by diversification of the economy away from agriculture. This process is facilitated by rapid agricultural growth, at least initially, but leads ultimately to significant decline in the share of agriculture to total employment and output and in the proportion of the rural population to total population [Johnston (1970)]. Rural development, as such, is not an end in itself but a means to an end and can provide the basis for a sustained and equitable economic growth of all sectors of the economy. The main theme of the paper is to contribute to the perception of rural development in Pakistan by delineating the pros. and cons. of past rural development efforts and the ensuing crisis in agriculture. Possible strategies for sustainable agricultural growth and rural development and the formal approach for their implementation are described in subsequent sections. It is argued that the whole scenario requires courage and political will of politicians to decentralize the development process. Concluding comments and future options for research appear at the end.

The annals of village development in Pakistan provide evidence that a number of experiments were made ever since the early years of the 20th century to reactivate the rural economy. These measures were scanty and did not establish gross-roots for lack of drive, vitality and participatory confidence of all the segments and sectors of the society. “Dehat Sudhar” and “Panchayat” were the two systems or concepts that were addressed before independence. The literature reveals that these efforts could not be institutionalized with some serious effort and were just used as tools of control of the rural community by the colonial rulers. However, after independence in 1947, some concerted efforts were made in the field of rural development. An over view of these development programmes is given.