The european agricultural fund for rural development pdf

View more View less. Show all issues in this serial. Order X. A4: Pages: Weight: Size:. Available language s : German English Spanish French Italian Polish Free Order a copy Unavailable This item is in your basket There was an error while adding this item to your basket You have already ordered this publication. Print on demand. The PDF version is free of charge. The print on demand version incurs printing and shipping charges even for free publications. These charges could be higher than the cover price of the publication.

The print on demand version may be of a different presentation and quality than the original paper version. Add to my basket Cancel. Publication Viewer. Document viewer The document doesn't have a viewable format at this time. Go Back Widget. Back to list of results. Despite a lower level of funds available for structural and rural development, new measures were introduced in some WB countries. In Serbia, a new programme to support endangered crop varieties and animal breeds was introduced.

However, overall the structural and rural development policies in WB countries maintain their past configuration; no significant change in their composition was introduced in the period covered by this report. In most WBs, food safety and quality control receives the largest part of funds in this policy pillar. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro apart from food safety and quality control also the proportion of the budget for research, development, advisory and expert services is relatively high.

However, taking into account the overall modest budget for general measures, all these services are supported with fairly low amounts. A more noticeable change occurred in Albania and FYR of Macedonia, where the general support displayed a relatively strong growth in relative to In the rest of the WB countries, the general support remained fairly unchanged or decreased slightly over the same period.

More precisely, the FAO study outlined the following challenges related to farm structures in WB countries: The history of development, inheritance and land reforms in the socialist and transitional period has led to the particularly unfavourable conditions reflected in farm size and land fragmentation.

Small farms predominate, in some areas even in the form of subsistence farms lacking the resources for economically viable production. Although the number of these companies is limited, they tend to further expand their size of land and dominate the agricultural production in the regions where they are present, threatening social stability and balance.

The FAO study also pointed out several shortcomings of the current policy framework regarding the issue of land reform and its approach to small farms. The most recent EU farm structure data show that small average farm size remains one of the key characteristics of WB agriculture Table 1. Although the agricultural sector is extremely diverse, the vast majority of farms are small family farms and are subsistence or semi-subsistence operations in nature Volk et al.

The medium-term strategies for the future agricultural policy, as outlined in the new strategic documents Chapters 2 to 7 , have recognised the problems of the fragmented land structure, the dominance of small farms and sluggish structural changes. However, the policy challenges related to farm size and farm structure are not straightforward. On the one hand, small farms are important for the territorial and social cohesion of rural areas. On the other hand, there is a general perception in the region that small farms tend to reduce the overall efficiency of agricultural production7.

While the medium-term strategies may be re acquainting themselves with the problem of farm structure, the current agricultural policies of WB countries do not possess effective measures to address this challenge.

Bogdanov has stressed for Serbia Chapter 7 that agricultural policy has no adequate tools to deal with the farm structural changes: The farm-restructuring process in Serbia took place spontaneously and slowly, with an unclear message delivered by the government to the farmers and investors on the desired direction of its development from the welfare point of view.

The same is true of the entire WB region. Poorly functioning land sales and rental markets are another constraint that limits farm structural change in WB countries. A direct consequence of poorly developed land markets is the reduced possibility for farmers to use land as collateral to obtain credit, which otherwise could contribute to the development of the agricultural sector.

Often basic elements of land institutions, such as property right enforcement and land registration, are underdeveloped in WB countries. In practice, individual small farms can be economically successful, yet, in connection with the socio-economic structure of these farms in terms of education and age structure , claims that larger farms tend to be more economically successful seem to be valid.

Institutional regulation of land consolidation is difficult to implement from the political-economy point of view, particularly because it is administratively and financially demanding and thus hardly possible during the ongoing financial crisis. The rules regulating the disbursement of direct payments are usually biased towards large farms, while small farms are restricted from accessing them.

Often, only farms that sell output through the official marketing channels are eligible for direct payments; this directly excludes small farms from benefiting from them. Such discriminatory policies significantly contribute to the economic underperformance of small farms. This practice is contrary to the CAP philosophy, which treats all farms equally, while it recognises the developmental problem of small farms by introducing targeted schemes for small farms e.

