The role of agriculture and urban-rural connections in lagging rural areas of Hungary

The long-term strategic objectives of the EU Rural Development Policy in the next (2014-2020) programming period are as follows: the competitiveness of agriculture, the sustainable management of natural resources and the balanced territorial development. In this strategy agriculture remains the key element as solution for lagging rural areas. Summing up our research the social functions of traditional agriculture based on local resources, the strengthening of viable farms, the increasing importance of diversification and the labor-intensive products with high added-value have to be emphasized in the new rural policy. Besides agriculture the improvement of urban-rural connections are essential for lagging rural areas as well, especially in terms of employment, availability of services and allocation of local rural products to urban markets.