Which of the following contributed to rural poverty

Rural poverty occurs in a very funny way in most cases. In the towns, it is where we find many industries, companies and institutions. Sometimes I ask myself- arent all these raw materials being used in the industries coming from the rural areas? Well, the fact is that it is from rural areas that we have many raw supplies. 
Why then is there poverty and low living standards?
In rural areas, people are very conservative. Almost everybody fears making major business decisions and taking risks. 
For those that are into farming, it is common to find outright exploitation and corruption by the agricultural unions. In some places, they receive less than 50% of what they are supposed to earn. What do they do about this? Most of them never want to quarell with the leaders who they believe are actively helping them to look for market.
In addition, expenses have become far too many due to the shift from consumption of natural products to the use of processed goods. Since the income is not enough to cater for the increasing expenses, poverty sprouts out strongly.  

What effect did the development of trade have on settlement patterns in medieval times