The role of local rural development programmes in micro-regions most seriously affected by the agricultural employment crisis

Kassai, Zsuzsanna – Ritter, Krisztián

Keywords: unemployment, local rural development strategy, LEADER programme, cooperation

This paper outlines the opportunities provided by bottom-up local rural development programmes in disadvantaged micro-regions, which are shown by our preliminary research to have suffered most from the decrease of the role of agriculture in employment.
Our research findings lead us to conclude that the NHRDP LEADER programme and the four measures of NHRDP Axis III based on the LEADER principles have significantly contributed to the decrease of local economic and social problems in the seven studied LAGs. In our opinion, some changes are necessary in the local rural development strategies in order to achieve a meaningful economic and social development in the examined micro-regions.
Although we focused on the areas we studied specifically because of the agricultural employment crisis, we did not find any express strategic line or an invitation for applications which could redress this special problem. Considering the broad circle of the people affected and the characteristics of agricultural employment and unemployment, we suggest some well-directed changes.
In our opinion it is important to extend the business development initiatives and the creation of enterprises, since new jobs would be one of the most appropriate tools to induce economic and social development.
Our research findings indicate that more emphasis should be placed on the topic of education as well in the light of the studies which have revealed a close relationship between human resources and local (economic) development. Cooperation within and between micro-regions and joint projects should be encouraged as such cooperation could boost local activity and facilitate the more effective use of local resources and management of local problems.

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