Incentives to support rural development are an important segment of the agricultural budget considering that, among others, they include incentives for investments aimed at developing and achieving competitiveness of sustainable agricultural production, as well as the development of non-agricultural activities, which can be a significant incentive for rural development. The aim of the paper is to present the participation of planned incentives for rural development measures in the agricultural budget of the Republic of Serbia in the last decade, as well as to show the qualitative changes in the agricultural policy, regarding the structure of these incentives, in the analyzed period (2017-2023). The research is realized out on the basis of planning documents-regulations on the distribution of incentives in agriculture and rural development, which are analyzed for each year in the period 2013-2023. The author concludes that incentives for rural development measures did not have quantitative and qualitative stability and sufficiency in the analyzed period, which is necessary in order to achieve the full effects of these incentives.

Abstract. Introduction. In the conditions of modern challenges and threats, ensuring the integrated development of rural areas, aimed at creating jobs, improving infrastructure and living conditions of the rural population, is a strategic goal under the conditions of partnership of community members, businesses and local government bodies. Comprehensive development of rural areas aimed at stable development of agricultural production, improvement of living and working conditions of the rural population, preservation of the natural environment is a major component in the development of the agricultural sector of the country's economy. Purpose. Formulated and substantiated scientific provisions, conclusions and practical recommendations are the basis of increasing the effectiveness of the functioning of rural territorial communities based on the complexity of economic, social, ecological and institutional development. Results. It was determined that the comprehensive development of rural areas is a process of stable functioning of rural territorial communities through ensuring the effective development of economic, social, ecological, settlement components based on the use of local resources (labor, land, water, forest, mineral, etc.). It was established that the main directions of ensuring the development of rural areas are the development of agricultural production, the organization of enterprises for the processing of agricultural products and local raw materials, and the production of food products, biofuel, building materials, etc. Agricultural service cooperatives should become important elements of the rural economy. Indicators of the effectiveness of integrated development of rural areas can be: increase in the efficiency of agricultural production; diversification of the rural economy; food security of the country; natural growth of the rural population; raising the level and quality of life in the countryside; improvement of soil fertility and ecological situation in rural territorial communities. Conclusions. The basis of the comprehensive multifunctional development of rural areas is the diversification and modernization of the rural economy, the development of non-agricultural activities that will qualitatively change the rural environment, expand the scope of employment as the main condition for the establishment of youth in the countryside and the preservation of the labor potential of rural territorial communities.

Article 19(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 provides that business start-up aid for young farmers, non-agricultural activities in rural areas and the development of small farms shall be conditional on the submission of a business plan.Therefore, this tool, also known as Farm Development Plan (FDP), is mandatory to verify the economic improvement of an investment under sub-measures 6.1 "Business start up aid for young farmers", 4.1 "Investments in agricultural holdings" and operation 6.4.a "Investments in creation and development of non-agricultural activities" so that rural development resources can be directed towards those project ideas which are consistent with the objectives and purposes of the rural development strategy and, thanks to the support, have the highest probability of success. The article presents the lesson learned from the Sicilian experience of designing a web-based tool for FDP submission, namely "PSAWeb Sicilia". This device allowed the Managing Authority (MA) of RDP Sicily 2014-2020 to make available an FDP scheme to users in compliance with EU obligations, consistent with the objectives and purposes of the Programme, as well as with the implementing and procedural provisions of regional calls. The computerised management of the FDPs ensured better coordination between the offices responsible for verifying and evaluating the proposals, while processing and analysis of aggregated data from over 8,400 business plans provided an in-depth knowledge of the investment needs in Sicilian agriculture and a better capacity to forecast the RDP potential response as well as some aspects of specific interest to the regional agricultural system. Thanks to PSAWeb Sicilia, in fact, a large amount of data at farm, sectoral, territorial and type of investment level was collected providing information of inestimable value not available from other data sources. The assessment of access requirements in terms of farms' economic size, economic-financial viability and profitability was ensured by borrowing principles and procedures from the Italian FADN. The cooperation between the MA and CREA-PB achieved several results. Firstly, the data collected combined with the monitoring data have been made available for the evaluation activity and for the communication to the public of the RDP implementation. This information will also be very useful both for better targeting interventions in 2021-22 and for reprogramming them in the future cap. Finally, as a positive externality, the use of the application has contributed to increasing accounting knowledge among operators and technicians in the agricultural sector, so that it has become a teaching tool in some university courses.

