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This document, titled “Rural Policy Issues,” is a collection of papers presented at a March 1990 seminar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, edited by Michael Tracy and published in August 1991. The seminar was part of a joint exchange program on rural policy issues in the 1990s, organized by The Arkleton Trust (UK), The Aspen Institute (USA), and the Canadian Agricultural and Rural Restructuring Group. The papers discuss rural policy challenges in Western Europe and North America, highlighting shared issues like changes in labor markets, contractions of traditional rural industries (e.g., timber, mining, agriculture), and the growing importance of environmental concerns. A key theme is the shift from agricultural policy to broader rural development policy. Key points include:
- Impact of “Europe 1992”: The planned single market by the end of 1992 was expected to cause shifts in industrial location and increase competition, particularly affecting rural industries like food processing.
- European Community (EC) Policy Context: The EC’s policy responses to rural change were markedly different from North America, with a strong commitment to maintaining a populated countryside and offering comparable public services. The Single European Act emphasized “economic and social cohesion,” leading to the reform and doubling of “structural funds” (European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund – Guidance Section). These funds were targeted at regions with low incomes, industrial decline, or depopulation, especially rural and peripheral areas in southern Europe.
- U.S. Policy Context: In contrast to the EC, U.S. rural development policies in the 1980s saw significant reductions in funding outside agricultural subsidies. State and local governments, along with foundations and non-profits, played a larger role. The document notes the lack of an overall federal framework for addressing regional inequalities.
- Canadian Policy Context: Canada’s rural policy was largely dependent on trade agreements, especially with the U.S. and through the GATT Uruguay Round. Focus areas included restructuring the grains economy, biotechnology implications for food production, and sustainable agriculture. Canada also had a history of regional and local rural development efforts.
- Threefold Crisis in European Agriculture: Heino von Meyer’s paper argues that European agriculture faced economic (surpluses, trade tensions, budgetary burdens), social (income disparities, need for pluriactivity), and environmental (pollution, species loss) crises due to a policy heavily biased towards product markets and prices.
- Shift Towards Rural Policy: The document highlights a new orientation in EC policy, moving beyond a narrow sectoral agricultural focus to include broader rural development and environmental concerns, although traditional agricultural spending remained dominant.
The seminar emphasized the need for better understanding of diverse rural problems, evaluation of policy measures, investigation of “partnership” approaches, support for local enterprise, and continued research into environmental impacts of intensive farming.
