Towards Rural Sustainable Development? Contributions of the EAFRD 2007–2013 in Low Demographic Density Territories: The Case of Extremadura (SW Spain)

Abstract

The European Commission has been striving to achieve sustainable development in its rural areas for more than 25 years through funds aimed at modernizing the agricultural and forestry sectors, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life. However, is sustainable rural development really being accomplished? This study sets out to answer this question in the case of Extremadura, a Spanish territory with low demographic density and a gross domestic product still below 75% of the European average. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been employed, using principal component analysis, the result of which has provided us with a model that shows how various behaviors coexist in the region in view of the distribution of current funding from the EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development). The most dynamic areas have received the largest amounts of funding and these are linked to the agricultural sector and to the protection of the environment, leaving aside the more depressed areas and the implementation of the LEADER approach as well. Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that the current rural development in Extremadura is not sustainable enough.

Principal Component Analysis of the LEADER Approach (2007–2013) in South Western Europe (Extremadura and Alentejo)

“…The high value of explanation of the first component must also be noted, which defines the different behaviors of LEADER with 40.87%. This is bolstered by the Scree graph (Figure 4), in which the eigenvalues related to each component are represented [46]. The turning point, at which the slope changes from being pronounced to a minimum, is taken as a signal of the number of components to be extracted (components whose eigenvalues are greater than 1).…”

“…All necessary prospective analyses were carried out until reaching an initial matrix that was considered ideal. Thus, variables with a coefficient less than 0.3 were removed because they were not statistically descriptive in the set [46].…”

Quantitative Study on the Evolution Trend and Driving Factors of Typical Rural Spatial Morphology in Southern Jiangsu Province, China

“…The sustainability of rural development is quite important in modernizing the agricultural and forestry sectors, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life [43]. China has hundreds of thousands of rural villages, which occupy more than half of all Chinese land (about 58%).…”

The Rural Development Policy in Extremadura (SW Spain): Spatial Location Analysis of Leader Projects

“…Since 1991, the EU objective has been activating the potential of rural areas and stabilizing its population through diversification of economic activities with the introduction of new ones to complement the agricultural sector [2]. The other objects include preserving the rural heritage, maintaining an adequate demographic level or promoting the use of new technologies [3] and ensuring sustainable rural development [4], paying special attention to the agro-environmental aspect, which has also been widely studied by authors, such us Gabrielli et al [5], Jaraite and Kazukauskas [6], Marconi et al [7], and Ziolkowska [8].…”