The first regional seminar of the ENPARD South Support Programme - Phase II (ESSP II) was held on 6 and 7 October in Brussels, at the European Commission, around the theme “Youth, women and rural development: agricultural policies to pave the way forward”. It brought together seven delegations from the Mediterranean (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunis), as well as participants from European institutions, international organisations and NGO’s interested in agriculture and rural development in the Mediterranean.

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The objective of this meeting was to debate on youth and women in Mediterranean rural areas and the various links that could exist between their situation, rural exodus and international migrations, in order to explore innovative solutions and operational propositions aiming at boosting rural areas by supporting in particular youth and women as driving forces of these areas. This meeting provided also for the participants a moment of privileged exchanges and discussions around the activities taking place under the framework of the ENPARD South Support Programme in each country and other agricultural and rural themes of the Mediterranean region.

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The seminar was organised into two days and subdivided into four discussion panels, each introduced with a presentation by a European expert and local testimonies of actors from the partner countries, whether representative of the government or local actors.

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These four discussion panels were focused on the following themes:

1. Agricultural attraction for the young generations

2. Women of rural areas, a driving force in agricultural activity

3. Rural women and youth, as a driver for innovation and change

4. For an analysis of the migratory phenomenon in light of the challenges of rural territories development

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The discussions that followed each presentation allowed the delegations to identify the challenges hindering the socio-economic growth of youth and women in rural areas, as well as the causes of the exodus and migrations, to present the national situations and public policies implemented and to explore proposals and measures in order to boost rural areas in the Mediterranean.

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The debates were very rich and the participants outlined the necessity to better recognize and enhance the role of women and youth in rural territories and agriculture, to facilitate their economic insertion in order to make better use of these vital forces of the Mediterranean countries and to set rural areas as “territories of life” and not as remote areas of which populations will be forced to leave.

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Women and youth should not continue to be regarded as a burden and categories of populations that should be protected but as carriers of potential and assets for socio-economic development in the countries. A better integration of these categories of population in the rural areas could revitalize the economic and social tissue of these territories and help in preventing a massif rural exodus, that is an essential factor explaining the increase of economic migrations, and territorial economic disparity with its destabilising effects for the countries.

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The summary of the exchanges and debates for each discussion panel can be found attached to this report, as well as a concept note replacing the themes of seminar into context.

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A second regional seminar will take place in summer 2017 on a matter yet to be identified.

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You will find the presentations of the experts and testimonies of local actors at the following address: https://cloudia.iamm.fr/index.php/s/YPRHU6IoGsCZIBe 

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