NILF-researchers publish new book on rural policy in Europe

In the richer countries of the world, much money is spent on supporting agriculture. Although the original purpose of support for farming was to ensure security of food supplies in time of war or famine, and provide reasonable rewards to producers, the goals of agricultural policies have become much more complex. In particular, it is increasingly recognized that in addition to producing food, farming must protect and enhance the environment and contribute to the quality of life and livelihoods of rural people, most of whom are no longer directly connected to agriculture. Policy makers thus have multiple goals and expectations regarding the outcomes from their policies.

It deals with an important contemporary policy issue, how best to ensure that an agriculturally?based policy can contribute to the development of rural regions. It tackles this problem in a number of different but complementary ways, primarily by the development of a unique and innovative dynamic systems model, POMMARD (a Policy Model of Multifunctional Agriculture and Rural Development). The book shows how the relationships between policy actions and spending, farm household decision making, land use change, rural livelihoods, demographics and migration and quality of life can be modeled in order to test the outcomes of a range of possible policy options on economic, social and environmental outcomes over time. System dynamics is used, allowing complex feed-back loops, and extending previous approaches using input-output or social accounting matrix models. As a simultaneous system incorporating economic, social and environmental variables and outcomes, it offers a new tool for sustainable development.

This book presents methodology and results of a three-year, eleven-country science-to-policy research project, Toward a Policy Model for Multifunctional Agriculture and rural Developement (TOP-MARD), undertaken between 2005 and 2008 and financed under the European Union's 6th Framework program.

More information on this topic can also be found in Bryden, J et al: Modelling Multifunctionality, Territorial Development, and Policy Scenarios in Rural Europe.

Also see the Routledge flyer on this book (PDF 2,1 MB).

Also see digest over other news items.

Published 12th May 2011