Rural Development and Agriculture: Challenges & Policies
New Uses and Their Consequences in Rural Areas
New uses have emerged in rural areas, including:
- Residential and industrial housing.
- Secondary uses, such as the relocation of factories.
- Tertiary uses, such as infrastructure for transportation.
- Conservationist uses, focusing on landscape and cultural preservation.
These new uses have both positive and negative consequences:
- Positive consequences: A more balanced distribution of population and economic activity.
- Negative consequences: Potential loss of identity in agricultural areas, environmental degradation, competition between activities, and social conflicts due to the arrival of people with different economic interests.
The Crisis in the Countryside
The crisis in the countryside is reflected in various indicators:
- Decline in the population of agricultural areas.
- Decrease in the relative contribution of agricultural activities to GDP, despite an increase in agricultural yields.
- Reduction in foreign trade, despite an increase in the absolute value of exports and imports.
Rural Problems and Rural Development Policy
Rural areas suffer from various problems that are addressed by rural development policies.
Demographic Problems
- Declining and aging rural population.
- Poor skills of the workforce.
Economic Problems
- Little economic diversification in rural areas.
- Insufficient telecommunications infrastructure, employment, and access to new technologies.
- Dependence on the agricultural industry and the market, which is increasingly demanding.
- Need for new requirements of safety, health, and animal welfare.
- Farmers receive information and advice on food standards and safety, and efforts are made to control fraud and health hazards.
- Prevention of plant and livestock diseases.
- Animal welfare is understood as appropriate treatment for livestock on farms, during transport, etc.
- Demand for quality and diversification in the diet.
Environmental Problems
Farming generates environmental alterations. To address these problems, sustainable agriculture is promoted, along with various measures, including the development of organic agriculture. The most important measures are:
- Improved air quality and energy crops, avoiding stubble burning.
- Controlling the use of fertilizers.
- Fire prevention measures.
Organic agriculture uses natural systems to produce. Traditional agriculture emphasizes reducing biodiversity by using a limited number of plant and animal species, usually foreign, risking the disappearance of native species. Depopulation threatens the survival of traditional rural landscapes. To avoid this, rural development policies are implemented in the EU.
Key Concepts
- Salinization: Increased concentration of salt in the water of an aquifer due to excessive water extraction, which can lead to seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers.
- Desertification: Transformation of fertile soil into desert soil, with diminished productivity due to the destruction of vegetation.
- Climate Change: Change in climatic elements due to global warming caused by human activity, such as CO2 emissions, resulting in elevated temperatures and rising sea levels.
- Contamination: Alteration of a natural environment due to the introduction of substances that can damage its components and impair its operation.
- Sustainable Development: An economic and social model that aims to address the present and future needs of all humanity. Its goal is to combine economic progress with environmental conservation.
- Acid Rain: Precipitation caused by the emission of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere, released by the burning of fossil fuels. The effects of acid rain include reduced fertility and growth of living organisms, damage to the respiratory system, and alteration of soil and water components.
- Extensive Agriculture: Primary sector economic activity where yields are low. It is usually practiced in areas of low population density and on large surfaces.
- Intensive Agriculture: Primary sector economic activity where yields are high. It utilizes techniques such as irrigation and the use of fertilizers. It is usually practiced in areas of high population density.