Resumen de Rural development in the United Kingdom: continuity and change

Michael Cardwell

• The agricultural sector no longer plays a major role in the United Kingdom economy: for example, in 2008, it contributed only 0.61 per cent of national Gross Value Added. Notwithstanding this reduced status of agriculture, rural development and rural affairs more generally would seem to have been accorded relatively high priority in terms of Government policy; and an (at least partial) explanation for this may be found in the fact that the landscape of the United Kingdom is extremely diverse, with, significantly, much of the national territory unsuited to intensive ‘production agriculture’.