POINT OF VIEWS
ON ALBANIA
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESENTED BY
ARBEN ISAKU / THANAS LITI
REGIONAL COUNCIL OF DURRES
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
• Rural development is defined as a highly variable process,
having as main objective throughout the world, the welfare
of rural residents.
• The functioning and its shape is determined and influenced
by many factors rural areas of the country.
This field refers to the first term development, which
implies a positive change, or more progress in a given
population.
• In order that this development would be rural it should be
applied in a rural area.
• In this way we want simply to show that it is not only for
agricultural development, but also take into consideration
other economic activity.
continues
• Rural development is a complex system which
includes economic, social and political,
enabling thus changing society itself
from a traditional society to a modern society.
This modernization includes many factors like:
division
of
labor,
urbanization,
industrialization, local development etc..
CONTENT
•
•
•
•
•
•
OVERVIEW
RURAL DEVELOPMENT SITUATION IN ALBANIA
RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IN ALBANIA
RURAL POVERTY
CONCLUSIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Albania is a small country with a population of 3,142,239 inhabitants. Only
24 percent of the land is classified as agricultural land, 36 percent is forest and
15 percent grassland
AGRICULTURE
is the basis of income for most of the
population and it serves as a source
of employment.
SITUATA AKTUALE
NATIONAL STRATEGY
• Crop Production is part of the National Strategy for Social and Economic
Development of the country, is part of the priorities in the Government
Programme, is part of the Plan for European Integration and part of the
Action Plan for the Implementation of the European Partnership (20102014).
• The main objective is the gradual approximation of legislation with the
Community as well as to develop the strategies for land use, land market,
rural development, farming activities and increasing competitiveness in
agriculture.
• The overall goal is orienting and ensuring sustainable development of
agricultural plants to increase the production, to optimize better
fulfillment of the needs of the country, minimizing the import and export
growth opportunities and management support to this development.
continues
• The strategy was based on four priority axes
dealing with:
• improving the competitiveness of agriculture,
agro processing and forestry sector;
• preservation of cultural landscapes and
environmental protection;
• improving the quality of life in rural areas and
promote economic diversification; and on…
• Cooperation rural development
continues
The fact that the strategy is based on Community
strategic
guidelines
is
an
advantage
important because it provides:
• Compliance objectives of the Rural Development
Strategy
(RDS)
with
the
objectives
of
IPARD;
• Coherence of national measures and IPARD;
• Policy coordination on various line ministries for rural
development problems. This is a coordinating
document, a fact that appears not only in its title but
also in the forecast for the construction of an InterMinisterial Working Group.
RURAL POVERTY
• It is obvious that the Millennium Development Goal for poverty
reduction can not be achieved without due attention to rural
poverty.
• Rural areas in Albania are more less develop than urban areas and
in the some time not so closed on meeting the Millennium
Development Goals, especially those related to education, health,
environmental issues, the status of rural women etc..
• Despite all the positive developments, poverty is still stable and
harder hits rural areas.
• Inequality in income level is high regional standard reference
and poverty is higher in families with a low level of education and a
lot of children.
• Many people in rural areas have no access to basic infrastructure,
including basic education and health services.
continues
• The low level of distribution of arable land per
capita in rural areas is considered as one of
the main causes of poverty in rural areas.
• Having no other means except agricultural
land, most of the families in the district of
Dibra, Kukes, Tropojë, Shkodra and Mirdita
Mat rely mainly on income and their farm
products.
• In real terms demographic movements noticed a new trend in cultivation of
fruits / vegetables as a result of:
• Concentration of the field of production of fruits/vegetables around cities
(peri-urban agricultural development and better road infrastructure and
marketing);
• Specialized and industrialized production of fruits / vegetables in some
regions;
• Increasing the area of protected environments;
• Adding diversity and their varieties;
• Handling after harvest;
• The dominance of supermarkets in the trade network
.
• ;
• New Government policies for the sector:
• The government with its policies aiming to intervene
on:
• providing support to agro-processing industry;
• farmers supported products;
• improving product quality in order to reach EU
standards;
• providing protection and food safety for the
consumer.