The development of the tourism sector in Batu City is in line with the development of non-agricultural activities in Batu City that dominates 66.7% of Batu City’s land use pattern. This pattern is related to the energy demand in Batu City and contributes to the increasing GHG emissions from the energy sector. The energy sector contributes 24-25% of GHG emissions and it will increase along with further development of activities. The GHG emission inventory is an important step related to GHG emission reduction, and, due to the uncertainty of GHG emission distribution, the inventory was based on the sources of emission. The main purpose of this research is to make an inventory of the amount of GHG emission from the energy sector in Batu City from 3 main emission sources in Batu, namely transportation, commercial, and household. The analytical method used is the Tier 1 approach using a database of energy consumption and the number of activities as an emission source. The results show that the total amount of GHG emissions from the energy sector in Batu City is 2,562,159,822,007.89 kg/year with an average increase of 0.75% per year and is dominated by emission sources from the household sector. The average increase in GHG emissions from the transportation sector is 58.83% with a significant increase in 2015. In the commercial sector, the average annual increase in GHG emissions is 3.83%, and the household sector—as the largest energy consumer—has an average increase in GHG emissions each year of 0.75%.

The paper’s main aim is to assess the measures implemented within the Rural Development Program (RDP) 2007–2013 in Poland. This programme is dedicated to the diversification of business activities in rural areas and rural livelihood and, thus, the improvement of the multifunctionality of rural areas. The analysis covered two measures from Axis 3, Improvement of the quality of life in rural areas and diversification of rural economy: M311, diversification into non-agricultural activities; and M312, Establishment and development of micro-enterprise. The study and the discussion are presented from a geographical perspective and, in a broader context, take into account several conditions (natural, urban, agricultural and historical) and the spatial diversity of the allocation of European Union (EU) funds. Models of a policy of multifunctional rural development, implemented after accession to the EU, are presented. The research’s spatial scope covers Poland’s territory on two spatial scales: the system of regions (16 NUTS2 units) and poviats (314 LAU level 1 units). The analysis covers all the projects implemented in Poland under the two measures of Axis 3 of the RDP 2007–2013. A set of conditions was prepared for all LAU1 units, forming the background for assessing the impact of the EU funds on the development of non-agricultural activities. To determine the relationship between the RDP measures and the selected groups of conditions, a synthetic index and a correlation index are used. They are also used to determine the mutual relations between the two analyzed activities in terms of the spatial scales used. Access to the EU funds (RDP) has considerably enlarged the opportunities for accelerating agricultural modernisation and restructuration towards multifunctional development, as well as the opportunities for implementing new development and work methods in the countryside in Poland. The attractiveness of the two studied RDP measures varied across regions. The beneficiaries’ activity depended on the local potential (resources), culture and tradition of the region, and size and potential of the farm. In the areas where agriculture is deeply rooted, beneficiaries were more willing to engage in ventures tapping into the resources available in their farms. Thus, they create additional livelihood of income and workplaces for household members. In turn, the beneficiaries from the areas where farms are smaller and economically weaker often undertake activities related to setting up a new business (outside farming).

The article touches upon the is- sue of the potential for diversification of the rural economy in terms of non-agricultural activities for the development of rural areas from an organizational, economic and socio-demographic point of view. To do this, all the directions of alternative business and the tasks that it can solve are listed. Methodological approaches to decision-making on the development of non-agricultural activities in rural areas are described and systematized, including determining the priority of economic or social efficiency and type of activity based on territorial, organizational or sectoral conditions. The characteristic of the modern concept of handicraft activity is given, its features in foreign countries and the Russian Federation are highlighted, successful examples of a number of regions, including the Volga Federal District, are given. A retrospective analysis of the sphere of rational use of wild plants and fungi was carried out, the importance of this type of activity was updated, trends in the volume of collection, processing and import of products to the EU countries were investigated. The prerequisites for the activation of rural tourism, its target audience, and the motives for choosing this type of recreation are revealed. The existing forms of its organization are systematized into three groups: recreation on the basis of a small family hotel or farmsteads, the construction of large and medium-sized private agro-tourist facilities in rural areas, the creation of agricultural parks in farms and agricultural cooperatives. It is confirmed that rural tourism is actively developing in the regions that have developed the concepts of its development (Altai Krai, the Republics of Buryatia and Karelia, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Irkutsk, Tomsk regions). The article describes the successful experience of the Republic of Belarus in the formation of a system of consumer services in rural areas, which is based on complex complexes for consumer services, including agro-towns and field services for the population. The measures of state support, which can be claimed by the initiators of alternative rural business, are highlighted.

