Expanding the ontological horizons of rural resilience in the applied agricultural research policy: The case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

This paper critically analyses and discusses the research gap regarding the current lack of reflection on the importance and potential of applied agricultural research policy for the broader aspects of rural resilience. The basis of the paper is the evaluation and critical reflection of the relevance of applied agricultural research policy to the needs of agricultural practice at the national level, on the one hand, and to general trends in agricultural research needs at the EU level, on the other hand. Special attention is paid to the case of the Czech Republic and international comparison of the situation in neighbouring countries in Central Europe. The results show a certain closedness of the national system of agricultural research in terms of supporting traditional themes related to creating innovations and strengthening the environmental dimension of conventional agriculture. On the contrary, the perception of some key trends at the EU level is weak, i.e. the role of digitisation, Agriculture 4.0 and wider rural aspects. The biggest challenge for applied agricultural research will be to develop the role of agriculture in the context of rural resilience.