Draft Strategy paper for land consolidation in Albania

31 Pages·2015·0.58 MB·English

Final Version

REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection

ALBANIAN NATIONAL LAND CONSOLIDATION STRATEGY

Developed in the framework of FAO technical assistance project “Support to the Preparation of
a National Land Consolidation Strategy and a Land Consolidation Pilot Project TCP/ALB/3301”

Final Version

Tirana, January 2013
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Table of contents
ALBANIAN NATIONAL LAND CONSOLIDATION STRATEGY .................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 4
2. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING SITUATION......................................................................................... 5
2.1. Agriculture and economic factors ............................................................................................... 5
2.2. Structure of private agricultural land and current situation of fragmentation ............................. 5
2.3. Social and demographic factors ................................................................................................... 6
2.4. Land market development ........................................................................................................... 7
2.5. Environmental factors ................................................................................................................. 7
2.6. Land consolidation linkage with rural development and other policies ...................................... 8
2.6.1. Sector Strategy of Agriculture and Food (SSAF), 2007 – 2013 and draft for 2014-20 .... 8
2.6.2. Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007 – 2013 ............................................ 8
2.6.3 Draft Programme for Rural Development 2011-2013 ....................................................... 8
2.7. Legal framework of the current situation .................................................................................... 8
2.8. Restitution and Compensation claims .......................................................................................... 9
2.9. International experience and evolution of LC activities in Albania .......................................... 10
2.9.1. International experience with land consolidation ........................................................... 10
2.9.2. Evolution of land consolidation activities in Albania..................................................... 11
3. STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS ...... 13
4. OVERALL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 15
5. LAND CONSOLIDATION PROGRAM DESIGN ......................................................................... 16
5.1. Principles of land consolidation ................................................................................................ 16
5.2. Procedures for selecting villages for land consolidation projects ............................................. 16
5.2.1. Call for applications for land consolidation ................................................................... 16
5.2.2. Selection of the villages (against published criteria) ...................................................... 16
5.2.3. Preparation of budget for the analysis stage of each selected village ............................. 17
5.2.4. Selection of implementing entity for the analyses stage of each selected village .......... 17
5.2.5. Agreement with communes/municipalities of each selected village .............................. 17
5.3. Land consolidation procedures in individual projects ............................................................... 17
5.3.1 Analysis stage (Stage 1) .................................................................................................. 17
Community workshop to launch project .................................................................................. 17
Election of stakeholder committee ........................................................................................... 18
Cadastre review and map preparation ...................................................................................... 18
Landowners and farmers interviews ......................................................................................... 18
Budget preparation ................................................................................................................... 18
Community development ......................................................................................................... 18
Decision on continuation .......................................................................................................... 18
5.3.2. Re-allotment stage (Stage 2) .................................................................................................. 19
Negotiations .............................................................................................................................. 19
Valuation .................................................................................................................................. 19
Preparation of re-allotment plan ............................................................................................... 19
Adoption of re-allotment plan” ................................................................................................ 19
5.3.3 Surveying and Registration (Stage 3) ...................................................................................... 20
Surveying .................................................................................................................................. 20
Registration .............................................................................................................................. 20
5.3.4. Timeframes ..................................................................................................................... 20
5.4. Institutional roles and responsibilities ....................................................................................... 21
5.5. Preparation of a national land consolidation program ............................................................... 23
5.5.1. Establishment of the institutional/organizational framework of LC and determination of
procedures ....................................................................................................................................... 23
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5.5.2. Establishment of the legal framework ............................................................................ 23
5.5.3. Capacity development .................................................................................................... 24
5.5.4. Public awareness raising ................................................................................................. 25
5.6. Land consolidation as a tool for other purposes ........................................................................ 25
5.7. Establishment of a Land Bank and its use in LC activities. ...................................................... 25
5.8. Implementation phases and funding .......................................................................................... 26
6. STRATEGY OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION CRITERIA ...................................................... 27
7. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ........................................................................................................... 28
Annex 1: ACTION PLAN on the implementation of the National Strategy for LC (2014 – 2028) .... 29

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INTRODUCTION

1. The Land Reform of 1991, which brought a radical change in land tenure and property rights on
agriculture land (from state to private ownership), is one of the biggest and most important reforms
implemented in Albania so far. Through the application of the Law No. 7501 “on Land”, the
land was divided on an equal basis among cooperative members and state farm workers according
to soil quality and productivity and the number of family members registered in the civil registry in
August, 1991.

2. The land reform had positive impacts as it transferred a critically important asset to rural families.
However, the resulting high level of fragmentation and small size of farms lead to the decrease of
the agricultural production, use of inadequate farming technologies, soil degradation and other
negative impacts over the agricultural sector with major negative effects on the rural population.
Poor rural infrastructure and low incomes in rural areas is a major cause of migration of population
toward urban areas and abroad.

3. This National Strategy for Land Consolidation aims to address the above mentioned issues. It is
based on discussions with interested stakeholders and on the implementation of a land consolidation
pilot project in three villages of Terbuf Commune in Lushnje, supported by the FAO project
TCP/ALB/3301.

