Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland 2014–2020.

The present Programme is the National Rural Development Programme prepared for the period 2014-2020, pursuant to Art. 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), to be officially submitted by Finland to the European Commission after its adoption by the Government. The Programme does not apply to Åland Islands.
The Programme identifies 32 key needs to be addressed by the Programme based on the following strategic priorities: 1) Promoting bioeconomy and, as part of it, agriculture that is economically, socially and ecologically sustainable and ethically acceptable; 2) Diversifying rural industries and create employment by improving the competitiveness of businesses, supporting new entrepreneurship and promoting the networking of companies; 3) Improving vitality and quality of life in rural areas by strengthening independent local activities. Coordination shall be done by the rural development unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Furthermore, its objectives are: Improved skills and dissemination of information and more innovations and co-operation in rural areas; More effective climate change mitigation and adaptation; Increased biodiversity, improved status of water bodies and soil in agricultural use; Diversification of rural business and higher employment, better services and improved possibilities for participation; Improved competitiveness of agricultural production; Rural enterprises respond to consumer demand and values by producing high-quality food and by improving animal welfare.
The Programme defines measures for each Union priorities for rural development. These include, among others: developing cooperation forms between rural actors; building business skills, demand-driven competence and environmental awareness through relevant projects; supporting further and continuing vocational training; increasing awareness of production animal health and welfare in producers; developing the productivity and competitiveness of farming by improving the structure of agricultural production and reversing unfavourable trend in the age structure of farmers; promoting the diversification of agribusiness; influence producers' capabilities of responding to consumer preferences in order to improve the availability of organic and local food; reducing environmental load to the soil, surface waters, groundwater and air from agricultural sources by the promotion of environmentally-friendly production methods and by ensuring the good agricultural condition of land; assisting companies in building long-term business and promoting sustainable growth, improvement of productivity, modernisation and boosting of competitiveness in rural areas; etc.