The promotion of small farms or farm structural change can be also addressed through the support measures targeting agro-food chains and producer organisations. There are relatively few support measures of this type available in the region. Some examples sporadically adopted in the region e. Overall, some of the key policy recommendations related to the support of small farms and farm structural change include adoption of land legislation, land consolidation, land registration, fairer distribution of agricultural support, better-targeted rural development measures and establishment of database systems to be used for policy monitoring e.

Overall, the accession process can be split into four main interdependent activities: i legal harmonisation; ii upgrade of implementation and institutional capacity; iii policy reform and economic adjustment; and iv accession negotiations Erjavec The accession negotiations were fundamental and formed the backbone of the political interplay between EU and WB political representatives, representing a means of transmitting information between the two parties. The studied WB countries are at different stages of the accession process 8.

In the field of agricultural policy9, the key issues of the accession process include: - implementation of IPARD; - harmonisation of the legal framework for the implementation of agricultural policy; - institutional capacity building programming capacity, paying agencies, the Integrated Administrative and Control System IACS , execution of horizontal regulations, etc.

The next section discusses in more detail the progress made in these four areas by WB countries. Its main objectives are to provide assistance for the implementation of the acquis concerning the CAP and to contribute to the sustainable adaptation of the agricultural sector and rural areas in the candidate countries Thus the IPARD programme represents an opportunity for WB countries to obtain financial support to adapt and reform their agricultural policies as well as to provide support to the agricultural sector and for rural development.

Experience from FYR of Macedonia indicates that the IPARD programme was only partially successful in being an effective instrument for pre-accession support in the field of agriculture and rural development. The fundamental problem lies within the WB countries, as the implementation of the IPARD programme appears to be a serious challenge for their local institutions and public administration.

Usually WB countries have difficulties in organising human, institutional and financial resources to fully implement the IPARD programme. The entire process is often hampered by low quality and poor performance of decision makers, state administrators and policy makers, which is reflected in, among other things, the long time it takes to adopt the institutional framework and low levels of absorption of the programme funds. To address the obstacles to the implementation of IPARD, it is desirable to organise a workshop or working group with a brief to examine all gaps and identify solutions to improve the functioning of the IPARD programme in WB countries.

Most of the important tasks mainly the setting up of the required institutional framework are a matter of competent policy execution after accession, while only some demand actual harmonisation before accession itself. The latter include the adoption of various quality standards, such as rules regulating viticulture and winemaking and organic production, as well as the demanding veterinary and phyto-sanitary standards in the field of food safety, which are also relevant in the context of direct payments, as they are a component of the cross-compliance requirements.

This report does not assess in detail the progress in the field of legal harmonisation. The amount of harmonisation and implementation is rather strongly dependent on pressures coming from the negotiation process, in response to signals of the enlargement strategy pursued by the EU institutions.

Any setback to the accession process takes its toll, weakening the motivation of the WB countries, and pressure on them, to achieve fuller harmonisation. Serbia and Montenegro are at a stage of the process at which positive political signals from the EU and improved internal coordination of political processes can speed up harmonisation, bringing it to its final phase.

The modernisation and strengthening of state ministries and the establishment of paying agencies and all the necessary databases, administration and control systems are serious expenses to any country acceding to the EU; this is even more pronounced for WB countries because of their weak state administration, financial constraints and often insufficient or even non-existent political understanding of the process and its requirements.

Institution building is administratively, financially and professionally challenging, and demands extraordinary effort and political will from the WB countries. In the field of rural development, the IPARD alleviates the burden somewhat by playing an important role in facilitating the transfer of institutional patterns and experience from EU Member States.

Establishing the institutional settings for the implementation of direct payments is a more challenging process, demanding large investments and changes in the mode of operation, which can be credibly built during the pre-accession period only if they are also used to implement the national measures. A key element of this process is setting up the Land Parcel Identification System LPIS , as it is essential to make possible the adoption and implementation of the CAP-like area payments and other related measures.

