On 13 February, the European Commission (EC) approved another 18 rural development programmes (RDP) aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the agricultural sector in the European Union (EU), to protect the landscapes and climate, and to strengthen the social and economic fabric of rural environments by 2020.

These 18 programmes will have a budget of 14,300 million Euro and will be complemented by national or regional, as well as public or private supplementary financing. After the 9 programmes adopted in December, the total number of RDP's approved, so far, amounts to 27 (out of 118 programmes). These 27 RDP, totalling 35,000 million Euro, represent approximately 36% of the budget.

Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, welcomed the adoption of these decisions, and stated that "one of the great strengths of our concept of rural development is to have basic priorities, while each Member State or region also has the ability to design programmes that suit their particular situation and challenges, whether it is in the Azores, the Åland islands, Flanders or Slovakia. The approved programmes provide funding for a series of dynamic projects, including projects for the modernisation of agriculture in the Baltic republics, to attract more young people to the agricultural sector in Slovenia, and specific schemes to improve the quality of water in the Netherlands or protect 2.5 million hectares of farmland in England through environmentally-friendly land management systems. Boosting knowledge within our agricultural sector is an important aspect of the RDP's. I am pleased to confirm that the 18 programmes adopted today will ensure one million places in training courses."

In the case of Spain, the Commissioner stated that "despite the fact that no budget has been allocated for now, the way is being paved for the adoption of the 18 Spanish rural development programmes, with 9,450 million Euro in European funds allocated for the period between 2014 and 2020."

Nearly 100,000 millionSupport for rural development, considered one of the foundations of the CAP, ensures Member States are provided with financial support from the EU under multiannual programmes that is managed at national or regional level. In total, 118 programmes are planned for the 28 Member States with an allocation of 99,600 million Euro for the period between 2014 and 2020, granted through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). These measures are meant to attract national, regional and private supplementary financing.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com