European Projects

Finland: Resource Wise Visions (ReWI) for the circular economy

The ReWI project inspires young people to examine entrepreneurship from the perspective of the circular economy. Project activities concentrate on youth exchanges, international communication, promoting youth circular economy entrepreneurship with business courses and youth club activities. MORE

Czech Republic: A young farmer with reduced mobility creates employment for people with disabilities

With support from the Rural Development Programme the farm employs a total of 12 disabled people. The project provided the necessary funds to purchase a tractor and a distillation unit for lavender oil extraction, both adapted for operation by people with disabilities. The farmer also purchased land for cultivation. MORE

Latvia: An abandoned railway is transformed into an active tourist activity

A railway track from abandoned industrial activity was transformed into a railbike track that allows visitors to enjoy a 4 km long journey along a site of cultural and historical significance. The railbike complements the existing tourist offer of the village and attracts new people who are interested in learning about the history of the place in an active way. MORE

France: How to support new entrants in agriculture?

CIAP is a cooperative that supports new entrants in agriculture without any previous experience or linkages to the sector. It provides support to access land and financing and offers training courses, local contacts and ongoing business support to ensure farms’ viability throughout the beginning stages of their establishment. To further enhance the capacity of actors brought together by CIAP, the HAPPYTERR project was set up, funded by EAFRD. MORE

Poland: Establishment of a firewood trading business

With support from the LEADER measure, a young entrepreneur was enabled to create a business that provides a renewable energy source from firewood. Customers include elderly people living within a radius of 30 km, but also young people whose professional lives make it difficult for them to prepare their own firewood. MORE

Luxembourg: Promoting employment for young people

The “Sozialwierkstat” project focused on supporting young people from difficult backgrounds, who experienced social challenges hindering their capacity to participate in the labour market. An important lesson ist that micro grant schemes through LEADER can help simplify and improve access to CAP funding! MORE

Lithuania: Using Agri-environment climate measures to conserve traditional Sheep Breeds.

Agri-environment climate measures (AECM) from the Rural Development Programmes are available to help farmers conserve traditional livestock breeds. A good example is Lithuania, using this support to help conserve the genetic purity and resilience of Lithuanian Black-Headed sheep and Lithuanian Coarse-Wooled sheep. The farmer receives €187 per animal and agrees to continue the AECM commitment over six years. MORE

Spain: Andalusian Shepherds School

The Andalusian Shepherds School offers a training course aimed at people who want to work in pastoral or extensive livestock farming. Theoretical knowledge on health, production, economics and marketing is combined with internships. The school is primarily funded by EAFRD under the Rural Development Programme, with additional national and regional support. MORE

Portugal: Improvement and recovery of pedestrian routes in a UNESCO-listed Natural Park

In the Madeira Natural Park area, Rural Development was used for a sustainable restoration of pathways with touristic interest and to establish an education and interpretation programme and leisure areas.
The RDP support financed the cleaning and removal of vegetation, stones, earth and trees along the pathways that were at risk of collapse. Works were carried out to repair and stabilise the footpaths, safety guards were restored and supporting walls alongside the paths and slopes were reinforced. MORE

Belgium: Promoting controlled drainage

By converting traditional drainage systems to level-controlled drainage, the outflow of water from the drainage system is regulated according to the needs of the crop. The project contributes to more efficient and sustainable water management on arable land and demonstrated that the new system can increase crop growth if applied correctly. MORE