This institution building is impossible without external assistance, and the results of past projects indicate that even large external projects do not necessarily lead to successful institution building.

A further challenge of pre-accession institution building in WB countries is human resource constraints and lack of organisational skills in the public administration. It must be recognised that it is hardly possible to build the institutions and to harmonise the legislation in the field of agricultural policy without gradually moving the national instruments in the direction of the CAP.

The benefits of a gradual move towards CAP-like policy instruments during the pre-accession period for both the public administration and the stakeholders are that they become accustomed to the CAP system of payments and institutional setting and gain knowledge about them. This led the EU to introduce a requirement for candidate countries to draw up a clear strategy and an action plan to reform agricultural policy measures during the pre-accession process, to be prepared at the time of accession.

This step requires considerable political will, given the financial, human resource and political economy constraints faced by WB countries. At the same time, an extensive understanding of CAP, as well as an effective public administration, is needed to adopt an adequate model of agricultural policy measures that is both politically and economically viable and in line with the set objectives.

Such plans are only just beginning to be adopted in the WB countries; Montenegro and Serbia see Chapters 6 and 7 have come the furthest in this respect. The key challenge is whether these documents will actually be implemented and the extent to which policy makers will pursue the set objectives, priorities and chosen instruments. Past experience has shown that this was not always the case; often the set objectives were not followed when it came to their implementation.

However, if the objectives as set in the strategic documents are put into practice, it will give a signal of real political commitment and WB countries will probably meet the accession requirements.

The fundamental recommendations to modernise agricultural policy in WB countries were already stressed in the FAO study and continue to be valid in this report. The main aim of this section is to clarify the relevant ongoing developments in the region and put them into the context of the situation and changes in regional agricultural policy after Each of these factors had different impacts in different WB countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina seems to be the most affected, having endured significant consequences of floods on agricultural production in and the negative effect of closing some trade channels with Croatia. Although no major shift in production and farm structure was observed over the study period, we can notice an improvement in the foreign trade balance of the WB region, which was mainly driven by stronger export performance.

There were also observed the first traces of agro-food production growth prompted by the past investments in agro- food chains, which stimulated the development of the agricultural sector and exports. It is difficult to quantify how stable this trend is, given that the agro-food sector of the WB region is just emerging from years of stagnation.

Considerable additional investments and coordinated policy actions need to be undertaken to make the growth of the agro- food sector economically sustainable. However, this is challenging to achieve because of the ongoing economic stagnation of the region. In this report we have also covered issues related to farm structural change, land consolidation and the functioning of land markets.

The poorly developed land markets in the region lead to some adverse effects on the development of farm structure in particular and rural development in general. There is an ongoing process of concentration of land ownership into the hands of a small number of individuals, while the farm structural changes are sluggish. This calls for more policy actions in strengthening land markets and structural adjustments.

The establishment of a modern land policy is a key prerequisite in this direction and requires a great deal of knowledge, political will and a competent state administration. A key requirement in this respect is the adoption of fair public policy, particularly when allocating direct payments that avoids distorting competition and unequal treatment of different farm types. In their selection of measures, the WB countries are adhering to the course set in previous years, and there are also attempts to introduce new measures, moving towards coupled production support.

Yet the agricultural policy measures are subject to frequent changes, resulting in an insufficiently stable policy framework. The instability of the policy framework generates uncertainty for producers and limits their ability to make long-term production decisions.

The absence of targeted development policies remains another weakness of agricultural policies in the region, as the dominant political pragmatism is failing to respond to developmental challenges faced by the agricultural sector. The adopted strategic policy documents defining the long-term objectives for future agriculture show that policy makers are aware of the key challenges faced by the agricultural sector and rural areas. However, the key policy weakness is choosing and adopting the appropriate measures for addressing the identified needs and challenges.

