Rural area

With the backing of the IPARD Program — co-financed by Türkiye and the European Union (EU) and managed by the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (TKDK), the competent body under the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry — Turkish citizens living abroad have constructed 128 facilities, each with costs ranging from 33 to 277 million Turkish Liras ($1 million to $8.4 million).

Experts have warned about a potential cultural identity loss stemming from the surge in migration from rural to urban areas in the eastern Black Sea region, which is leaving villages increasingly deserted and aging.

Türkiye's population data for 2023 has revealed the trend of "reverse migration," as more people are now opting for a life in villages and towns due to the rising cost of living in cities as well as the appeal of a quiet life for retirees and agricultural production for younger people.

Greece has one of the highest percentages of elderly residents in rural and remote areas in the EU, experiencing insurmountable difficulties, according to a study by the Care Policy and Evaluation Center of the London School of Economics by Maria Karagiannidou, Raphael Wittenberg and Dr Jacqueline Daman in collaboration with Thalia Rizou.

A total of 592 villages in Bulgaria have no population or a single-digit number of inhabitants. This is shown by a BTA reference in the data as of December 31, 2021 of the National Register of Settlements (NRS) of the NSI.

Brdo pri Kranju – EU agriculture ministers called for a stronger dialogue between urban and rural areas as they held an informal meeting in Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday. Slovenia’s Jože Podgoršek said conflicts needed to be prevented with the help of better infrastructure and technology.

PALERMO, BELGRADE - The participants in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture, including Serbian Agriculture Minister Snezana Bogosavljevic-Boskovic, agreed in Palermo Friday that there was an urgent need to bring more young people back to the countryside and to support the development of rural areas in general.

There are 535 areas at risk of flooding in Bulgaria, according to an analysis of the impact of the Rural Development Program on the environment published by the Agriculture Ministry.

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