Consolidation of Agricultural Land, A Case from Albania
Annual Review of Territorial Governance in the Western Balkans, I, 2019, 86-97
Sherif Lushaj, Luiza Strati, Vezir Muharremaj
Summary
Since 1990, after privatization of farmland, fragmentation – division of land in small farmable parcels dispersed on non-contiguous areas – continues to be one of the major factors that hamper sustainable development of agriculture in Albania.
The ‘Consolidation of Agricultural Land as an Instrument for Sustainable Development of Agriculture’ Project was developed in the Municipality of Fier during June 2017 – June 2018. This project is a success story for the development of land consolidation policies in Albania. It was the result of an inclusive process with the local community and other key stakeholders, as well as of an extensive national discourse on the subject matter. The project resulted in the design of a program for land consolidation, prepared by the municipality of Fier in collaboration with regional agencies and interest groups and with the technical assistance of the authors of this article. The program was extensively discussed at the local level with key stakeholders, as well as in a national conference. Then, it was approved by the Local Council and presented in the respective parliamentary commission, aiming at influencing national policy making on land consolidation. The project is already under implementation.
This article provides a summary of the process, analysis, and proposals of the project and of the land consolidation programme prepared for Fier. In this process, problems that require national-scale solution were identified, and the Project lobbied decision-making and policy-making institutions for application and replication in other municipalities across the country.
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