This is a review of empirical studies with the objective of analyzing the theoretical-practical discussions that have been raised internationally to deepen the understanding of the access of rural youth to higher education as an object of study. For this purpose, a narrative review was designed, considering scientific articles published in three different languages and concerning studies conducted in 21 different countries in all regions of the world. The results reveal three discussions: a) the strong interest that higher education has regained in the life expectations of rural young people and their families, especially as a means of social advancement; b) the inequalities that most affect the access of rural youth to higher education are the lack of academic offerings in rural areas and the discontinuities that occur around rural socio-cultural capital; c) since the inequalities experienced by rural youth are diverse, actions to promote greater democratization cannot be limited to implementing systems of grants and scholarships. It is concluded that the major project consists of creating a differentiated higher education model that, in terms of location, academic offerings, recognition of knowledge, and articulation with the environment, allows rural youth to experience their professional training not as an inevitable process of acculturation, but as a continuation of their socio-cultural capital and their territorial yearnings.

Presently, any development initiatives without considering sustainability can barely be imagined. There has been a paradigm shift in the focus of the development partners from the mere development to sustainable development. However, the role of development partners in bringing sustainability in livelihood assets of the rural community has long been questioned. Hence, this study aims to explore the sustainability in the form of changes in livelihood assets of a local community in Bangladesh. This study considers the changes in livelihood assets of the community over the three-time frames - before, during, and after a project implemented by a national NGO called ‘UST’ and subsequently identifies the community’s capacity to sustain the project outcomes after the completion of the project. ‘Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF)’ developed by Department for International Development (DFID) was utilized in this study to analyse the vulnerability and livelihood issues of the community members. Data has been collected through focus group discussions, household survey and key informants’ interviews from three distinct villages of ‘Khutamara’ union in the ‘Nilphamari’ district of Bangladesh. The finding of the study states that all the livelihood assets such as the social capital, human capital, natural capital, financial capital, physical capital have positively changed due to the interference of the development partners. This study further finds that even after the completion of project tenure, such positive trends continue to exist among the community members indicating sustainable development. Moreover, political capital- a new type of livelihood has also emerged because of the project implementation which was not quite evident before the inception of the project. In addition, this study explored the unique phenomenon of the Shabolombee Gram, where the transformation altering farmers’, livelihoods does not come from the government or the private sector but originates from a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Therefore, the government and its development partners may adopt and incorporate the Modified Sustainable Livelihood Framework (MSLF) to ensure the sustainable development.

Coordination and integration among farms within agri-food chains are crucial to tackle the issue of fragmentation within the primary sector, both at the European and national level. The Italian agri-food system still complains about the need to aggregate supply to support market dynamics, especially for niche and quality products that characterize the Made in Italy. It is well known that the Italian agri-food sector is closely linked to the relationship between agriculture on one hand and culture/tradition on the other, which is reflected in the high number of quality products that have obtained EU PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) recognition. The development of vertical forms of coordination has found significant support in recent years from the integrated supply chain design approach, which is increasingly becoming an essential tool for implementing rural development policies. In this context, the study provides a comparison between companies that have joined the Integrated Supply Chain Projects of the Rural Development Program and those that have not applied. The aim is to highlight any differences in order to understand policy impact. The analysis is based on the Emilia-Romagna region Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data, and the sample consists of more than 2 thousand farms. The statistical analysis conducted compares treated and non-treated using the Welch-t-test for independent unmatched samples. The main results show higher values for treated farms when structural variables are analyzed, like the utilized agricultural area or the agricultural work unit. In general, higher balance sheet performances emerged for treated farms. In conclusion, this study shows that the Integrated Supply Chain Projects represent a worthwhile tool both to increase cooperation, food quality, and to enhance a competitive agricultural sector.

As China’s urbanization process accelerates, it has become common for rural men to go out to work and women to stay at home. The implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy is in dire need of a large amount of high-quality human capital, and education and training are an important way to improve human capital and empower left-behind women. Starting from the background of China’s rural revitalization, this study focuses on the education and training of rural left-behind women, a topic that has received less attention. Through in-depth interviews and participatory observation, we analyzed the factors affecting rural left-behind women’s participation in education and training, as well as the problems that exist in China’s rural education and training process, and proposed strategies to solve them. The study found that education level, traditional attitudes, economic income, knowledge of education and training, and mental health are important factors affecting the participation of left-behind women in education and training in rural China. At the same time, there are some problems in the process of education and training, such as a single main body of supply and training methods, a lack of teachers, and a lack of management, etc., which affect the development of education and training, and thus also the promotion of rural revitalization.