The LEADER Approach in Portugal: Evolution, Challenges, and Perspectives for Integrated Territorial Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59072/rper.vi74.798Keywords:
Rural development, LEADER approach, Territorial governance, Territorial cohesion, Interior territories, Public policiesAbstract
The LEADER approach, launched by the European Union in the 1990s, has established itself as an innovative instrument for the development of disadvantaged rural areas. In Portugal, it promoted the creation of Local Action Groups (LAGs), bringing together partnerships between public and private actors to implement integrated strategies adapted to local specificities. This study analyzes the evolution of the approach in the country, highlighting its contributions to territorial cohesion, economic dynamism, and the enhancement of rural social capital. The methodology combines documentary analysis and interviews with fourteen key actors. The results show progress in local capacity building, but also growing constraints linked to centralization and bureaucratization, particularly after integration into the National Rural Network Program and the Community-Led Local Development model. Tensions emerge between national standardization and local needs, as well as a weakening of the role of LAGs. A multi-fund model with unified management and territorially adjusted criteria is advocated as a way to revitalize the effectiveness and innovation of the LEADER approach.
References
Ahlmeyer, F., & Volgmann, K. (2023). What Can We Expect for the Development of Rural Areas in Europe? – Trends of the Last Decade and Their Opportunities for Rural Regeneration. Sustainability, 15(6), 5485. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065485
Bosworth, G., Annibal, I., Carroll, T., Price, L., Sellick, J., & Shepherd, J. (2015). Em-powering Local Action through Neo-Endogenous Development; The Case of LEADER in England. Sociologia Ruralis, 56(3), 427-449. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12089
Bosworth, G., Price, L., Hakulinen, V., & Marango, S. (2020). Rural Social Innovation and Neo-endogenous Rural Development. In E. Cejudo, and F. Navarro (Eds.), Neoen-dogenous Development in European Rural Areas (Chapter 2, pp. 21-32), New York: Springer Geography. doi:10.1007/978-3-030- Q4 33463-5_2
CE (2025). A política agrícola comum de relance. Agriculture and rural development. Comissão Europeia. Disponível em https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview/cap-glance_pt (acedido a 12 de maio de 2025)
CEDRU (2022). Roteiro para a Capacitação do Ecossistema dos Fundos da Política da Coesão para o período 2012-2017. Relatório Final. Lisboa: CEDRU. Disponível em https://www.adcoesao.pt/wp-content/uploads/Roteiro_RFinal_junho2022.pdf (acedido a 29 de maio de 2025)
Chevalier, P., & Vollet, D. (2019). LEADER 2007–2013: An innovation dependent on local and national institutional arrangements? Some European illustrations. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 11(2), 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12156
Corte-Real, M., Jardim, E., & Oliveira, A. P. (2025). Local governance in rural Portu-gal: evolution and impact of LEADER program – a qualitative approach. European Planning Studies, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2025.2516781
Cotella, G. (2020). How Europe hits home? The impact of European Union policies on territorial governance and spatial planning. Géocarrefour, 94(3). https://doi.org/10.4000/geocarrefour.15648
CUE (2025). Cronologia – História da PAC. Conselho Europeu, Conselho da União Europeia. Disponível em https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview/cap-glance_pt (acedido a 12 de maio de 2025)
Daniel, F.-J., & Perraud, D. (2009). The multifunctionality of agriculture and contractual policies. A comparative analysis of France and the Netherlands. Journal of Environmental Management, 90, S132-S138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.11.015
Dargan, L., & Shucksmith, M. (2008). LEADER and innovation. Sociologia Ruralis, 48(3), 274-291. 8 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00463.x
Dax, T., & Copus, A. (2016). The Future of Rural Development in the EU. In European Parliament: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (Ed.), CAP reform post-2020 - challenges in agriculture – Workshop documentation – Research for AGRI Committee (pp. 221-301). Brussels: European Parliament. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2861/719222
