ALBANIA – Carrying out selected sector analysis as a solid ground for the preparation of IPARD III programme and of Strategy for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishery 2021-2027.

From October 2020 to May 2021 AGT International, in partnership with DSA, a leading consulting company based in Tirana, has implemented the project “Carrying out selected sector analysis as a solid ground for the preparation of IPARD III programme and of Strategy for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishery 2021-2027. The project is part of the GIZ module “Sustainable Development in Rural Areas in Albania” in the frame of the programme “Sustainable Economic Development in Albania”. It addresses the core problem that the potential to increase the competitiveness of agriculture and diversify the rural economy, especially through sustainable tourism development, is not sufficiently used to generate income despite improved framework conditions. Eventually the programme aims at improving the preconditions for sustainable income opportunities in rural areas.

GIZ is the German international cooperation agency: the budget made available for the preparation of studies and sector analyses was 200.000 euros.

AGT International and DSA have implemented the project with a team of four international specialists and 9 national specialists, these latter with high profile as university lecturers and researchers. The project director of AGT International was Kastriot Koshaj.

The result of this intense work is compiled in 9 sector studies covering key sub-sectors of the Albanian agriculture: olive oil, wine, horticulture, medicinal and aromatic plants, milk, meat, forestry, fishery, diversification. The studies provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevant sub-sectors, include SWOT analysis, review the readiness of the sub-sector participants to adopt quality standards and environmental practices in line with the EU regulations and the recent Green Deal principles, and eventually offer a wide set of recommendations and proposals for the improvement of the sub-sectors.

The recommendations and proposal touch two areas:

• IPARD III investments, providing clear indications on how the IPARD III funds should be used in each sub-sector.
• Contributions of the relevant sub-sectors to the agricultural strategies and policies and recommendations for their improvement.

The studies have been shared with the stakeholders and presented to the interested parties through four workshops: one for forestry, one for diversification, one for primary production and one for processing. The comments and suggestions presented by the stakeholders have been considered and incorporated into the final versions of the sub-sector studies.

As a further contribution to the preparation of the agricultural and rural strategies of Albania, the team has elaborated an additional analysis on the context, containing five chapters related to food safety; EU Green Deal; education and VET in agriculture; agricultural inputs; and services to agriculture.