Máté P., Tóth T. LEADER Program: Development Potential for Rural Life Improvement

Péter Máté
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary
Tamás Tóth
Kodolányi János University, Budapest, Hungary

Abstract. Without knowledge of the past, it is impossible to build the future, therefore, it is necessary to comprehend the processes that have already taken place, if only because it will allow us to learn lessons both from the mistakes made and from positive experiences. The development of the LEADER program, its current form, had several antecedents, it was practically the result of a complex development, so the LEADER programme has undergone a number of changes and we believe that these changes have had many benefits in terms of improving the living conditions of rural people, but that the system has yet to achieve real community-building effects. We have therefore compiled a selection of the most important events and developments in the LEADER programme, with the intention of highlighting the key achievements that have been made. We would like to take stock of the less successful activities and operational anomalies whose continuation does not help the already problem-free process of community building and rural development. In many cases, unfortunately, programmes have been implemented not to build community but to serve individual interests.

Key words: rural development, LEADER program, regional and integrated development of Hungary, transformation, support.

Citation. Máté P., Tóth T., 2022. LEADER Program: Development Potential for Rural Life Improvement. Regionalnaya ekonomika. Yug Rossii [Regional Economy. South of Russia], vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 88-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/ re.volsu.2022.3.9

Attachments: /eng/contacts/8_Mate_Toth.pmd.pdf