This article discusses the possibilities of grape growing and wine production industry in the Volgograd region development to increase the tourist attractiveness of the region. The article describes the soil and climate, historical, agricultural and technological and social and economic prerequisites for development of this branch. It was suggested to use the cluster approach, joining efforts of grape growers and wine producers, as well as scientific and educational, tourist and hospitability enterprises of the Volgograd region for rendering tourist and recreation services for the local residents, Russian and foreign guests of the city within the educational and production project of the Volgograd state agricultural university “Innovative village “Gornaya Polyana”. The originality of suggestions is that the “Gornaya Polyana” is the unique educational, scientific and production center that not only provides the tourists with information on history, local traditions, technology and culture of alcohol drinking, but also suggests them tasting different varieties of grape and wine, working on vinelands, participating in wine festivals and thematic festivals; visiting and taking part in special exhibitions and meetings, workshop sessions and educational programs, joining the abilities of agricultural, wine, gastronomical, ethnographic, educational events and business tourism. The project suggests creating of the recreation and service areas such as: park area, pond, bath house at the water basin shore, recreation services, including the wine therapy and wine cosmetology; production and workshops, including wine production, willow weaving; leisure activities and services, accommodation means and other.The results of investigation should be used for solving the social and economic problems in the region due to development of non-agricultural activities at the rural area, such as: wine, gastronomical and ethnographical tourism.

This article actualizes the need to develop diversification, non-agricultural activities, alternative employment in rural areas. The development of tourism, small and medium-sized businesses in the field of ethno-economics, the formation of a network of production and consumer cooperatives are considered as key factors to increase the sustainability of the socio-economic development of rural areas, reduce unemployment and improve the quality of life of villagers. The categories “ethnic economy” and “ethnic entrepreneurship” are distinguished. The tendencies of development of ethno-entrepreneurial activity in various regions of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Bashkortostan, are analyzed. As a result of the study, the feasibility of adjusting federal, regional and municipal programs for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, agricultural production and consumer cooperation and the inclusion of proposals for the development of ethnic entrepreneurship in them is substantiated. Prospects and mechanisms for stimulating the activation of specific areas of ethnic entrepreneurship and ethnic cooperation in the Republic of Bashkortostan are highlighted.

A latest vision of the development of rural areas should include an increase of productive capacities of the agrarian sector in conjunction with the development of non-agricultural activities through the revitalisation of local entrepreneurship. In the process of stabilisation of the situation in agricultural industry, the priority of raw material sectors will be reduced in relative terms to tip the balance in favour of processing operations and the provision of services, including tourism. This poses new challenges to rural residents, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, and education and science professionals to revitalise economic activities in rural areas. The observations made and surveys conducted by the author are an attempt to make a case for the importance of diversification of the operations of business entities in rural areas with reference to international experience. Research has made it possible to identify both objective and subjective factors that prevent the revitalisation of entrepreneurship in rural areas, specifically, the low purchasing power of rural residents and their quality of life, fully dilapidated technical infrastructure, significant transport costs, and poor implementation of public programmes.

Declining importance of agriculture has been accompanied by development of non-agricultural activities in rural areas. Concurrently, there has been an increasing interest in the issues of transforming functional and spatial structure of the village. Functions of rural settlement units are primarily identified based upon analysis of changing tendencies concerning employment structure, land use and infrastructure accessibility. Significant changes have also occurred in the landscape and perception of post-agricultural space. The rural area begins to resemble a city (hub), also in terms of social and living conditions. There is a rise in the standard of living (positive effect) and a widespread of urban style of being (a negative effect). These processes are particularly intense in the villages of the suburban area, as they are being absorbed into the spatial and functional structures of the city. The aim of the research is to determine the functional and spatial differences and similarities among settlement units of the Poznań agglomeration based on the analysis of planning documents as well as spatial and cartographic data. Old villages were selected for the research – currently, self-government housing estates in Poznań (auxiliary units) and villages that are adjacent to the city border. Contemporary changes in the functions of settlement units have been identified in a diverse range and extent. However, in general spatial changes exhibit numerous similarities. The most important spatial decisions affecting the functional and spatial structure of settlement units are undertaken at the commune level. It is however necessary to coordinate these activities also at a higher level and at various scales of planning. In particular, there is a need for a an integrated approach to the management of spatial and landscape resources within strongly connected areas such as urban agglomerations.

