Sustainability of agriculture and rural areas in regional terms

Abstract

The technological advances seen over the last 250 years led to a radical revaluation of social and economic structures both on the level of individual countries and the world as a whole. One of the basic consequences of these changes, in addition to their obvious benefits, is the accelerated pace of consumption of natural resources, which, in some locations, takes the form of unbridled destruction of nature and the environment. In these conditions, the key question concerns the future model of economic development, including agriculture and rural areas. One idea that has become increasingly important since the 1970s/1980s as the future direction for change is the sustainable development of agriculture and, consequently, rural areas. This study attempts to define the level of sustainability of both agriculture and rural areas in a supranational configuration, and specifically through a comparative analysis of the relevant regions in Poland and Ukraine. The article employs two research methods: the scoring method and the ranking method. In total, the study was based on twenty variables. The studies that were conducted led to a number of conclusions concerning the sustainability of both agriculture and rural areas in the regional (supranational) configuration.