Rural policy (POP3) in full swing

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Regiebureau POP have asked Ecorys and Wageningen University to conduct an interim evaluation of the third rural policy programme (POP3).

POP3 measures are well underway compared to previous mid-term review 2019. There have been many project applications and most of the budget has been allocated to projects and partly disbursed. There is coherence in the programme at different levels. We see projects emerging in most schemes that contribute to the dual objective in rural policy. The projects focus on improving sustainability by addressing environmental problems and strengthening the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.

The new National Strategic Plan (NSP) will build on POP3 from 2023 and deploy similar instruments. We see that a number of recommendations from the 2019 mid-term review have been adopted in the NSP and some have already led to improvements in the implementation of POP3+.

The impact of the POP3 instruments on sustainability and economic objectives cannot be hard measured in this mid-term review. For each theme, insight has been provided into whether it is plausible that intended effects will occur.

Curious about our recommendations? Also read the full report in Dutch. For information, please contact Bart Witmond.