Dax, T., & Hovorka, G. (2007). The territorial dimension of the Common Agricultural and Rural Development policy (CAP) and its relation to cohesion objectives. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 6572, 14 pp. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/6572/1/MPRA_paper_6572.pdf
DG AGRI (2009). Health Check of the CAP. European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Disponível em https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/health-check-of-the-cap-reform.html (acedi-do a 08 de setembro de 2025)
EC (2018). The Future of Food and Farming. European Commission, COM(2017)713. Disponível em https://ec.europa.eu/enrd/sites/default/files/assembly4_futurecap_castellano.pdf (ace-dido a 08 de setembro de 2025)
EC (2022). EU Cohesion Policy: €23 billion for the economic and social development of Portugal in 2021-2027. European Commission. Disponível em https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2022/07/15-07-2022-eu-cohesion-policy-eur23-billion-for-the-economic-and-social-development-of-portugal-in-2021-2027 (acedido a 30 de maio de 2025)
EC (2025a). History of the policy. European Commission. Disponível em https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/what/history_en (acedido a 1 de junho de 2025)
EC (2025b). The impact of the common agricultural policy on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas. Agriculture and rural development. Europe-an Commission. Disponível em https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview/cmef/rural-areas/impact-common-agricultural-policy-generational-renewal-local-development-and-jobs-rural-areas_en (acedido a 30 de maio de 2025)
EC (2025c). Portugal – CAP Strategic Plan. Agriculture and rural development. Euro-pean Commission. Disponível em https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/cap-my-country/cap-strategic-plans/portugal_en (acedido a 30 de maio de 2025)
ELARD (2025). Exploring new avenues: LEADER’s Role in a renewed and more co-herent rural vision for Europe. ELARD Press Release. Disponível em https://elard.eu/exploring-the-issue/ (acedido a 2 de junho de 2025)
Esparcia, J. (2014). Innovation and networks in rural areas. Journal of Rural Studies, 34, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2013.12.004
Estevam, D. O, & Santos, M. J. (2018). The trajectory of the common agricultural pol-icy and its impact on portuguese agriculture following accession to the European Un-ion. International Journal of Development Research, 8(3), 19500-19510. https://www.journalijdr.com/sites/default/files/issue-pdf/12596.pdf
EU (2007). Tratado de Lisboa que altera o Tratado da União Europeia e o Tratado que institui a Comunidade Europeia, assinado em Lisboa em 13 de dezembro de 2007. Jornal Oficial da União Europeia, C 306, 17 de dezembro de 2007
EU (2023). Evaluation support study of the costs and benefits of the implementation of LEADER – Final report. European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Publications Office of the European Union. Disponível em https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2762/995751 (acedido a 9 fevereiro 2025)
EU (2025). LEADER/CLLD explained. European Network for Rural Development (ENRD). EU CAP Network website. Disponível em https://ec.europa.eu/enrd/leader-clld/leader-toolkit/leaderclld-explained_en.html (acedido a 9 fevereiro 2025)
Faludi, A. (2006) From European spatial development to territorial cohesion policy. Regional Studies, 40(6), 667-678. DOI: 10.1080/00343400600868937
FAO (2008). The Evolution and Impact of EU Regional and Rural Policy. FAO In-vestment Centre/World Bank Working Paper. FAO: Roma (Itália). Disponível em https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/4c3134a1-1d3a-4825-98a3-e64460babbce/content (acedido a 24 de junho de 2025)
Ferrão, J., & Lopes, R. (2004). Understanding Peripheral Rural Areas as Contexts for Economic Development. In L. Labrianidis (Ed.), The Future of Europe's Rural Periph-eries (1st Edition, Chapter 2, 31 pp.). London: Routledge
High, C., & Nemes, G. (2007). Social learning in LEADER: Exogenous, endogenous and hybrid evaluation in rural development. Sociologia Ruralis, 47(2), 103-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2007.00430.x
Ledezma, J. F. M. (2023). Rediscovering rural territories: Local perceptions and the benefits of collective mapping for sustainable development in Colombian communi-ties. Research in Globalization, 7, 100153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2023.100153
Lowe, P., Buller, H., & Ward, N. (2002). Setting the next agenda? British and French approaches to the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy. Journal of Rural Studies, 18(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(01)00025-0
