TEP Report Baldushk
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Territorial Employment Pact 2017 to promote participation in the labour market and and social inclusion of of vulnerable individuals in BALDUSHK Administrative Unit - Tirana Municipality United Nations Development Programme Promoting Inclusive Labour Market Solutions in the Western Balkans Project DRAFT REPORT !1 Abbreviations ADAD Association for Development of Mountainous Areas in Albania ALMMs Active Labour Market Measures BADS Business Advisory and Development Services CfAs Calls for Applications CfEoI Calls for Expression of Interest DAs Development Agencies DoA Directorate of Agriculture EO Employment Office EP Evaluation Panel GADC Gender Alliance for Development Centre GDP Gross Domestic Product ICLA Institute for Change and Leadership Albania IE International Expert MoU Memorandum of Understanding TA Territorial Audit TEP Territorial Employment Pact ToRs Terms of Reference UNDP United Nations Development Programme VTC Vocational Training Centre DRAFT REPORT !2 Acknowledgements This document is the result of the concerted work of many people in the Municipality of Tirana, Baldushk Administrative Unit both representatives of local institutions, civil society organisations and citizens living in the Municipality. All of them have participated in the preparation of this Territorial Employment Pact (TEP) and have provided valuable information on challenges, shared concerns, and prospects for interventions to generate and formalise employment in the community as a means to improve the living conditions in the territory. Fation Dragoshi, international consultant on local employment promotion and economic development and Manuela Mece, national consultant, prepared the Territorial Audit of Baldushk Administrative Unit and facilitated the consultations among the local actors. The results of this participatory approach are coherently put together and structured in this TEP document. Special thanks go to the technical working group, which, under the leadership of the Chairman of Baldushk Administrative Unit has engaged with great resolve and commitment in this initiative. Many people shall be acknowledged for having contributed, in various capacities, to the articulation of this TEP, starting from the Administrator of Baldushk Mr. Ilir Bermeta, representatives of ADAD, ICLA and GADC. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the facilitation and support of the UNDP Programme and the Project staff. The implementation of Tirana Municipality - Baldushk Administrative Unit TEP is financed by the Austrian Development Agency in the framework of “Promoting Inclusive Labour Market Solutions in the Western Balkans” Project. DRAFT REPORT !3 Abbreviations 2 Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 5 Intervention 1: Preparation of the Farmers Register for the territory of Baldushk 11 Intervention 2: Generation and formalisation of employment though upgrading of rural micro-enterprises (Milk Production) 13 Intervention 3: Generation and formalisation of employment though upgrading of rural micro-enterprises (Vegetable Production) 19 Intervention 4: Promotion of employment opportunities for youth and women in the rural tourism and hospitality 24 DRAFT REPORT !4 Introduction The Territorial Employment Pact (TEP) in the Administrative Unit of Baldushk is an institutional innovation based on “negotiated planning”, where different actors at the local level assume complementary and inter-connected roles and responsibilities in view of employment objectives. The 2017 TEP for the Administrative Unit of Baldushk involves over ten local and national partners. The 2017 TEP is a first generation TEP for this territory. It builds on the outcomes and lessons learnt from the implementation of other TEPs in other municipalities and regions (qarks) of Albania supported by UNDP. The implementation of the 2017 TEP (4 Interventions) costs $….. Municipality of Tirana UNDP co-finance the implementation of the interventions. The TEP is designed in the framework of the project “Promoting Inclusive Labour Market Solutions in the Western Balkans”. It will impact over 30 individuals generating over 40 new jobs for those most vulnerable individuals in the community. * * * Issues of employment in general and rural employment in particular are vital to the economic wellbeing of any economy, especially for a developing economy such as that of Albania. Not only it contribute to the overall growth but it provides income generated from engagement in legal and productive activities therefore contributes to social advancement of the society. In this respect, employment should be at the forefront of economic policy since it is directly linked to sustainable development. In the case of Albania, where much progress has been made in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction, the issue of rural employment (although the term is somehow confused while considering the farm and self-employment) still remains unaddressed properly in the policies and measures of Central and local governments. In fact, rural areas still remain as the poorest areas of the country and in addition agriculture sector demonstrates the lowest productivity although it employs 463,827.4 (IV Trimester of 2016). This figure is a very large portion – 39.7% of the labour force in Albania. The matter of fact remains that much less is known in terms of economic activity, employment, and rural non-farm activity in the rural areas of Albania. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the issues of employment in the rural areas, as well as identify potential rural non-farm activities that might contribute to increases in employment as well as overall development of these areas in the country. In this respect, cross- cutting themes such as youth employment, SME, green jobs, gender sensitivity, and the like should also be considered in the larger scheme of rural labour market and rural development. DRAFT REPORT !5 Consideration of youth employment ensures inclusion of a vital part of the labour force who will become the most productive force of tomorrow. Inclusion of youth into the labour force and the labour market increases the utilisation of the available labour force as well as increase economic productivity. In the context of Albania, youth makes up 25% of the population, and Albania is recognised as having a young population. In addition, almost half of youth reside in rural areas thus their livelihoods and prospective in the labour force is linked to these areas. SME-s and the potential of green jobs should also be given some consideration whenever possible. In regards to the existence and development of SME-s in rural areas special consideration should be given to the employment that they may foster as well as to economic sustainability. Further development of SME-s may also be linked to increased entrepreneurial efforts in the rural areas as well as skill development for the rural labour force. The possibility of green jobs may be viewed under EU-s initiatives to foster these types of jobs especially in the rural areas. Lastly, all considerations should be done under a gender lens. The issue is twofold: first, if gender is not taken under consideration, there is the risk of exclusion of half of the population and of the labour force. This in return would impact productivity and economic growth. Second, if considerations are gender insensitive, they risk leaving in place the existing gender bias and impeding development once again. The Administrative Unit of Baldushk faces challenges that are typical of the world of work in rural areas, such as: high incidence of family and informal work; women and youth disproportionally affected by vulnerabilities; poor occupational health and safety conditions in certain industries; limited infrastructure and access to public services; lack of training and productivity improvement opportunities. More concretely: • Little or no specialisation of production. The villages Shëmri; Façesh; Kërçukje; Baldushk; Pinet - Sauqet; Verri - Kasalle; Pëllumbas; Shesh; PezëHelmëz; Dobresh; Shpatë - Vrap; Grecë; Gjyslikane; Mustafakoç of Baldushk Administrative unit have around 31,000 fruit and olive trees but only 7,000 are in tree blocks that will allow mechanisation and higher productivity. Olive trees are traditional in Baldushk area and the number is increasing demonstrating the interest of the farmers for this product. There are 66,000 olive trees out of which 43,000 are in olive groves thus creating the ground for some specialisation and opportunities for investments. • Livestock is mostly a subsistence sector as the number of cows or ruminants is too small to create a market offer, whereas the poultry (turkey) is a local trademark that has already created a niche in Tirana. There are around 5,000 DRAFT REPORT !6 turkeys bred annually in Baldushk serving mainly to the Tirana market on end year festivities. • For some villages like Shpat, Gjyslikane, Mustafakoç and Vrap the poor road infrastructure is an impediment of investing in agriculture as the market is insecure for the farmers of these villages. • The proximity with Tirana offers job alternatives for men and youngsters therefore the development of a structured agriculture sector in Baldushk came latter compared to other villages nearby. Women are the main contributors of agriculture works beyond family and child care therefore the area demonstrates high incidence of family and informal work. • The surface of greenhouses is around 5 ha with biggest farmers group in Verri – 15 farmers. The trend is positive although farmers