The W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Rural Development

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation, since its inception in 1930, has assisted programs in health, education, and agriculture. The programs in agriculture are usually concerned with rural society and the quality of rural life rather than technical agriculture. The agricultural programs are international and range from domestication of the musk ox to rural leadership training to technical assistance in agriculture and home management to food science and technology programs to extension education, resource development, community services, and an agribusiness educational program. Observations on rural development include the following: (1) it has been suggested that the most economically rewarding kind of education for developing countries is for rural females; since they are responsible for the younger generation, they can most quickly and constructively change attitudes and norms; (2) rural development is often equated with agricultural development when the non-agricultural rural population is a large problem; (3) land-grant universities in the U.S. have been slow to change their orientations from agricultural technology and business back to their original focus on the problems of people in rural areas; and (4) governmental commitment is necessary for rural development efforts to be effective, a commitment lacking in the U.S. (KM)