Impact of the Old and Effect of the New Rural Development Programme in Hungary

In Hungary, over the past decade, the development and up-grading of the infrastructure and basic services caused a decrease in regional differences and a decline in the characteristic differences between rural and urban lifestyles, and farms in various regions developed differently, depending on their conditions. The rural development programmes of the past decade provided opportunities for the rural economy, the regions and the society, they assisted to safeguard the environmental values, induced community initiatives and encouraged the actions of the rural population both financially and mentally. The main shortcoming of the present programmes is that they relieve the symptoms but do not encourage creative solutions and sustainable developments. The developments in rural areas are mainly driven by social needs and basic infrastructural requirements and not by the claim of economic development. The lesson learnt is that the investments are generated by the demand of the market and the rural development by itself is unable to stop the unfavourable regional processes and thus the lagging behind of the disadvantageous regions. Unlike the earlier programmes the present programme focuses on sectors, which produce high value added and ensure significant employment for the rural population. It also supports the development of food processing, livestock farming and horticulture. In the present paper we provide an overview of the main results and impacts of the rural development measures up to now and present the main parts and the new focus areas of the investment measures in the Rural Development Programme of 2014-2020.