A dominant factor that explains the establishment of industries in some rural areas of Tropical Africa is

Analyze the question: It asks for the dominant factor that explains why industries are established in some rural areas of Tropical Africa. This is about industrial location, so we look for the reason that best motivates industrialists or governments to site factories in rural areas.

Concept: Industries are sited in rural areas for reasons such as:

• Nearness to raw materials (e.g., agro-processing, mining)
• Cheap and available land
• Cheap labour
• Government policy of rural development and decentralisation of industries, to reduce rural-urban drift and spread development evenly

Evaluating the options:

• A. Development of rural areas. This is the most sensible. Governments in Tropical Africa deliberately site industries in rural areas through incentives and decentralisation policies to bring jobs, roads, electricity, and social amenities. This is a recognised driving factor.
• B. Encouragement of rural-urban areas. This is poorly worded and meaningless as a factor. If it meant encouraging rural-urban migration, that is the opposite of the goal, since siting industries in rural areas aims to reduce migration.
• C. Reduction of crime in rural areas. Crime reduction is a possible result, not a dominant reason for locating an industry.
• D. Traffic congestion in rural areas. Rural areas generally don't have traffic congestion. Congestion is an urban problem that actually pushes industries out of cities, not a rural factor.

Tip: In industrial location questions, look for the option that reflects a purpose or advantage of the location (development, raw materials, cheap land or labour). Eliminate options that describe a problem, like congestion, or that are vaguely worded, like option B.