Non-agricultural activities as a measure of revitalisation of rural areas

Abstract

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.