DURRES REGION
Durres Region lies on a total area of ​766
square kilometers, with a total population
of approximately 421 thousand
inhabitants. This population carries its
activity on agricultural land that is
available, which is 40,568 acres of arable
farmland and nearly 35,900 acres of
woods and pastures.
Apart from small farms and livestock
farming, which provide income for the
rural population in the territory of Durres
Region, this because the favorable
geographical position near important part
of the country roads, are built several of
the facilities powerful egg production in
the country.
STATISTIC DATES ON POPULATION
•
REGION
CITY
RURAL
DURRES
CITY
RURAL
KRUJA
CITY
RURAL
TOTAL FAMILIES
425604 117680
252115
73525
173489
44155
344092
97954
224515
66099
119577
31855
81512
19726
27600
7426
53912
12300
UN EMPLOYED
10000
7000
3000
STATISTIC DATES ON AGRICULTURE
Durres Region
Durres plus rural
Kruja plus rural
Land Surface
76441
43143
33298
Agriculture surface land
42253
26146
16107
Arable
36000
24000
12000
Arbori culture
4500
2000
2500
Others
1753
146
1607
Arable
50%-70% forage,20%-25% cereal,10%-15% vegetables
Arbori Culture 40%-60% olive,30%-50% vineyards,ect
Durres
Kruje
total
roots / production ton production
Arbori Culture
630000
170000
800000
590000
11000
Olive
270000
140000
410000
250000
4000
RECOMMENDATIONS
• While agriculture continues to play a key role in the
Albanian rural areas in terms of providing income and
employment opportunities, many other factors should
courier considered in order to realize structural changes to
improve social infrastructure and increase revenue.
• While discussions of this document go beyond agricultural
issues, in order to achieve a more complete picture of the
rural sector, there are still issues that remain unaddressed.
• These issues are education, health and social protection in
rural areas.
• Their exclusion does not mean that they are less important
for rural development.
continues
• Regional differences in terms of resources, geographical position,
infrastructure, climate, etc.., should be taken into consideration
when making strategic decisions on the budget, improvements in
infrastructure and the development of services in rural areas.
• Albania Regions vary significantly in terms of climate, terrain and
access to services and rural markets, as well as infrastructure
development.
• These regional differences, especially in remote areas like the
northeastern part, give to them influence in any way the
development that the country may choose.
• These differences should also influence the decisions on how can
be helped through various programs specific areas.
continues
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•
•
•
•
Procuring a road to a successful rural development can be achieved through
walking in a range of alternative roads. So today has been a largely migration of
rural residents to urban environments. But if these migrants are not prepared to
compete in the urban labor market (where education is the key) it can only lead to
the relocation of poverty from rural to urban.
Therefore it is very important to create the lifestyle development opportunities in
rural areas, not only through agriculture.
Integrated rural development provides a significant opportunity to reduce mass
poverty in rural areas.
Again this can not happen alone. This is a very complex undertaking cross-cutting
dimensional, which is largely un-explored sufficiently and where there is still much
to be learned.
In addition, the high heterogeneity of the conditions under which rural
communities, the act requires creativity and flexibility in the design and
implementation of projects and this should be done at the local level through
decentralization and participation of rural communities themselves.
continues
• Agriculture offers another way. Here there is important
work the farm under traditional and collection
methods in small plots of land that will not ever
generate enough revenue to eradicate poverty but the
opportunities offered to small farmers of the new
agriculture.
• It consists of the production of crops that generate
higher value added, in search of markets that bring
profit to the company and food quality controls,
certification and labeling products, research contracts
with supermarkets, agro and agro processing industry
etc. .
continues
• One important way to apply integrated rural
development is through non-agricultural activities
including employment in small and medium
enterprises, self-employment in small enterprises (eg
cultural industries).
• The combination of agriculture (especially the
production of crops scarce in small plots of land for
family consumption) and non-agricultural activities
leading to the extension of pluri-activity.
• This is especially important in less developed regions
where agriculture has low potential new development.