4. The need for developing the Strategy is conditioned by the following factors:
a. The establishment of economically viable and competitive farms (family farms) that can meet
the modern market economy requirements;
b. The improvement of the organization of the agricultural sector, and the capacity for efficient
self-management in the agricultural private sector;
c. The development of the agricultural sector due to adequate farm structure and improved rural
infrastructure, and the development of the family-type farms with an orientation toward the
market;
d. The possibility to adopt and implement economic viable and environment-friendly agricultural
practices.

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2. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING SITUATION
2.1. Agriculture and economic factors

5. Over the last 10 years the Albanian economy has benefited from macroeconomic stability and
economic reforms that have provided development opportunities for the private sector and
promoted investments. Albania is a low middle-income country, with per capita income at EUR
3100 in 2009. Albania averaged 5.5% economic growth between 2006 and 2009, making it one of
the fastest growing economies in Europe. The international crisis reduced economic growth to 3.3%
in 2010.
6. In 2010 the agricultural sector (agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing) accounted for 17.3% of
total GDP. The agricultural sector GVA (gross value added) amounted to EUR 1533, 8 million at
2010 rates.
7. The main source of growth during transition period in Albanian agriculture has been a total of
factors (land, labor and capital) productivity without any significant change in the amount of
factors. Macroeconomic stability and economic liberalization led to reallocation of resources from
less profitable (cereals) to more profitable activities (horticulture and livestock), which allowed
agriculture to generate growth with low rates of investment.

2.2. Structure of private agricultural land and current situation of fragmentation
8. The distribution of agricultural land during the land reform in the early 1990s created a structure
of small and fragmented landholdings. According to the Statistical Yearbook of MAFCP1 (2011),
in Albania there were about 388,697 farm families, the average area of family farms being of 1.26
ha of owned land divided in 4.7 parcels and the average area of parcel being of 0.27 ha.
9. The total area of the agriculture land of 695,000 ha comprises 24% of the entire territory of the
country. Out of the total agriculture area, 561,000 ha or 81% is under private ownership and
134,000 ha or 19% is under public (state) ownership.
10. Cultivated land as of January 1st 2011 was as follows: 409,000 ha of arable crops, 18000 ha of fruit
trees, 46 000 ha of olives, 800 ha of citrus and 10700 ha of pergolas.
11. Currently, there are 134,000 ha of agriculture land under state ownership, of which 108,500 ha is
the undivided agriculture land of former agriculture cooperatives – object of the Law No. 7501,
adopted in 1991 – land that has been refused by rural families due to relatively poor natural
fertility, far distance from dwellings, lack of infrastructure (roads, irrigation), slope, and generally
location in the high mountain areas. Part of the state owned land are also about 25,000 ha of

1 Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection, Statistical yearbook, 2011
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agriculture land of former state farms, which went undivided due to exceeds of per capita norms,
and to serve as land under the disposal of government institutions to carry out their functional
duties.
2.3. Social and demographic factors
12. In the beginning of 2011 the total population of Albania was 2,831,741 inhabitants with a
population density of 98.5 inhabitants per km2. The total population is composed of 1,421,810
males (50.2%) and 1,409,931 females (49.8%). Approximately 53.7% of the population lives in
urban areas and 46.3% in rural areas. Since 2001, the population continues to decrease due to large
scale emigration and fertility decline2. Of the population 1.3 million living in rural area, almost
50% are women.3
13. According to INSTAT data of the last Census (2011), the total labour force (age 15 to 64) was
made of 1,070,000, individuals, of which men were 560,500 and women 509,500. The employed
labour force was 928,052, of which men were 491,000 and women 437,052, and the unemployed
labour force was made of 142,000 people, of which 69,000 men and 73,000 women. Of the total
number of the employed labour force 928,052 the public sector occupies 165,100, the private non
agriculture sector 256,288 and private agriculture sector 506,664. The number of labour force
employed in agriculture sector has slightly decreased compared to 10 years ago (2002) where this
figure was 526,337, this mainly due to migration of rural population.
14. According to the Labour Force Survey carried out by INSTAT in 2007 and 2009, more women
than men are employed in the private agriculture sector (respectively 37% of males and 60% of
females in 2007 and 33% of males and 56% of females in 2009). This means that the agriculture
sector is very important for the activation of the female labour force4.
15. In 2008 labor productivity in the Albanian agricultural sector was EUR 2,670 per employee which
is rather low. Labor productivity in agriculture represented only 32% of labor productivity in the
rest of Albanian economy. However, during the period 2001-2008 the labor productivity has
increased by about 40% in agriculture sector.
16. Women participation in decision-making structures, their economic empowerment and access to
resources depends to a large extend on their level of education, location (rural vs. urban areas) and
their economic activity and employment status. The work force questionnaire (INSTAT 2009)
shows that women are disadvantaged in their participation in the job market, only 52% of women
aged 15-64 are part of employed population in Albania, while this indicator for men is 73%.

