Driving Rural Development: Policy and Practice in Seven EU Countries

European Perspectives on Rural Development Rural development occupies a prominent place on the political agenda of the European Union and its member states. This book captures rural development experiences in seven EU states: France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Each example shows different aspects of the emergence of farm based rural development practices and how these are affected by EU and national policies and other factors. Each case study explores the harmonies and tensions between farm based, and policy driven, rural development and the diverse patterns of rural development that emerge from this interplay. These different national pictures are used to provide, probably for the first time, a clear analysis of the significance of rural development (in terms of farmer involvement and contribution to farm household incomes) its strengths, weaknesses and likely future directions