For centuries, agriculture has been the lifeblood of Europe’s rural towns and villages. A vast majority of farming jobs are in rural areas, particularly in Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, and Sweden. In Ireland, all of the country’s 160,000 farming jobs are in rural and semi–rural areas.

Though technological advances and the rise of multinational conglomerates have fundamentally changed the way food is grown, processed, and sold, subsistence and semi-subsistence farming remains a way of life throughout Europe. Traditional agriculture practices are particularly important in Hungary, Poland, and the Baltic states. In Slovakia and the new EU countries of Bulgaria and Romania, nearly all farms in rural areas are fewer than two hectares in size.

Yet across Europe, rural communities are facing unprecedented difficulties. Small–scale family farms are disappearing by the thousands in both Western and Eastern Europe, leaving many people with limited or no job opportunities. As a whole, the EU countryside suffers from double–digit unemployment, reaching 20 percent in Poland and Slovakia.

In Hungary’s Southern Great Plain and Western Transdanubia regions, the number of money–losing small farms nearly doubled between 2000 and 2002. Only 2 percent of small farmers there plan on expanding their operations, and 25 percent want to stop farming altogether.

The economic doldrums plaguing rural Europe have been particularly harmful to young men and women. Youth unemployment is especially high in rural areas in Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, and Sweden. As rural communities lose farm jobs and struggle to create new economic and educational opportunities, many young people have turned to destructive lifestyles and extremist political ideologies.

In response to these problems, the EU is spending more Common Agriculture Policy funds in rural areas. Unfortunately, much of this new money is being funneled into tourism, village redevelopment, and other programs that hold little or no direct benefit for farmers. Food & Water Watch is working to ensure that all of this new CAP funding goes directly into the hands of farmers.

Europe’s rural, agricultural heritage must be protected. Together, we can and must save it.

Food & Water Watch Comments on EU Rural Development Programmes

• Letter to Germany's Agriculture Minister
• Letter to Hungary's Agriculture Minister
• Letter to Poland's Agriculture Minister. Read the response from Poland's Agriculture Minister here.