Commitment to the EU Rural Pact – Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security

Public authorities across Europe are increasingly using the Rural Pact to demonstrate political leadership and long-term commitment to strengthening rural areas.

As part of this growing community, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security has formalised its engagement by submitting a national political commitment to the Pact. This commitment aligns the Netherlands with the shared goals of the EU rural vision.

Committed actions

In its signed commitment, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security pledges to advance rural development through four concrete lines of action:

Policy development for rural areas: the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature has an important responsibility for rural affairs in the Netherlands, while other ministries hold complementary responsibilities in areas such as spatial planning, mobility, public services, and regional development. The ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature is dedicated to collaborate with other ministries to work towards rural proofing of national policies.
Rural policy review: in September 2025, the Netherlands launched a Rural Review in partnership with the OECD and the European Commission’s DG Reform. This 18-month process will analyse how rural development policies can be better aligned with rural needs, well-being, and long-term challenges. The objective is to improve the insights in the state of rural areas, strengthen institutional capacity for rural development and enhance the knowledge base for rural policymaking in the Netherlands.
Collaboration and support for the Dutch Rural Pact initiative: the Rural Pact Netherlands is an informal platform that brings together national stakeholders to discuss rural development priorities and the implementation of the long-term vision for EU rural areas (LTVRA) in the Dutch context. Launched in 2024 with the support of the Rural Pact Support Office, the platform facilitates regular exchanges between rural networks, civil society organisations, local authorities, researchers and national representatives.
It aims to strengthen the voice of rural areas and build shared ownership of long-term goals across governance levels and sectors. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature contributes to the Rural Pact network through active participation and support for the continuation of the network.
Mitigating the social and economic effects of challenges related to a future-proof agricultural sector and nature restauration: the Netherlands faces complex challenges around future proofing the agricultural sector and nature restoration. These challenges and the implemented solutions have an impact on the socioeconomic vitality of rural areas. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature is dedicated to mitigating these effects by taking into account the impact of agriculture-related decisions on rural regions to ensure positive future perspectives for them.

The Netherlands formalises commitment to strengthen rural development through the EU Rural Pact

Commitment signing and acknowledgement

The commitment was signed by Ms Femke Marije Wiersma, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, on 11 December 2025 in Brussels, in parallel to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRI-FISH) meeting.

Public authorities’ commitments to the Rural Pact

Commitments by public authorities are voluntary actions intended to implement some of the elements identified as key to achieve the objectives of the Rural Pact at national and regional levels, such as strengthened governance, funding coordination, rural proofing and stakeholder engagement.

They help ensure that the ten shared goals of the EU rural vision guide policies across all levels of government.

All public authorities’ commitments to the Rural Pact Submission process for public authorities More Rural Pact actions in the Netherlands