Sustainable development in rural regions of Slovakia: the role of the National Rural Development Programm

Traditional farming systems and other activities such as craftsmanship (e.g. manufacturing activities, local food production), represent a sustainable example of human integration with the nature. Their maintenance and development, with opportune adaptations to the current socio-economic situation and cultural/technological advancements are, therefore, valuable (Gobattoni et al., 2015). Agriculture has long been one of the main driving forces shaping landscape. However, since the 1950s, the role played by the agricultural sector in society has changed as a consequence of mechanization and technological advances, globalisation processes and new social needs (Randelli et al., 2014; Van Eupen et al., 2012). In post-war Europe, industrialization and new demographic trends have led to the Urbanization phenomenon (Schewenius et al., 2014), with the rapid growth of cities, soil sealing through intensified construction and the depopulation of rural areas (Crafts and Toniolo, 1996). The deep transformations experienced by agriculture have impacted not only the rural community economy, employment and social dynamics, but also the nature and the environment (Schouten et al., 2013; Hanley et al., 2012; McManus et al., 2012) and, in general, on the supply of the so-called ecosystem and landscape services (De Groot et al., 2010; Hermann et al., 2011; Zanten et al., 2014). The paper deals with the presentation of the role of the National Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 in the development of rural regions of Slovakia. The number of supported projects, allocation of resources, and their efficiency will be evaluated with respect to regional dispersion and innovative potential of supported projects.