The redistributive role of the state is far more pronounced than its developmental role when it comes to the specific adoption and implementation of policy measures. In addition, the region has problems in establishing an efficient analytical and programming system that can provide support to policy making. Overall, the new strategic documents are an important step towards greater stability and consistency of the agricultural policy framework in WB countries.

However, its specific application in practice is a question for future policy actions and it remains to be seen to what extent the implementation will follow the outlined planned direction, or if there will be a real shifts in the quality of agricultural policies in the region.

An important factor that could enhance the accession process of WB countries would be a clear signal about the actual EU accession prospects of WB countries. This could provide a strong stimulus to the efforts for some countries in the region, particularly those at a more advanced stage of the accession process. The remarkable turnover of agricultural ministers in the region is also a significant shortcoming constraining long-term European integration, as it prevents the accumulation of knowledge and skills in this challenging but politically important sector.

Politically stronger coordination and governance of European affairs in WB countries, including human resources, financial and institutional upgrading, are a must for further improvement in progress towards accession. The key outstanding issues in the European integration processes lie in the field of agricultural policy reform. Regarding policy reform, we will reiterate some of the suggestions made in the FAO study that still continue to be valid: - A clear action plan for agricultural policy reform needs to be set up in WB countries that will establish a strategy for the gradual adaptation and harmonisation of domestic agricultural policies to the CAP requirements.

Only those measures should be preserved that can be transformed into CAP-like instruments and are expected to generate long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Regardless of the differences across individual WB countries, it was expected that statistics would be further adapted to European standards by introducing additional indicators, greater availability and use of survey results and a further general increase in data quality. These expectations have been only partly met. Experience shows that the improvement of statistics depends to a large extent on user requirements and needs, in particular those of ministries and academia, which are its main users.

Excellent knowledge and a solid interpretation of basic statistical indicators are the first and fundamental steps to applying the available statistics for monitoring and analysis of agricultural policy.

Here, more progress and commitment are needed, including in academic circles. There has not been substantial progress in establishing a stable and robust system of analytical support for agricultural policy in the region. Again, there is a low level of awareness of the problem, which lies not only in the weak and variable demand, but also in the very limited supply. There is a need for long-term decisions, permanent monitoring, impact assessments, and investment in human resources, international comparability and cooperation.

Serious efforts are needed on both demand and supply sides. Each country may have its own system of analytical support; what is important is that it be constantly operational and that cooperation between line ministries and academicians be established.

These decisions must be made in all WB countries and at the same time the analytical units in the ministries must be strengthened. The ministries also need to increase awareness of the usefulness of evidence-based policy making. These shifts in the demand-side decisions need to start at the highest ministerial level and be followed up by the administration staff to maintain and develop the system of analytical support.

Despite the observed difficulties in using the basic statistical information for policy making, scientifically based analytical support demands the availability of relatively complex capabilities and skilled human resources to be able to deliver meaningful impact assessments of agricultural policy — including assessments in the area of the European integration process.

It is therefore necessary to develop modelling tools and approaches and to support participation in international consortia of different analytical tools e. Examining the possibility of introducing various modelling approaches in the WB countries can be an important step in that regard and deserves special attention. Junior researchers especially can contribute to this in collaboration with established researchers. On the one hand, there are signs of growth and progress in development trends in agriculture and the rural areas; on the other hand, there are also indications of sustained stagnation in certain key areas of rural development.

The agricultural sector and rural areas are in need of investment and better-targeted policy instruments. The choice of instruments is not a simple task, given the financial constraints, and demands a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the problems of agriculture and rural areas.

European agricultural policy offers a model to define more efficient policy instruments in WB countries, but automatically copying patterns without adapting them to the political economic and agronomic regional context may not be successful if local considerations are not taken into account. Political commitments regarding the EU accession process must be translated into agricultural policy reforms through decisions regarding the key issues of agricultural development and adequate institution building.

The establishment of analytical support in line ministries and academic and research institutions is necessary to further strengthen evidence-based policy support that can contribute to improving the decision-making process.

