Aligning agricultural and rural development policies in the context of structural change

The economic importance and level of employment in agriculture are declining in many rural regions. There are many reasons for this, including demographic changes, deeper urban-rural linkages, technological advances, growing urbanisation, and land use change. To successfully accompany this structural change, agricultural and rural development policies must be coherent. This requires an improved understanding of areas of complementarity and trade-offs between these policies to ensure better integration and to avoid overlaps. Areas of complementarity include rural policies with transferable benefits for agriculture, such as investments in rural infrastructure, digital connectivity, health care, and other public services. With respect to agricultural policies, these complementarities exist with policies that have wider rural benefits, such as investments in agricultural innovation systems, improvements in extension services, and land and water management policies. As the transition towards a diversified low carbon rural economy continues, additional synergies could be developed between agriculture and rural policies.