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Family farming in Albania
Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration, Albania
F
amily farming in Albania represents a rural way
of working which is, in many ways, deeply rooted
in the traditions and the savoir-faire of Albanian
farmers. Considering the importance of the agricultural
sector in the economy of Albania nowadays, as well as the
specific weight of family farming in Albanian agriculture,
the main challenge for today consists of modernizing the
methods of production and increasing the productivity of
family-run farms while preserving as much as possible the
benefits of this type of agriculture – such as the intact
agrobiodiversity and natural resources that characterize
most of the agricultural landscape in Albania. The sector
has huge potential for boosting local economies, especially
when combined with specific policies aimed at social
protection and the well-being of communities.
Agriculture remains the most important sector in the
Albanian economy, measured by its contribution to
the country’s gross domestic product, employment and
macroeconomic stability. Evidenced by the fact that it is
the only sector that has continued to grow during the last
three years (about 3 per cent), agriculture in Albania has
demonstrated a high capacity of adaptation and resistance
to different crises, like the (rather prolonged) transition
from centralized economy to market economy as well as
the more recent economic crisis.
The sector is strongly centred around family farming.
More than 90 per cent of the 380,000 farms in Albania
are below 2 hectares and account for about 95 per cent of
the land used, being the only country in Europe to rely
largely on non-intensive small-scale domestic production.
As such, family farms are the most important contributor
to food security by producing food for self-consumption as
well as for the market. Their contribution to employment
is significant as the majority of individual farms serve as a
main (if not only) income source for the self-employed in
this sector. Around 50 per cent of the population in Albania
lives in rural areas.
Image: Min of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration
Beekeeping is one of the many activities that form part of Albania’s diverse family farming sector
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