Rural regions have proved particularly vulnerable to recent global shifts and shocks. Their prospects affect us all.
They are home to one-third of the OECD population and the vast majority of land, water and other natural resources on which we depend. Russia’s war against Ukraine dealt a major blow to rural areas, which are particularly vulnerable to the cost-of-living crisis due to lower average household incomes and savings rates, coupled with higher energy demands and dependency on car transport.
Recent shocks are compounding long-term challenges such as the green transition, digitalisation and demographic shifts which impact the development of rural areas. OECD work reveals that Metropolitan regions gained 45% more income per capita than rural regions over the last 15 years.
Governments at all levels must put in place policies to build the resilience of rural regions to these shifts and shocks. Managing global challenges, mobilising citizens and building long-term resilience in rural regions will be the focus of the 13th OECD Rural Development Conference.
Hosted by the Government of Ireland in Cavan on 28-30 September 2022, the event will bring together ministers, policy makers, academics, experts, plus private sector and civil society actors, under the theme “Building sustainable, resilient and thriving rural places”.
Ahead of the Conference, OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yoshiki Takeuchi said: “I hope policy makers grab the opportunities brought by long-term transformations and short-term shocks to work together across policy areas and levels of government to take action for thriving rural places.”
The Conference will gather together 450 delegates from 30 OECD member and partner economies. The Irish Taoiseach and 10 Ministers from Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Korea, Scotland (UK), Slovenia and the United States will explore how to:
Leverage the green transition in rural areas.
Average emissions per capita in OECD countries are three times higher in remote rural regions compared to large metropolitan areas.
Seize the opportunities of digitalisation.
One in three rural households are without access to high-speed broadband. A large share of workers in rural areas have limited capacity to do their job from home.
Adapt rural areas to demographic change.
Elderly dependency ratios are now 6 percentage points higher in remote regions than in metropolitan regions.
Boost rural innovation.
There are around 4 times more patents issued in cities per capita than in remote regions.
The OECD will launch two reports at the event: “Unlocking Rural Innovation” and “Enhancing Innovation in Rural Regions of Switzerland” and will deliver the Cavan-OECD Roadmap on “Strengthening Rural Resilience against Global Challenges”. The Roadmap proposes key actions and priorities for the multi-lateral agenda on rural development.
Also in attendance will be:
- An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (keynote address on Thursday 29th).
- Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Yoshiki Takeuchi.
- European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness.
- Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD.
- Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD.
If you would like to join us for the press conference with Ministers on Wednesday, 28 September at 15:40 (UTC+1) please register here for the Zoom link: Meeting Registration – Zoom.
