Smallholders and Family Farms in Albania
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Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in Albania Country study report 2019 Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in Albania Country study report 2019 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2020 Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in Albania Country study report 2019 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2020 Required citation: FAO. 2020. Smallholders and family farms in Albania. Country study report 2019. Budapest. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca7450en The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-132082-2 © FAO, 2020 Some rights reserved. 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FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao. org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations and аcronyms ix Executive summary xiii Background xv Objectives xv Methodology xvi Findings xvi Recommendations xviii Përmbledhje ekzekutive xxi Konteksti xxiii Objektivat xxiii Metodologjia xxiv Gjetjet xxiv Rekomandime xxvi 1. Introduction to smallholders and family farms and their role in Europe and Central Asia 1 1.1 Background for the Regional Initiative on supporting smallholders and family farms 3 1.2 Background and objectives of the present country study 4 2. Methodology 7 2.1 Overall methodological principles of the country study on smallholders and family farms 9 2.2 Specific approach taken in Albania 11 3. Development trend and current state of smallholders and family farmsin Albania 13 3.1 Definition of ‘smallholder’ and ‘family farm’ in the national context 15 3.2 Structural and qualitative analysis of the sector 17 3.2.1 Development of the importance of smallholders and family farms in the economy in the period 2005–2015 17 3.2.2 Agricultural land market and property rights 36 3.2.3 Value chain organization, standards and access to markets 39 3.2.4 Access to finance 52 3.2.5 Access to services and inputs 56 3.2.6 Education, research and development, and innovation in the agriculture sector and especially related to smallholders 63 3.2.7 Local action groups and rural development 66 3.3 Natural resources: Irrigation, drainage, environment and climate change 67 3.3.1 Water and soil 67 3.3.2 Use of agriculture inputs 70 3.3.3 Biodiversity and climate change 72 3.4 Rural development 74 3.4.1 Population 74 3.4.2 Income, poverty, employment and diversification in rural areas 75 3.4.3 Access to education in rural areas 84 3.4.4 Infrastructure 86 4. Current political priorities and policies affecting smallholders and family farms 89 4.1 Sector- and focus-area-specific political priorities for agriculture and rural development 91 4.1.1 National policy 94 4.1.2 Donor-funded programmes and projects related to smallholders 102 4.1.3 FAO Country Programming Framework 105 iii 4.2 Policy preconditions for smallholders 106 5. Conclusions and recommendations 107 5.1 Conclusions 109 5.1.1 Role and weight in the economy of small and family farms 109 5.1.2 Rural livelihood strategies and employment 109 5.1.3 Land market and tenure 110 5.1.4 Access to market, standards and value chain coordination 111 5.1.5 Access to finance 112 5.1.6 Access to services and inputs 112 5.1.7 Natural resources and environment 113 5.1.8 Access to education and training 113 5.1.9 Social protection and social services 114 5.1.10 Policies 114 5.2 Recommendations 115 5.2.1 Continue the development of statistics, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and EU standards 115 5.2.2 Support the holistic improvement of family farms, along with the development of on-farm and off-farm employment and economic opportunities for women and men 116 5.2.3 Improve farm registration, the land market and land tenure 117 5.2.4 Improve access to markets, food safety standards and value chain coordination 118 5.2.5 Improve access to finance and reduce some taxation 121 5.2.6 Improve access to extension services, innovation and inputs, within sustainable and environmentally friendly use of natural resources and agriculture inputs 122 5.2.7 Improve the access to training and education of rural women and men 124 5.2.8 Further develop social protection, as well as social and physical infrastructure 125 5.2.9 Policies 125 6. Bibliography 127 Tables 1. Gross value added of the agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishery sector in Albania 17 2. Key macro-level indicators related to agriculture sector 18 3. Albania: on-farm employment (number of days per year), 2012 20 4. On-farm and outside employment and annual work days on- and off-farm per household and per household member, total 22 5. Land use (thousands of hectares) 22 6. Share of crop and livestock output in total Agricultural Goods Output 23 7. Evolution in livestock number: 2000 to 2015 (thousands of head) 24 8. Evolution of meat and milk production: 2000 to 2015 (tonnes) 24 9. Evolution of vegetable production: 2000 to 2015 (tonnes) 25 10. Fruits production and area under cultivation (excluding watermelons) 25 11. Vegetables supply balance (tonnes) 26 12. Trade in food and agricultural products 27 13. Albanian international trade: vegetables (Tonnes HS 7 code) 27 14. Albanian international trade: fruits and nuts (HS 08) 28 iv 15. Albania: main farm structure data, 2012 28 16. Suggested farm size that can be considered economically viable 29 17. Categorization of farm type and size 30 18. Farm distribution according size and type, 2012 31 19. Farm distribution according to gross income, 2012 31 20. Structure of livestock farms 32 21. Distribution of greenhouse farms according to size, 2012 32 22. Number of farms by area with fruit trees in blocks, 2012 33 23. Average farm size in hectares by qark/region, 2012 34 24. Average farm household size, 2012 34 25. Agriculture machinery count, 2015 35 26. Farmers perceptions about inputs 57 27. Farmers view about access to services and technology – answer to the statement “Advice on technology is being provided by private consultants/experts at high quality.” 60 28. Access to irrigation, 2017 68 29. Soil loss by year, 2010 to 2015 69 30. Fertilizer consumption, kg/ha of arable land, 2014 70 31. Answer to the question: “Do you have knowledge about chemical residuals (from fertilizers, pesticides/herbicides, etc.)” 71 32. Structure of the adult population, 2011 74 33. Changes in poverty levels by rural vs. urban areas 77 34. Poverty indicators for household by area and sex of household head (ALL/month), 2012 (M: male and F: female) 77 35. Monthly household expenditures by area and gender, ALL, 2012 77 36. Monthly pension value by category (ALL/month) (no sex-disaggregated data available) 83 37.