Rural Development Policies and Agricultural Adjustment (original) (raw)
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2011
The findings presented in this edited book are derived from the activities of the SCARLED (Structural Change in Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods) project. This STReP 1 was co-financed by the European Commission (EC) within the 6 th Framework Programme and lasted from January 2007 until September 2010. SCARLED analysed the restructuring process of the farming sector and the socioeconomic transformation of rural livelihoods in the New Member States (NMS) of the European Union (EU). Moreover, it provided results on the patterns behind rural 'success stories' in selected regions of the established Member States (EU15) during previous enlargements.
Evaluating the impact of rural development measures on farm labour use: a spatial approach
This article investigates the impact of various rural development measures on the evolution of farm labour in France between 2006 and 2011. Regionally-aggregated data were used, while potential spatial effects were taken into account. Results show that farm labour change was positively influenced by the participation to agroenvironmental schemes targeting the protection of water and biodiversity, but was not influenced by investment aids for farm modernisation, grassland premium, payments to organic farming conversion, or payments for the diversification of farm activities and rural tourism. Besides, delayed effects, related to the participation in the previous programming period (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006), are observed. : the upper LAU level (LAU1, formerly NUTS4) is defined for most, but not all of the countries, while the lower LAU level (LAU2, formerly NUTS5) consists of municipalities or equivalent units in the Member States.
Conceptual Framework For Analysing Structural Change In Agriculture And Rural Livelihoods
2007
The Deliverable 2.1 (D2.1) of the SCARLED project provides the conceptual framework for analysing structural change in agriculture and rural livelihoods in the NMS and established Member States of the EU. It concisely summarizes the underlying theories and concepts of the pertinent research issues in SCARLED. SCARLED addresses a topic of wide interest with regard to the identification of past and future key social and agricultural restructuring processes for a living countryside in the NMS. Methodologically, the topic is approached by comparative, structured multi-country farm surveys complemented by an analysis of structural changes in the farm sectors of two selected regions with the agent-based simulation model AgriPoliS, taking special account of demographic changes. In addition, SCARLED studies success stories of rural development in selected regions of five established Member States. For all topics covered by the SCARLED workpackages, the most relevant literature has been revi...
Towards a New Common Agricultural Policy
2011
and 15.5% are obese (European Commission, 2010). Yet 90 million tonnes of food a year-the equivalent of about 179 kg per capita-goes to waste (Eurostat, 2010). This scenario simply replicates, on a regional scale, a world panorama in which, of a total population of 7 billion people, 925 million are undernourished (FAO, 2010), 1.5 billion adults are overweight (OMS, 2008) and 1.3 billion tons of food, the equivalent of about 1/3 of world production, are wasted every year (FAO, 2011). This situation is unacceptable and represents one of the most serious injustices perpetrated in the contemporary world. The European Union has to come up with a concrete response at Community level to the immorality of the model outlined aboveand help do so at global level too. It is no longer tolerable that, in the name of agroindustrial profit and the socioeconomic model it is part of, conditions of extreme inequality are being perpetuated and that the health of people and the environment seriously harmed. Unemployment and the drop in jobs in the agriculture sector Another worrying phenomenon determined, to some extent, by agricultural policies is the drop in employment in the agriculture sector. The drive towards higher and higher productivity, based solely on increases in productive factors other than human labour, has caused a swingeing decrease in employment. The 27-State European union has lost 3.7 million jobs (a quarter of the active work force) in the agriculture sector in the space of nine years (European Commission, 2010). In the period from 1975 to 2005, countries fundamental to European agriculture, such as Italy, France and Germany, saw the percentage of their workforce engaged in the sector drop annually by 2,3%, 2,8% and 3% respectively (European Commission, 2010). In France, the percentage of people employed in the sector has fallen from 30% to 3% over the last 50 years. In 2007, with Bulgaria and Romania's admission to the EU, the active farming population numbered about 14 million, whereas today, just a few years on, it has fallen to 11 million. One significant statistic is that of the size of firms, which are now tending to be larger with a high concentration of capital and land. Since 1980 they have grown by an average of 66%. Finally, as a direct consequence of the liberalisation of the farming market and the race to lower production costs, production is being concentrated where costs are lowest. At present, 50% of the farming land used and 10% of EU production is concentrated in just three.
Rural Livelihoods in Transition: A Comparative Analysis of Rural Labour Markets
The findings presented in this edited book are derived from the activities of the SCARLED (Structural Change in Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods) project. This STReP 1 was co-financed by the European Commission (EC) within the 6 th Framework SCARLED analysed the restructuring process of the farming sector and the socio-economic transformation of rural livelihoods in the New Member States (NMS) of the European Union (EU). Moreover, it provided results on the patterns behind rural 'success stories' in selected regions of the established Member States (EU15) during previous enlargements. 2 In particular we would like to thank (in alphabetical order) Executive summary of the SCARLED project ix scale farms are discussed. In the literature, there is no agreement on the role and prospects of subsistence farming. One school of thought treats subsistence and semi-subsistence farms in Europe as an unwanted phenomenon and an impediment to rural growth. Often, subsistence has been related to the poverty trap. However, the other school of thought considers subsistence farming more as an important survival strategy and safety net for poor rural inhabitants.