The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is one of the

European Structural and Investment Funds The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultu ...

which was set up for the financing of Rural Development Programme (RDP) actions by

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Reasoning

Rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

is a vitally important policy area, affecting over 50% of the population of the EU and almost 90% of EU land.

Farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

remain central to rural economies, and

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

also focuses on revitalising rural areas in other ways. Furthermore, issues such as

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificia ...

are becoming increasingly important aspects of the EU's rural development policy.

Budget

Over €200 billion in funding is available to support the implementation of 94 RDPs across the EU, for the programming period 2007–2013. Almost half of this money is provided by the EAFRD, overseen by the European Commission's Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. EAFRD budgets in the RDPs are used to achieve a variety of rural development goals, including improving the competitiveness of farm, forest and agri-food businesses; helping protect the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

; supporting rural economies; and assisting

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

in rural areas.

References

External links

Summaries of EU legislation > Agriculture > General framework > Financing the common agricultural policy
European Union and agriculture Rural development in Europe 2005 establishments in the European Union {{EU-stub

Reasoning

Budget

See also

References

External links