The discussion is to be located on the contours and context of rural development in Uganda and an overview of developing countries. The realities of globalisation and the information age impact on communities in ways that question the very premise of industrialisation in the age of neoliberalism. Trends in rural industrialisation and a theoretical frame that addresses notions of industrialisation from a more critical perspective, beyond the modernisation paradigm is the foundation of the paper. Following the rural development trajectory in Uganda, using the case of the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA), I argue that information and communication will be the drivers of rural transformation through industrialisation. This is so because rural communities have largely remained out of the loop of the network society. Any industrialisation measures must necessarily involve inclusion of rural communities into the network society in broad terms. This will be dependent on the communication policies and development culture that broaden sociological knowledge relevant for industrialisation.