FARMERS’ OPINIONS ON THE IMPACTS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT SUBSIDIES

HORVÁTH PÉTER – MAJOR ZSIGMOND – VARGÁNÉ CSOBÁN KATALIN

Keywords: Keywords: rural development, subsidies, population retention ability, EU grants JEL codes: Q19, R00

Teljes cikk
Rural development and investment support is part of the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, which aims not only to promote economic development but also to strengthen social cohesion in rural areas. Our research investigated the social impacts of rural development and investment support in a Hungarian district, with a special focus on population retention ability, quality of life and public safety in settlements. The results were ambivalent; in more developed settlements, subsidies had a positive impact on the development of community infrastructure, while in less developed settlements the effects remained limited. The majority of farmers (76 per cent) claimed that social capital and professional qualifications played a decisive role in obtaining subsidies, which suggests that smaller municipalities and farms have more difficulty in accessing funds. In terms of impacts at the municipal level, subsidies did not always lead to positive changes in population retention and quality of life. As local market competition has increased, the market position of some older businesses has deteriorated, while others have benefited from the financial support. The results of the research suggest that the subsidy system should be better adapted to the specificities of less developed regions, that it should strengthen the involvement of local communities and that the the application processes should be simplified to make them more accessible to a wider range of people. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53079/GAZDALKODAS.69.4.t.pp_273-285