Tackling rural poverty, together

"Everyone knows that poverty cannot be stamped out effectively if rural development is neglected", says the final report of the Second European Forum on Sustainable Rural Development.

This Forum was organised by the German EU Presidency and the European Commission and supported by the FAO and the Global Donor Platform which made aid effectiveness a cross-cutting issue in all working sessions as well as the focus of three panel discussions (see as well Platform finds early evidence of "effective aid" at EU Forum).

"The good news is that after decades of this sector being left on the sidelines by donors", the final report goes on,  "there is an awareness today amongst policy makers, including in Europe, that rural development and its external funding need to be given their rightful place once more. We cannot allow this opportunity to pass us by! This Forum, with its pooling and comparison of experiences and frank debate, has been a rich event and an exceptional experience for all those involved in sustainable agricultural and rural development – farmers, scientists and experts, producers, planners and other stakeholders. The Forum also represents a privileged starting point for making a difference, for ensuring that political discourse becomes a reality on the ground tomorrow, particularly through the rural development network, to which it has given new impetus, and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development."

The conference report is now available in English:

Second European Forum on Sustainable Rural Development - Conference Report

and French:

Deuxième Forum Européen sur le Développement Rural Durable - Rapport de Conférence