To conclude, we present a range of agricultural policy issues that merit attention and may support the common effort to improve the efficiency of agricultural policy and stimulate growth in the agricultural sector and rural areas: - adoption and implementation of land and tenancy reforms; - addressing the constraints faced by small farms and unequal allocation of policy support; - strengthening support for stimulating the development of modern agro-food supply chains; - adoption of a support system for LFAs in line with the CAP; - strengthening support for creating producer organisations; - introduction of risk management instruments; - enhancing the future development of agricultural knowledge and innovation system AKIS ; - implementation of democratic and transparent agricultural policy decision-making processes; - modernisation of the rural finance system.

During , Albania seemed to be recovering from the sharp deceleration of economic growth that the financial crisis triggered with GDP growth increasing from 1. However, because the population has been shrinking at the same time as GDP has been growing, although at a lower rate than in the past, the GDP per capita has risen since Table 2.

The growth was mainly driven by the recovery of demand in the private sector. Table 2. PPP, purchasing power parity. Figure 2. During the same period, unemployment rate increased, reaching The increase in unemployment led to a shrinking of household income and a rise in poverty. After rapid decreases during the second decade of transition, the poverty rates reversed during —, increasing from During —, foreign direct investment FDI inflows slowed to 1.

External debt increased since , albeit remaining at a manageable The fiscal deficit reached a peak in , at 5. Large public debt and large fiscal deficits have been created by the high level of government spending, low tax revenue collection and widespread tax evasion arising from a highly informal economy.

However, labour productivity in agriculture measured by GVA per employee is only about half of the overall productivity in economy about EUR 4, per employee and EUR 8, per employee respectively. In , output volume growth recovered after the rapid decline in mainly due to high floods , whereas prices were stagnant because of the overall downward pressures on prices in the economy.

The contribution of the sector to the international trade balance has been slightly deteriorating in terms of its share of total exports and imports. However, the agro-food export-to-import proportion within the sector has improved Table 2. There are about , agricultural holdings in Albania, which operate on about 1. Despite a slight increase in farm size witnessed in recent years, the agricultural area per holding in the country is still very low, at only 2. Agricultural area in Albania includes the available, rather than the used, pastures and meadows, which indicates that the average farm size measured in UAA would be even smaller.

Pastures and meadows are still mostly state managed and only partly rented out to the livestock farmers. Of the total area of 2,, ha, about 1,, ha is agricultural land Table 2. However, agriculture land statistics have changed very little for years Figure 2. Despite the lack of statistics on agriculture structures, the performance of some sectors has improved Table 2. Albania: agricultural land by main categories ha , — Source: Agricultural Statistics Database — Albania, In , agro-food imports made up about The export-to-import proportion improved from Albania: Main developments on agricultural markets between and Since , Traditionally, Category production Significant changes the country is has Exports are insignificant compared with imports.

Imports, on the other hand, have decreased since , trend although no clear trend appears during the years between Albania is a net exporter. Medicinal and aromatic plants, especially sage, Oilseeds, oils No significant make up the highest proportion of this group.

Production figures are Net exporter and fats trend unreported because this sector is highly informal. Sage recently suffered a drastic price cut due to market diversion and supply surpluses Exports reveal a significant positive trend, especially in In that year Fruit and exports more than doubled compared with the previous period. Imports Net importer Increased vegetables began decreasing in Production has been constantly increasing. In some products the country is achieving self-sufficiency Imports increased continuously during the observed period, while exports Wine Net importer Decreased remain insignificant compared with production or imports Despite the insignificance compared with imports or production, exports Potatoes Net importer Increased almost doubled in quantity in compared with Despite the increase in recent years, exports remain lower than imports.

During the observed period, production grew at a slow pace. The Tobacco Net importer Increased government neglects this product in terms of financial or non-financial support Albania does not export beef and veal, except for a modest amount Beef and No significant Net importer delivered in only 16 t. Production has been slightly increasing, while veal trend imports have been decreasing constantly except in No significant Like almost all meats, Albanian exports no pig meat.

