Albania - Agriculture



In 1992, peasants took control of formerly collectivized land and livestock. Many collective farms (farms held by the state and worked by citizens) were looted, orchards were cut down for firewood, and agricultural

output collapsed by almost half. Much of the irrigation works and greenhouses of the communist regime were looted. Under private ownership, agriculture picked up and by 1995, production was above the 1990 level. Serious problems facing farmers are the lack of technology and the tiny size of land holdings. In 1999, 42 percent of farms used animal and manpower alone. Self-sufficiency, forced on farmers by the communist prohibition of private trade, is high. In 1999, 48.5 percent of farm households bought no outside food. International lenders, such as the World Bank, the EU, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have financed repairs and drainage projects, but the consolidation of small farm plots into larger and more efficient units has been slow. Albania imports basic foods (worth Lk3.8 billion in 1999, up from Lk3.7 billion in 1998), yet agriculture provides the livelihood for the majority of the population. Crops include wheat, corn, olives, sugar beets, cotton, sunflower seeds, tobacco, potatoes, and fruits. The livestock population was estimated in the early 1990s as including some 500,000 cattle, 1 million sheep, and 170,000 pigs.

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