This paper deals with the topic of family farming economies, their development through history and their role in the present. A detailed description of the process of establishing family farms that are key to maintaining the vitality of rural development in the world is described in detail. Farming is characterized by the involvement of family members in business, who are ready to give up for the benefit of the company. Furthermore, there is a problem of reducing the agricultural population at a global level, so the European Union has devised policies to improve rural development. The purpose of the work is to determine which co-financing programs are available to EU member states and how the Republic of Croatia uses EU funds. IPARD and SAPARD are pre-accession programs that our country has not taken advantage of in the best possible way (in the first two years just 7%), but has gained the good experience it has used in the use of other EU funds. The Croatian Rural Development Network was established as an actively committed to promoting development of rural communities. It mentions a common agricultural policy that is designed to increase the capacity of the agricultural sector and to bring it into line with European Union standards. Also, Croatia as an EU member participates in the implementation in the Common agricultural policy. The aim of the paper is also to point out the opportunities that the European Union provides farmers who have been exploited by farmers, whose projects are described as the most successful local EU projects in Croatia from 2010-2012. years.