There is now a world-wide consensus among economists, business leaders and politicians that entrepreneurship is a key factor to economic growth. This helps us to understand why some firms, regions or nations demonstrate much higher growth rates than those whose management, institutional arrangements and national policy hinder entrepreneurship. Consequently, governments, international organizations and professionals show a continued high interest in small- and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship policy. Statistics are being produced, methodologies refined, government policies written, strategies passed in parliaments and conferences are being held and the issue is entering the main stream of various disciplines.
Throughout Europe, rural development is increasingly associated with entrepreneurship. In recent years, entrepreneurship has been promoted as a key factor of rural development. It is now accepted that the economic and social vitality of rural areas greatly depends on the overall level of its entrepreneurial capacity and development potential.
The reason for this orientation is that the traditional approach to rural development, which was based either on direct support to the agricultural sector or on human capital and investment from outside rural communities, did not necessarily provide for long-term economic growth. Consequently, in rural areas throughout Europe, we often find low income per caput. poor living conditions, an unskilled labour force, emigration of skilled labour' few employment opportunities and food shortages at the household level.
With the increasing globalization of national economies, we are aware that the critical factors for generating employment opportunities, and thus better social welfare in rural communities, are not only policies for removing impediments to the utilisation of agricultural production potential, but are also, if not primarily, programmes and policy incentives that encourage rural entrepreneurship. These are aimed at helping entrepreneurs find a unique blend of resources, either within or outside of agriculture.
While the direction in which productive resources are moved is marketed, entrepreneurs are needed to actually move the resources.
Entrepreneurship development has been an important concern of the FAO Regional Office for Europe for many years. Many member countries of the European Region have received assistance in the form of training workshops to develop their approaches with regard to entrepreneurship development in rural areas.
This publication is a first attempt to compile papers on entrepreneurship development in rural areas, been presented at the sessions of the FAO European Commission on Agriculture's Working Party on Women and the Family in Rural Development or at the FAO Regional Office for Europe International Rural Development Summer Schools1.
1With the exception of the Ireland case study.
We trust that this publication will be of interest to many institutions and organizations, government officials, trainers and rural development consultants and to all those who are involved in structural adjustment processes of rural areas and entrepreneurship development.
