This Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program priority area, Rural and Economic Development, focuses mainly on entrepreneurs, small businesses, and other local level employers and services who are important sources of employment, and/or on other issues “beyond the farm gate.”
The intent of the program area priority is to improve the understanding of the factors and conditions that enhance economic opportunities for food, agricultural and rural businesses through tools and methods from the various social sciences, (i.e., sociology, demography, economics, geography, etc.).