Matthews, A. (2013). Greening agricultural payments in the EU’s Common Agricul-tural Policy. Bio-Based and Applied Economics, 2(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.13128/BAE-12179
Medeiros, E. (2013). Assessing Territorial Impacts of the EU Cohesion Policy: The Portuguese Case. European Planning Studies, 22(9), 1960-1988. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2013.813910
Medeiros, E. (2018). Territorial Development Strategies and EU Cohesion Policy. Eu-ropean Structural and Investment Funds Journal, 6(1), 68-85. https://estif.lexxion.eu/data/article/12289/pdf/estif_2018_01-012.pdf
Medeiros, E. (2020). Portugal 2020: An Effective Policy Platform to Promote Sustain-able Territorial Development? Sustainability, 12(3), 1126. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031126
Monteiro, A. A. (2019). Territórios do interior, coesão territorial e modelos de gover-nança: a propósito do programa nacional para a coesão territorial. Sociologio Online, 19, 127-151. DOI: 10.30553/sociologiaonline.2019.19.6
OECD (2020). Rural Well-being: Geography of opportunities. OECD Country Note. Disponível em https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/12/rural-well-being-country-notes_d66ebd53/portugal_409e2540/fb15f143-en.pdf (acedido a 2 junho 2025)
Pereira, V. J., & Martinho, D. (2017). Insights from over 30 years of common agricul-tural policy in Portugal. Outlook on Agriculture, 46(3), 223-229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030727017729896
Portugal 2020 – página oficial. https://portugal2020.pt/
Portugal 2030 – página oficial. https://portugal2030.pt/
Ray, C. (2000). Endogenous socio-economic development in the European Union: Is-sues of evaluation. Journal of Rural Studies, 16(4), 447-458. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(00)00012-7
Schuh, B., Gaupp-Berghausen, M., Munch, A., Badouix, M., Hat, K., & Brkanovic, S. (2022). Research for AGRI Committee – The Future of the European Farming Model: Socio-economic and territorial implications of the decline in the number of farms and farmers in the EU. European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohe-sion Policies, Brussels. Disponível em https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/IPOL_STU(2022)699620 (acedido a 4 junho 2025)
Scott, A. J., Carter, C., Reed, M. R., Larkham, P., Adams, D., Morton, N., Waters, R., Collier, D., Crean, C., Curzon, R., Forster, R., Gibbs, P., Grayson, N., Hardman, M., Hearle, A., Jarvis, D., Kennet, M., Leach, K., Middleton, M., Schiessel, N., Stonyer, B., & Coles, R. (2013). Disintegrated development at the rural–urban fringe: Re-connecting spatial planning theory and practice. Progress in Planning, 83, 1-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progress.2012.09.001
Shortall, S. (2008). Are rural development programmes socially inclusive? Social inclusion, civic engagement, participation, and social capital: Exploring the differences. Journal of Rural Studies, 24(4), 450-457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2008.01.001
TerritorialAgenda (2020). Agenda Territorial 2030. Disponível em https://territorialagenda.eu/pt-pt/ (acedido a 2 junho 2025)
Tiganasu, R., & Lupu, D. (2023). Institutional quality and digitalization: Drivers in accessing European funds at regional level? Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 90, 101738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2023.101738
Tribunal Contas Europeu (2022). O LEADER e o desenvolvimento local de base comu-nitária facilitam a participação local, mas os benefícios adicionais não estão suficien-temente demonstrados. Relatório especial 19/2022. Tribunal de Contas Europeu. Dis-ponível em https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR22_10/SR_Leader_PT.pdf (acedi-do a 8 setembro 2025)
Van der Ploeg, J. D., Renting, H., Brunori, G., Knickel, K., Mannion, J., Marsden, T., De Roest, K., Sevilla-Guzmán, E., & Ventura, F. (2000). Rural development: From practices and policies towards theory. Sociologia Ruralis, 40(4), 391-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9523.00156
Viegas, M., Batista, P., & Cordovil, F. (2023). The Portuguese forest and the Common Agricultural Policy. Landscape Ecology, 38, 3637-3656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01748-1
Vilares, E., & Moreira, P. (2021). Time to act on the Territorial Agenda. Territorial Agenda – A future for all places. Disponível em https://territorialagenda.eu/news-articles/time-to-act-on-the-territorial-agenda/ (acedido a 3 junho 2025).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
RPER is the official journal of the 