The Rural Affairs Committee, one of the standing committees of the Riigikogu, started its work at the end of 1993 as the Committee on Rural Affairs and Agriculture. In March of 1995 it received its present name: the Rural Affairs Committee.

Main areas of work of the Rural Affairs Committee are rural policy, agriculture, fisheries, food, animal welfare, land reform and land readjustment.

Rural Affairs Committee
• acts as the leading committee during the legislative proceeding of Bills directly related to rural life;
• discusses the Bills related to other fields of life (e.g. state assets, state fees, tax laws, traffic), proceeding from its area of activity, and submits motions to amend these when necessary;
• discusses the initiatives concerning the European Union Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy, and provides the European Union Affairs Committee with opinions on EU draft legislation concerning rural development, agriculture and fisheries;
• discusses the developments of Estonian rural policy and strategic documents, and provides the Ministry of Agriculture with its opinions on them;
• monitors the exercise of the executive power of the state within its area of competence.