‘Sustainable intensification’ of agricultural production, or ‘producing more with less’, has been widely adopted as a policy approach by national governments and international agencies, including the European Union (EU) through its Common Agricultural Policy. Sustainable intensification will be facilitated through on-farm innovation in a process that is fostered by knowledge sharing between actors with complementary forms of knowledge. These actors, their organisations, the knowledge flows between them and the so-called ‘enabling environment’ constitute an ‘agricultural innovation system’ (AIS). This paper begins by reviewing recent international theoretical development of the AIS concept and of equivalent concepts in the EU. Although the international and EU development paths are similar, there are clear differences between them. It is argued that these different perspectives can be integrated into a single ‘multi-level’ model, with family farming at its centre. The paper then explores current agricultural innovation policy discourse in the EU. Based on the European Innovation Partnership ‘Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability’ (EIP-AGRI), this may result in the adoption of a new and contestable use of the term ‘Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System’ or ‘AKIS’ that is reminiscent of the EU’s treatment of the term ‘Rural Development’. The paper argues, however, that this development may in...

Rural employment based on a broad mix of industry sectors contributes to the adaptive ability of regions. Research carried out in the rural localities of eight contrasting case study areas in Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Romania and the UK reviewed a number of non industry sector-specific factors that can influence rural employment potential. These can be grouped into two categories. Firstly, those that affect labour supply (via the workforce and labour market), and secondly, those that affect enterprise and economic dynamism. Notwithstanding the diversity of the case study areas, some general conclusions about the impacts of these factors on rural employment can be drawn. Commuting and migration flows are complex and are affected by a number of different driving forces, such as young people seeking education and training, people seeking jobs, and people (including retirees) seeking a better ‘quality of life’ in rural areas. Thus demographic trends can be both a consequence of (via out-migration owing to lack of jobs), or a driver of (via in-migrants constituting new markets) rural job and employment trends. The potential for job creation in rural areas is strongly influenced by the levels of entrepreneurship, innovation, skills, business support and training in the territory. Lower population...

The four main ways in which rural employment creation can be grounded on the exploitation of natural capital can be structured by two complementary analytical directions. These are firstly, ‘production’ based on (a) renewable resources (agriculture, energy) and (b) depletive resources (energy, construction materials) and, secondly, ‘consumption’ by (a) non-residents (tourism and leisure) and (b) residents (incomers including the wealthy retired). This analysis forms the basis of a conceptual framework (Rural Europe 2+2+) which recognises that there is no simple definition of rural employment but that a sustainable approach to exploiting natural capital, together with the development of the other capitals of the territory via a place-based (i.e. territorial policy) approach, can create jobs and encourage working age people either to stay in, or relocate to, rural areas. Thus five Strategic Orientations which target the major driving forces for rural employment, namely natural, financial, human, physical and social capital, and the interactions between them, could be the focus for future rural employment strategies. They are as follows: SO1. Encourage the development of key growth sectors; SO2. Reinforce the local rural economy; SO3. Improve skills and labour market participation in rural areas; SO4. Develop infrastructure and services; and SO5. Ensure proper...

This paper assesses the impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the agro-food sector of Central and Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian countries on the basis of research conducted in Hungary, Ukraine, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The objective of the study was to propose policy options to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and other public authorities which can be applied to lessen the undesirable effects of the current or future crises in the sector. Results of interviews of stakeholders were analysed in the context of primary economic data and sixteen policy recommendations were formulated.