Agriculture and bio based economy a driver of rural transformation and livelihood?

Summary

The structures of rural communities are formed by the past development of agriculture. Industrialized agriculture does not need rural communities anymore, and are some cases even in conflict with the rural communities. The profits made by of agricultural activities have increasingly been mowed from rural to urban areas. Some sees rural development completely decoupled form agriculture; other sees bio economy as a potential revitalization of rural livelihood. This paper addresses the question under which condition agriculture and bio based economy can be a driver for revitalization for rural livelihood. This analysis is drawing on a range of different case studies of agricultural activities that have made a difference to the mainstream development. The main findings from these analyses are that these cases focus on: transparency and non‐generic products that links producers and consumers; synergies between different economic activities, rooted on the local social, cultural, natural and economical context; organizational forms and partnership between local stakeholders that supports long‐term development, as precondition for breaking with the industrial production logic. In conclusion bio based economy will only contribute to revitalization of rural livelihood if embedded in these activities.