This is goat meat why we have considered Albania self-sufficient in these meats Production almost doubled over the period —, and then stagnated until Imports experienced a drastic decline in , and Poultry meat Net importer Increased returned to the previous level in the following years.

Exports are almost non-existent Imports halved during —, and began increasing again in the Milk and following years, reaching their highest level in After several years, milk Self-sufficient Increased Albania started exporting dairy products in modest quantities varying from products to tons. Despite the overall increase and diversification of agro-food exports, the trade deficit continues to increase compared with Figure 2.

Since it has used the Integrated Planning System, which represents a set of operating principles to ensure that government policy planning and monitoring as a whole takes place in an efficient and harmonised way. Its main legal framework is the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted in , which regulates the programming of policy measures related to agriculture and rural development, provides for public advisory services for agriculture, research and training, and provides for the setting up of an information database.

It also lays down the legal basis for the national support schemes, which are set out annually in the National Action Plan, and defines the institutions responsible for the implementation of agriculture policy by establishing the Agriculture and Rural Development Agency ARDA. ISARD — was adopted in ISARD — integrates both agriculture and rural development into one strategy.

More specifically, ISARD provides for interventions in three policy areas: i rural development policy; ii national support schemes for farmers, development of rural infrastructure and ensuring equal opportunities; and iii institutional development, implementation and enforcement of the EU regulatory requirements.

ISARD — has four priorities: i enhancing farm viability and competitiveness of agriculture and food processing, while progressively aligning with EU standards; ii restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems dependent on agriculture and forestry; iii balanced territorial and economic development of rural areas to promote social inclusion; and iv transfer of knowledge and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural areas.

Albania: main agricultural policy instruments and measures, and Since , Implemented the support Significant changes has No Market support Not significant There is no significant market support measures significant trend Variable input Yes, Decreased Decreased and ceased to exist after subsidies occasionally Increased from to and then became insignificant in Fluctuations have been witnessed over the years.

Support rose again in No and then decreased in The majority of the subsidy is linked to Direct payments Yes, regularly significant payment per litre of milk produced and organic olive oil produced. In based on output trend the olive oil scheme ceased to exist and another scheme of support appeared for fruits and vegetables delivered to collection and processing points Direct payments Has increased greatly.

On-farm From , a decreasing trend is verified, due to the reducing support for investment Yes, regularly Decreased plantations mainly olives and other fruits and a reorientation towards support drip irrigation systems and new heating systems for greenhouses Fluctuations have been witnessed over the years. Since the scheme No Food industry Yes, has changed every two years.

The National Scheme of Support during was implemented through 23 schemes. Twenty of them are direct benefit schemes from the Fund of the Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development.

The other three encourage lending to the agro-processing sector, investments in agricultural machinery and promote cooperation in establishing agricultural cooperatives. Priority is given to the mountain areas by using different criteria e.

Efforts are still needed to complete the preparation for the accreditation of the whole IPARD Management and Control System, including the activities of the National Authorising Officer, the national fund, technical bodies and the audit authority. In it is expected to introduce a measure of support to the olive sector, aiming to conserve diversity and promote environmental sustainability.

In , the overall budgetary support decreased, and then in it increased to approximately the same value as in Figure 2. In , the total budgetary support amounted to EUR Despite the rising but highly fluctuating trend in the period —, during the subsequent three years the overall budgetary support stabilised at similar values to those recorded in The third pillar increased in share during mainly because of disbursements from donor projects.

The direct producer support measures in the country continue to be very modest less than EUR 2. Moreover, in terms of overall proportion of total budgetary support it is weak, although it has recovered to 9.

In Albania the majority of funds allocated for direct producer support are given to the animal sector. The country is an interesting case among the Western Balkans, since the subsidies for variable inputs are very modest Figure 2. Weak advocacy by agro-processors and input suppliers might be the main factors of this trend.

This feature helps the country orient itself towards EU-like schemes. The composition of direct producer support measures generally did not change much throughout the years in question. Decoupled payments do not exist, although they form a high proportion of the CAP. The scheme has significantly increased during the years. Payments for animals, such as for registered or pure breeds, mainly focused on small ruminants, have been the main contributor to its growth.

