Rural Develop

Rural regions in OECD countries are important economically and demographically. They account for about 75% of the land and almost a quarter of the population in OECD countries. Gains in agricultural productivity have led to a dramatic reduction in farm employment, rural regions across the OECD now depend on a wide range of economic activities for growth.

Increasing globalisation, improved communications and reduced transportation costs are also drivers of economic change in rural areas. However, traditional policies to subsidise farming have not been able to harness the potential of these economic engines.
Promoting rural development poses numerous policy and governance challenges because it requires co-ordination across sectors, across levels of government, and between public and private actors. Several countries are therefore shifting their approaches to a focus on places rather than sectors and an emphasis on investments rather than subsidies.
 The OECD’s Working Party on Rural Policy (WPRUR) discusses ways to develop a modern, rural development policy to account for these important economic changes and a new strategy for governance that these policy approaches require. OECD work on rural development has led to a number of thematic publications, case studies and, from 2006, a series of national rural policy reviews to deepen international knowledge in this field. It has also led to a series of OECD Rural Development conferences and workshops where policy makers from around the world gather to discuss rural policy.