The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is one of the
European Structural and Investment Funds 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 located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...
(CAP).
Reasoning
Rural development
Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of ...
is a vitally important policy area, affecting over 50% of the population of the EU and almost 90% of EU land. Farming and forestry remain central to rural economies, and rural development also focuses on revitalising rural areas in other ways. Furthermore, issues such as climate change, renewable energy, biodiversity and water management 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; supporting rural economies; and assisting quality of life in rural areas.
See also
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European Agricultural Guarantee Fund - EAGF
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Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development - SAPARD
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Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund - FEGA
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
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