Rural Areas Facing the Challenge of Economic Diversification: Threats and Opportunities
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2023) | Viewed by 27142
Special Issue Editors
Interests: rural development; rural tourism; rconomic diversification of rural areas; agricultural valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: planning and development; strategic tourism development; tourism impact; underdeveloped region
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In developed countries, the traditional agrarian vision of the rural world, which univocally identified as agrarian and rural, has given way to a multifunctional approach to this space. In the 1990s, the European Commission, through the then novel Leader Initiative, launched rural development programmes, whose main objective was economic diversification based on the development of new recreational, touristic or agro-industrial uses that were emerging. Often, the modest size of the investments associated with these programmes and their participatory development models ensured that these projects were implemented in a harmonious way in economic, social and environmental terms.
However, there is now a growing interest in other types of investment in rural areas, such as renewable energies (wind farms, photovoltaic plants), diffuse industrialisation projects and even the extraction and processing of strategic minerals. These types of investments can be valuable alternatives for achieving the longed-for economic diversification, although it is no less true that they involve abruptly altering the traditional agricultural and livestock uses of the rural environment.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide scientific and academic evidence regarding the implementation of these two types of projects: their long-term viability, their impact on the demographic and economic structures of the regions or districts in which they are implemented and the change in traditional land uses, as well as any other indicators related to the socio-economic development of these environments. In this endeavour, all types of case studies are welcome, which, based on different methodological approaches, approach the subject under study, both in developed countries and developing regions of the world affected by the same problems.
Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Castellano-Álvarez
Prof. Dr. Rafael Robina-Ramírez
Dr. Francisco José Ferreira Silva
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rural development
- rural tourism
- agricultural valorization
- agroindustry
- depopulation
- natural resources
- renewable energies
- less developed regions
- case studies
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.