Organic Market Initiatives and Rural Development – perspectives and potential OttoSchmidauthorJürnSandersauthorPeterMidmoreauthorIn the three year project “Organic Marketing Initiatives and Rural Development (OMIaRD)” the analysis of 67 OMIs (Organic Marketing Initiatives) showed that internal business-related factors are generally much more decisive for success than external, context-related factors. The detailed analysis of the impact of OMIs on rural development in four case-study regions (AT, FR, IT, UK) showed that not only are economic factors (e.g. employment effects and capital flow in the region) relevant but “soft” factors are as (or even more) important. However, policy-makers, especially at regional level, need to become more aware of the valuable benefits of OMIs for sustainable rural development and must take this sufficiently into account when enhancing support measures. Markets and trade2005Conference paper, poster, etc.