Use of the EAFRD in the development of rural areas

The master thesis deals with a question of rural development funding in the Czech Republic. It acquaints the reader with Regional Policy and Structural Funds of the European Union and with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) It also describes area grants and forms of subsidy granted from the EAFRD in the 2007 ? 2013 programming period. There is also a description of conditions for obtaining subsidies within the framework of the Rural Development Programme in the rural areas of the Czech Republic. The aim of this study is to evaluate utilization of the EAFRD in a selected locality. The main research area is the village of Plav, which is defined and shortly described in the text. In case of this village the SWOT analysis was carried out as well as evaluated. The written materials from the Plav´s municipal office and the transcript of a tape-recorded semi-structured interview with a representative of Plav were used for evaluation of the EAFRD utilization. Another part of the study is focused on comparison of the use of the EAFRD with other subsidy instruments for funding of the development in a selected locality. At the end of the study there are evaluations of expected benefits in particular rural regions and proposed projects being potentially successful for obtaining subsidies