Key findings from the RURALITIES policy briefs on pan-European and pan-African rural innovation, covering six EU-AU demonstration areas:
The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–27 anchors rural strategy on smart, resilient agriculture with digitalisation and climate action as cross-cutting objectives. Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the CAADP 2026–2035 Kampala Declaration mirror this ambition. It targets 45% lift in agri-food output, tripling trade between African countries, and reducing post-harvest losses. Both frameworks increasingly recognise rural communities as innovation drivers, and not passive recipients.
In 2019 Africa-Europe Rural Transformation Action Agenda set nine priority action areas. By 2023, Horizon Europe had dedicated ~€650M to Africa’s research and innovation goals, with RURALITIES project being among the flagship Horizon Europe projects enhancing knowledge exchange between EU and AU partners.
Rural areas in the EU and AU face overlapping structural pressures; this policy brief identified challenges like infrastructure deficits, demographic shifts (ageing in Europe and rapid youth growth in Africa), fragmented policy coordination across sectors, and barriers to rural finance. Bridging the digital divide remains the most urgent shared priority that can unlock new e-services, precision agriculture, and market access for smallholders in both continents.
Challenges: Depopulation, small farm viability, seasonal tourism pressures.
Key policy sample: Mobilising CAP Rural Development Programs (RDP) to modernise farms and encourage agritourism. Italy’s agritourism legal framework (Law 96/2006) and the €40M Marche RDP investment modernised 458 farms. The “e-Castles” digital heritage project in Veneto boosted cultural tourism through 3D virtual tours.
Challenges: Extreme remoteness, transport poverty.
Key practice sample: The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) pioneered Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT), low-carbon mobility solutions, and demand-responsive transport services
Challenges: Unutilised heritage potential, limited tourism sustainability.
Key practice sample: The Regional Development Agency Posavje partnered with tech firms to digitise historic castles with holographic displays, transforming heritage into a scalable tourism asset.
Challenges: Ageing population, struggling agri-food SMEs.
Key practice sample: Agrifood innovation cluster ASINCAR and ICT centre CTIC supported SME competitiveness. Short supply chains and farm-to-fork schemes delivered better producer margins.
Challenges: Soil erosion, micro-farm fragmentation, and poor market connectivity.
Key practice sample: Youth entrepreneurship grants and managed LEADER programme combine economic diversification with infrastructure investment to combat rural outmigration.
Challenges: Productivity is low because only 37% of farmers use fertiliser, barely 1% have irrigation and overreliance on rain-fed farming exposes rural communities to climate shocks.
Key practice sample: The AgWISE digital platform that delivers localised weather & agronomic advice, such as index-based insurance. It also pilots innovative agricultural insurance to de-risk farming.
Challenges: Water scarcity and rural poverty.
Key practice sample: The EgCITE programme and the AgriTech4Egypt 2024 Challenge link digital agriculture tools with smallholder needs. The “Decent Life” initiative invests in rural infrastructure and services across thousands of villages.
Challenges: Vulnerability in rain-fed areas, water stress, youth unemployment.
Key practice sample: The Cooperative Lab model enables successful cooperatives to mentor new ones, spreading governance and product innovation.
Challenges: Reliance on rain-fed extensive farming, youth underemployment, and insecurity.
Key practice sample: A ₦1.5 trillion (≈$3.3B) Bank of Agriculture recapitalisation unlocks credit for youth- and women-led agribusinesses.
Challenge: Smallholder productivity, extension gaps, post-harvest loss.
Key practice sample: The Parish Development Model (PDM) digitised 8M household records and disbursed UGX 2.5 trillion to community-level SACCOs, operationalising grassroots innovation finance at a national scale.
Download full policy briefs here.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement no 101060876. UK participants in Horizon Europe Project RURALITIES are supported by UKRI grant numbers: 10051963 The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and 10050988 Earthwatch Europe.
