Six EU Rural Development policy priorities (see below) provide the basis for rolling out support from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to rural areas. EU Member States and regions need to address at least four of these priorities when designing their Rural Development Programmes (RDPs).
These broader policy priorities are broken down into specific areas of intervention, known as Focus Areas (FAs). The RDPs set out quantified targets against the selected Focus Areas and outline the programme Measures and their allocated funding that will be used to reach the targets.
This section provides summary information on how the RDPs have addressed the policy priorities and Focus Areas in the 2014-2020 programming period. Click on the PDFs below to find aggregated information on expected achievements and results, targets and interventions planned for each priority and Focus Area.
Priority 1: Knowledge Transfer and Innovation [PDF 
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- FA 1A: Fostering innovation, cooperation and the development of the knowledge base in rural areas; [PDF ]
- FA 1B: Strengthening the links between agriculture, food production and forestry and research and innovation; [PDF ]
- FA 1C: Fostering lifelong learning and vocational training in the agricultural and forestry sectors. [PDF ]
Priority 2: Farm Viability and Competitiveness [PDF ]
- FA 2A: Improving the economic performance of all farms and facilitating farm restructuring and modernisation; [PDF ]
- FA 2B: Facilitating the entry of adequately skilled farmers into the agricultural sector and generational renewal. [PDF ]
Priority 3: Food Chain Organisation and Risk Management [PDF ]
- FA 3A: Improving competitiveness of primary producers by better integrating them into the agri-food chain; [PDF ]
- FA 3B: Supporting farm risk prevention and management. [PDF ]
Priority 4: Restoring, Preserving and Enhancing Ecosystems [PDF ]
- FA 4A: Restoring, preserving and enhancing biodiversity; [PDF ]
- FA 4B: Improving water management; [PDF ]
- FA 4C: Preventing soil erosion and improving soil management. [PDF ]
Priority 5: Resource-efficient, Climate-resilient Economy [PDF ]
- FA 5A: Increasing efficiency in water use by agriculture; [PDF ]
- FA 5B: Increasing efficiency in energy use in agriculture and food processing; [PDF ]
- FA 5C: Facilitating the supply and use of renewable sources of energy; [PDF ]
- FA 5D: Reducing greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from agriculture; [PDF ]
- FA 5E: Fostering carbon conservation and sequestration in agriculture and forestry. [PDF ]
Priority 6: Social Inclusion and Economic Development [PDF ]
- FA 6A: Facilitating diversification, creation and development of small enterprises, as well as job creation; [PDF ]
- FA 6B: Fostering local development in rural areas; [PDF ]
- FA 6C: Enhancing the accessibility, use and quality of information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas. [PDF ]