Albania also makes output-based direct payments price supplements , with large year- to-year changes in supported sectors such as for milk, organic olive oil, and fruits and vegetables. Within the rural development measures, no funds target the support of rural economy and population.

Funds intended to improve the environment and the countryside are negligible too. Policy awareness of the environmental situation in rural areas is still very low. Waste management is very poor and extraction of natural resources remains uncontrolled EC a.

Supports for increasing competitiveness are modest Figure 2. Despite overall fluctuations, a relative decrease is witnessed in recent years. From , a decreasing trend is registered caused by the decline of support for plantations mainly olives and other fruits and a reorientation towards drip irrigation systems and new heating systems for greenhouses.

Data on general support measures consist of general support to agricultural research and development, advisory and extension services for agriculture, public financing of measures in the field of food safety and food quality veterinary and phyto-sanitary measures and other measures of a general character. Budgeting for these measures increased Figure 2. For general support measures, the increase in funds is driven by the support provided for food safety, also financed from EU donor projects.

The budgetary funds for knowledge generation and its transfer to agricultural producers are more or less constant, indicating little awareness of the importance of knowledge for the development of agriculture. However, farm structure data are partial and have not been updated in the last two years. During —, the availability and reliability of data deteriorated.

Institutional factors are the main determinants of this situation. Therefore, farm surveys and administrative data collection apparatus ceased to exist in the ministry. Albania: main farm structure data, Area ha Number of farms Percentage 0. According to the Census of Agricultural Holdings , Census data should form the basis for the creation of a farm register — a process that will require further financing. Economic accounts for agriculture are not available and no major steps are taken to establish a farm accounting data network.

Such concerns are also presented in the EU progress report of The statistical department needs organisational restructuring and more staff to improve data collection and processing capacities.

This restructuring and allocation of human resources for the system of analytical support is required to ensure evidence-based policy programming and decision making. The minimal limits for support in some measures, particularly area or animal payments, are friendly to the current structure of the farms.

The average plot area in Albania is 0. Support is given for plantations of fruit, medicinal and aromatic plants of at least 0. Animal support is more restrictive but still the minimum eligibility limits are maintained at relatively low levels, such as 10 head of cattle and 50 head of small ruminants. Attention is given to the upgrading of olive groves and investments in drip irrigation of olive groves, vineyards and citrus plantations with a lower limit of 0. During , small farming was also supported through investments in beehives and in harvesting of nuts and pomegranates.

A modest proportion of potential applicants become beneficiaries. A guarantee fund and an insurance scheme for farmers are also being studied for the near future.

The programme provides support to selected value chains: i medicinal and aromatic plants, ii fruits and nuts, iii small ruminants and iv rural tourism.

The support comprises a combination of investment capital, facilitation and technical assistance to build the capacity of farmers and agro-business in disadvantaged mountainous areas. The overall objective of SARED is to increase the viability of the rural economy in disadvantaged mountainous areas. The total budget is EUR Implementation started in June SARED is easily accessible to small farmers, thanks to relatively friendly eligibility criteria.

For example, the investment and assistance support is granted to farmers or groups of farmers with a minimum of 30 head of small ruminants or 0. It falls short of general institutional requirements for EU membership, despite the progress witnessed in recent years. Albania was granted the status of EU candidate country in June and is currently increasing its efforts to harmonise with the EU. IPARD-like measures are oriented towards modernisation of farms, particularly through the adoption of EU standards for processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products.

Other measures are required to increase the competitiveness of agriculture. Available languages and formats. Spanish es. German de. English en. French fr. Italian it. Polish pl. Publication details Related publications Published: Corporate author s : Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development European Commission Personal author s : McGlynn, Derek Themes: Agricultural policy Subject: agricultural policy , Auvergne , Bavaria , Czechia , Denmark , erosion , farming sector , Mayotte , regions of Italy , rural community , rural development , rural region , Slovenia , soil pollution , soil protection , water consumption , water supply PDF.

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