Fighting rural poverty
1) OBJECTIVE
To develop a strategic framework for the activities of the European Community in the fields of rural development and sustainable natural resources management to fight rural poverty.
2) ACT
Communication from the Commission of 25 July 2002 - Fighting rural poverty - European Community policy and approach to rural development and sustainable natural resources management in developing countries [COM(2002)429 final - Not published in the Official Journal].
3) SUMMARY
Background
Poverty reduction is the central objective of the European Community's development policy. Rural development has been identified as one of the six priority areas for the European Community's development policy, for three main reasons:
Rural poverty is a complex problem that has several characteristics: low incomes, low consumption resulting from low productivity, inequality in ownership and access to productive assets, poor health and education, degradation of natural resources, vulnerability to risk, and weak political power.
Despite their importance, rural areas tend to be neglected and problems have been dealt with on an ad hoc basis. A coherent and integrated approach must be developed for activities in this sector.
Objectives of the policy
In addition to the global objective of reducing poverty, the specific objectives of the Community's policy to fight rural poverty are to:
Intervention in key sectors such as agriculture, natural resource management, transport and communication is particularly important. The agricultural sector contributes substantially to economic growth and employment and forms the basis of the livelihoods of the majority of the rural poor. In addition, agricultural activities stimulate the growth of the non-farm sector, which is expanding in these areas. Successful management of natural resources is essential as there are close links between rural poverty and environmental degradation. The degradation of resources such as land and forests and phenomena such as the shortage of fresh water deprive the population of vital development resources.
The European Community's strategy for rural poverty reduction
The main thrust of the proposed strategy is to ensure that rural development concerns are properly addressed within the country's poverty analysis and integrated into the development and implementation of all policies and activities. They should also be reflected in the government budget (including donor support) and the services provided by the public sector. The strategy is centred around the six objectives set out in point 2. The Community will concentrate its support on actions where it can offer added value to the existing actions.
Guiding principles The guiding principles are as follows:
Tools
The tools used for implementation will include:
The Community will also work at regional and international level. At regional level, increased economic integration, the regional harmonisation of agricultural policies, agricultural research and the development of infrastructures may be beneficial. At international level, the Community will support, in particular, the provision of global public goods, for example investment in agricultural research, effective and equitable systems for the protection of intellectual property rights, the sharing of knowledge, etc.
Actions in support of rural poverty reduction
The Community has identified areas and actions to fight rural poverty, including the following:
Supporting economic policies
This involves support for macroeconomic policies and sector-wide polices:
Ensuring more equitable access to productive assets, markets and services
Equitable access to these three elements is essential for fair development. The Community's priority areas are land policy and the policy for the financing of rural infrastructures. The approach is based on the concept of decentralisation. The Community's activities will concentrate on the following areas:
Investing in human capital
Investments in human capital will concentrate mainly on the fields of education and health. In the education sector, the Community will focus, inter alia, on strengthening the management and delivery of services, mobilising resources, renovating school buildings and improving staff training. Measures to encourage girls, ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups to enrol and stay in school will also receive Community support.
In the health sector, Community assistance will concentrate on strengthening health systems in order to provide universal access to essential services. Actions to combat communicable diseases and infant mortality are also envisaged. In addition, a major priority will be to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Promoting sustainable natural resources management
This area will form an integral part of the Community policy on the rural poor as environmental degradation is closely linked to poverty. The Community will focus on key crosscutting issues, institutional reform and the development of technologies.
Managing risks and providing safety nets
Rural areas are vulnerable to a large number of risks related to disease, conflicts and climate. Certain actions will help to overcome or prevent these risks: actions to reduce risks, such as preventative health care, crop and income diversification and the establishment of safety nets, such as the European Community's food aid. The Community will support these actions and help to rationalise early warning systems and strengthen organisations.
Building more effective, accountable and decentralised institutions
The decentralisation of responsibilities and work is essential. The Community will work with public, private and local institutions as well as civil society bodies in order to ensure decentralisation and participation of the population with a view to strengthening institutions and the legal framework, if necessary.
Policy coherence and complementarity
In addition to development cooperation, many other areas of EU policy can help to reduce rural poverty. This problem should be integrated further into the following policies:
Policy coherence and complementarity within the European Community and at international level are fundamental requirements. The Commission aims to assist national and local authorities to design, implement and monitor policies and activities to reduce rural poverty.
4) implementing measures
5) follow-up work
Last updated: 01.08.2005