In Polish law there is no legal definition of the rural area, but is it a mistake of Polish legislator who did not introduce this term? However, legislature of the European Union also did not define this term but there is a lot of legal acts which use this concept without defining this content. The concept of rural area is determined by economic, social, demographic, and cultural development. It is obvious that the rural area in recent years is still evolving. The concept of mono-functional development of the rural area has been transformed into the concept of multifunctional development. Multi-functional development of rural areas on the one hand, the development of non-agricultural activities and restructuring of agriculture on the other. The concept of the rural area in the old and new agricultural policy is determined by three factors: social structure, spatial structure and production structure. The new agricultural policy is also a question of financing widely understood agriculture from the Rural Development Programmes. Through these programs, the definition of the rural area is modified, depending on the specific actions for which European Union funding is granted. No single definition of the rural area in the Polish legal system should be viewed as negative for the Polish legislator. The search criteria for separating the rural area should be based on flexible and diversified grounds, among others, location of the rural area in the country, development of rural space, depending on the environment and whether related to the quality of the local community.

Celem artykułu było wskazanie funkcjonowania LGD Ziemi Kraśnickiej jako przykład aktywizacji terenów wiejskich w kraju Unii Europejskiej jakim jest Polska. Przedstawiono funkcjonowanie LGD prowadzącego swoją działalność na obszarze jednego z najbiedniejszych regionów Unii Europejskiej jakim jest województwo lubelskie, a w nim powiat kraśnicki. Zastosowaną metodą był sondaż diagnostyczny, a narzędziami badawczymi kwestionariusz ankiety i wywiadu. Podmiot badań to 96 członków funkcjonujących w grupie LGD. W opinii badanych LGD przyczyniło się do rozwoju działalności pozarolniczej w regionie, promocji gminy i zmniejszeniu bezrobocia. Walory przyrodnicze i turystyczne, istniejąca atrakcyjna infrastruktura inwestycyjna to najważniejsze walory badanego obszaru, a wspieranie lokalnej działalności, to główny cel funkcjonowania LGD. Strategia LGD w całości wypełnia swoje założenia na terenie objętym badaniom. Przyczynia się do rozwoju regionu, ukierunkowanego w szczególny sposób na odchodzeniu mieszkańców od produkcji rolniczej i przechodzenie do sektorów pozarolniczych, co jest podstawowym założeniem strategii LGD.

The article deals with diversification of the activities of agricultural holdings in Czechia. The purpose of diversification is to create and also keep new jobs in the rural areas, keep or even increase the farm income and to contribute to the recovery of the villages. It may lead to stabilization of the rural population, increase the quality of their lives and the competitiveness of agricultural holdings. The main aim of the article is to describe the extent and importance of diversification in the specific environment of Czechia before and after 1989 and also to outline its likely future development. The article offers analysis of the development of non-agricultural activities before 1989 in the conditions of the centrally planned economy. Then it deals with diversification of activities of agricultural holdings after 1989 – during the period of transition of the Czech agriculture, which led to the application of the market economy. The article also outlines the possible future development of diversification of activities of agricultural holdings in Czechia.

