Mediterra 2009, named « Rethinking rural development in the Mediterranean » is the fruit of cooperation between the Plan Bleu and the CIHEAM. This report analyses agricultural and rural implementations of the Mediterranean Strategy of Sustainable Development (MSSD) and takes a fresh look at the policies implemented in rural areas. Its purpose is to provide all actors, professionals and researchers in the Euro-Mediterranean world with essential assessment criteria and strategic indicators for agricultural and rural development.
Mediterra 2009 is published in French and in English by the Presses de Sciences-Po (Paris) and will be shortly traduced and available in Spanish, Arabic and Italian. Drawing on four regional studies and ten national studies conducted in Albany, Algeria, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye, Mediterra 2009 appeals to review the policies of agricultural and rural development in the Mediterranean and asks the question of their position in the economies of all the riparian states.
Climate change, responsible water resource management, land dynamics, economic diversification – such are the challenges for the sustainability and competitiveness of Mediterranean farming systems. This report is carrying a message as simple as essential: in the Mediterranean, there is no rural development without dynamic agriculture as there is no agricultural development without vitality of rural areas. In this context, Mediterra 2009 pleads for a reinforcement of the regional cooperation in terms of agriculture and rural development in suggesting that it be part of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) adopted by riparian states in 2005.
