IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES (IJELCS )

E-ISSN 2545-5702
P-ISSN 2695-2157
VOL. 9 NO. 4 2024
DOI: 10.56201/ijelcs.v9.no3.2024.pg109.124

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Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development of Rural Areas: A Case Study of Dufil Prima Foods Plc

Iyobu Thomas Abbey, Christopher I. Ochonogor (PhD), Afamefuna Clement Asadu (PhD)

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Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, of business has developed over time to the extent that it has become a mandatory obligation which corporate organizations are required to undertake in their areas of operation, particularly in the rural areas where the organization’s activities have direct impact on the residents of the community. This being so, the need for the participation of members of the rural community in the selection and execution of corporate social responsibility projects cannot be over-emphasized. This work is a case study which examines the extent to which the CSR projects of Dufil Prima Foods Plc. located in Choba, community in Rivers Sate, Nigeria, enhances the well-being of the residents of Choba community where the company operates. The study was guided by the Stakeholders, the Legitimacy and the Participatory Development theories. The survey and the exploratory research methods were adopted towards achieving the objectives of this study. Thus, data were collected and analysed with the use of descriptive statistical tools. The study found that though CSR projects were carried out by Dufil Prima Food Plc. some of the projects do not contribute meaningful to the development of the Choba community because members of the community did not participate actively during project selection and execution stages. The study therefore recommends among others that the CSR projects of business organizations based in rural areas like Choba should be chosen with active participation of the beneficiaries, that is, residents of the rural communities in order to engender sustainable rural development.

keywords:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Participatory Development, Sustainable Rural

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