Rural Africa includes some 80% of the African population; its people are poverty stricken, illiterate, ill-sheltered, and ill-nourished. These circumstances make rural development absolutely vital. However, past rural development policies have failed to take into consideration the structure and division of labor in the farm family, the traditional philosophy of the African decision making process, and the metaphysical world of the African peasant. Other obstacles to efficient rural development include conflict of interest and competition among the many agencies which labor to initiate rural development programs, as each institution operates on the assumption that its activities are sufficient to effect total change in the living conditions of the African farm family. Moreover, the technicians who act as change agents are highly susceptible to commands from their bureaucratic superiors and are, therefore, less responsive to the needs of the African rural family. The Comilla District Integrated Rural Development Programme (Bangladesh) offers an alternative model for rural development, as it incorporates a manager and a model farmer who act as internal, rather than external, change agents, attending external classes and then disseminating information at weekly village meetings. An integrated approach to rural development demands acceptance by governmental agencies of involvement of all social strata in planning and implementation. (JC)