The article presents an assessment of the demand of non-agricultural activities (rural tourism) on the basis of farming enterprises and households in the Novgorod region. The author recommends carrying out such research in three main areas: from the perspective of the consumer, from the perspective of the economic entity, from the perspective of regional and municipal authorities. For this reason the author gives the recommended structure of feedback forms. The accomplished survey revealed the advantages of non-agricultural activities on the basis of peasant farms enterprises and households to consumers, as well as the conditions for their implementation. The article presents the assessments the independent experts regarding the development of non-agricultural activities of peasant farms and households. Author recommends to involve as the experts the chairmen of committees of agriculture, tourism and culture, economic departments of the municipal administration. Analysis of the demand for non-agricultural activities in the Novgorod region confirmed the attractiveness of rural tourism as relatively inexpensive and a recreational focused of vacation in the countryside. As a result of analysis the most important for consumers the additional services and possibility for their rendering by owners of peasant farm enterprises and households are revealed. In addition, constraining factors in the organization of non-agricultural activities, including a lack of knowledge and skills in rendering tourism services, as well as a lack of funding are disclosed. The research of demand and supply allowed identifying indicators of internal potential and external climate of non-agricultural activities in the region.

The large regional diversity, economic backwardness, unfavourable demographic trends as well as the dependence of agricultural production, represent the main characteristics of rural areas in Serbia. Halting further socio-economic decline of the village is possible only through the restoration of economic capacity, which is to a greater extent achievable through the development of non-agricultural activities. Diversification of income and activities of rural households would raise the quality of life for the rural population, especially in terms of income positions, while infrastructural improvement and development of the service sector, to some extent, would be a consequence of this process and a clearly formulated national rural policy. That policy in Serbia should be in line with the ?European? model, where the focus is shifting from sectoral to regional approach and significant support for the achievement of the set goals represent the pre-accession EU funds.

In this paper, we describe and compare the employment, wages and prices in the agricultural and other rural sectors in Central and East European countries. Together, we point out the lack of statistical information limiting the possibilities of the comparison. We comment the marked decrease in both production and employment in these sectors during the transition period. Together with low wages and the unfavourable development of the relation between the purchase and producer prices, this situation causes the retardation in the growth of the living standard of the rural population, in comparison with other sectors of the national economy. Therefore, the necessity of restructuring agricultural production arises, and first of all, the multifunctional character of the agriculture and the development of non-agricultural activities must be supported by the rural municipalities. It concerns, of course in different rates, all discussed countries.

Since reform and open up, owing to the influx of foreign capitals, the world wide manufacturing shift and the development of TVEs, a kind of area has been formed and developed in some post rural areas of the Yangze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. It's a transitional zone where urban and rural land use interlocked and economic and social structure changed rapidly. Based on literature review, this paper defines it as peri urban and puts forward a complete index system, in terms of structure, change in gross amount, landscape and administrative features. Then taking the case of Dongguan Municipality, the characters and the problems of the peri urban area are analyzed, in terms of economic conditions, industry, population, employment, land use and administrative system. Dongguan Municipality, characterized by rapid economic growth, mass entry of immigration, rapid development of non agricultural activities, expansion and interlock of non agricultural land use and rural administrative system,has thus embryonically formed a peri urban area. According to international experience Dongguan is in a crossroad. So we should clearly consider its advantages and regulate its social, economic, and urban development strategy for sustainable development and evolvement to late model urbanization.

Abstract Forty‐seven property owners in Entebbe, Uganda were questioned about vervet monkey activities on their property. Our main objective was to investigate the interactions between humans and vervet monkeys in an agricultural area adjacent to a forest zone. Other studies have reported that farms located within 300 m of a forested boundary probably incur the greatest risk of crop‐raiding. Two other factors that may influence susceptibility to vervet crop‐raiding were also examined: the types of crops grown and the types of direct preventative measures used. The effect of these two factors on vervet crop‐raiding is not straightforward. However, the distance a property is located from the forest edge is an important factor influencing vervet crop‐raiding. Surveyed gardens 200 m from the forest edge received significantly less crop‐raiding than farms located 100 m or 50 m (P = 0.040, < α = 0.05). We suggest that the development of nonagricultural activities on land directly adjacent to forested areas may reduce vervet crop‐raiding by deterring vervets from travelling greater distances from the forest edge due to increased obstacles or risks.

In order to fill the latent demand of the various homogeneous sub-groups which together make up a heterogeneous agriculture, advisory services must operate under the following principles : they must be closely linked with research ; their location in the field should spread down to each small agricultural region ; they should be actively concerned with the development of non agricultural activities. In post-war Italy, the extension services inherited from the fascist era were bureaucratic and centralized ; their performance was very poor. Since the regional reform of the seventies significant improvements have taken place, but at very inequal rates in the various regions.