2 INSTAT, 2012, Census of Population and Housing, Preliminary data analysis.
3 MAFCP, 2012, Statistical yearbook 2011, Tirana, Albania
4 INSTAT, 2010, Labor forces survey 2009, Tirana, Albania
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2.4. Land market development
17. A formal market of rural land (sale and rental) is not yet fully developed in Albania. As of 2007,
less than 2% of the rural households had sold land on the formal market since the beginning of
the privatization, and only 3.6% had rented their land. However, there is evidence that the
informal market in rural land is more active. It is estimated that 6% of the households’ farms have
rented out their land and the average farm size is slowly increasing showing that the landowners
are transacting land among themselves.
18. The agricultural land market is still not fully developed as it should be in a market economy.
During the year 2010, about 3600 land transactions have been recorded for a surface of 830 ha
agricultural land with a total registered value of 37.8 million EURO (4.4 Euro/m2). However, it is
reported that many of these transactions are not for the purpose of agricultural development but
for later conversion of land from agriculture to residential use and other uses.
19. Factors constraining the development of the formal rural land market include: the perception of
land as a social safety net; unresolved and conflicting claims to land; time consuming and costly
land transaction process; mistakes in relation to land registration during land reform (names, land
documentation) and weak access to credit. Because land titles are perceived as insecure, banks
often refuse to accept titles as collateral for land purchases.

2.5. Environmental factors
20. As a result of intensive use (and often without right criteria) of natural ecosystems, the
environment in Albania is degraded at large extend. According to the National Environmental
Strategy (2006) and the Environment Sector and Cross Cutting Strategy (2007) the key
environmental problems are water pollution, air pollution, land degradation/soil erosion, and
biodiversity losses (not in order of priority). The protected areas have extended from 9 to 13 %
between 2007 and 2010 and are planned to increase to 17% by the end of 2013.
21. Although rainfall is abundant in Albania, with an annual mean precipitation of approximately
1500 mm per year, only 20% of this precipitation occurs during the crucial growing period
between April and September. As a result of this precipitation trend, crop deficit during June,
July and August ranges from 400-500mm, making irrigation a necessity throughout all of
Albania.
22. Soil erosion, mainly caused by unsustainable forestry, agricultural and pastoral practices, is a
major concern. Erosion affects 24 % of the national territory (on average 37 t ha-1 yr-1) soil loss,
well above the “sustainablele” 10 t ha-1 yr-1 levels, however more than 60 % of the remaining land
is also highly vulnerable to water erosion which is further accelerated by the illegal forest cutting
that after 1990 destroyed about 300,000 ha of forests since 1990.

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2.6. Land consolidation linkage with rural development and other policies
23. The GoA has its priority to become an EU candidate and later member state and is working to
adjust the structures and the policy to the integration into EU. In the near future the land
consolidation activities can be integrated and financed by the Rural Development programme
(RDP) (investment measures under IPA-RD), which should be extended considering the
objectives of the new rural Development Strategy for the programming period 2014-20 of the
MAFCP as a basis of beginning of the next programming period.
2.6.1. Sector Strategy of Agriculture and Food (SSAF), 2007 – 2013 and draft for 2014-20
24. THE SECTOR STRATEGY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD OF ALBANIA constitutes a
national strategy plan for the country’s rural development. The GoA plans to combat
inefficiencies arising from small plots by supporting the development of farmer associations,
improving irrigation infrastructure and strengthening water resource governing bodies, supporting
modernization of equipment and distribution of high-quality inputs and investing in the
development of agricultural knowledge and skills. MAFCP have in 2012 started elaboration of the
new rural Development Strategy for the period 2014-2020.
2.6.2. Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007 – 2013
25. The Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007-2013, based on the law on “Agriculture
and Rural Development” lays the basis for the establishment of the institutions for the
implementation of the agriculture policy measures, including rural development and sets the main
priorities. Among others, the strategy states that farm consolidation will be promoted by a number
of the activities, including measures to encourage the more dynamic farmers to use land that is
currently under-utilized. Land consolidation has been an eligible measure in the EU Council
Regulation on rural Development for 2007-13 and it is expected also to be the case for the next
programming period.
2.6.3 Draft Programme for Rural Development 2011-2013
26. The Draft Programme for Rural Development (RDP) was prepared during 2010-2011 and had
considered the budgetary period IPA till the end of 2013. The overall objective of the current
Albanian RDP is to support the equitable development and to improve the quality of life in rural
regions. The investments planned under the “IPARD-“like” grant schemes will cover the whole
territory of Albania and are focused to: support Investments in Agricultural holdings with a
minimum aid intensity of 50% grants of the investment with public funds and to support to
Investments in Agro-Processing with a minimum aid intensity of 50% grants of the investment.
2.7. Legal framework of the current situation

27. Land consolidation is not covered in the existing legal framework. No legal framework on
systematic land consolidation has been approved and the current legislation generally addresses
issues of agricultural land management, land protection and administration and does not directly
cover any of the main issues linked with the agricultural land consolidation. There is no provision
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in the current legislation to include the consolidation of agricultural land even as a theoretical
concept and the overall assessment is that the existing legal framework does not favor land
consolidation.
28. Some of the main laws such as the Law No.7501 “On Land” (1991) determine the subdivision
and transfer of collective farm and cooperative land to the member of former families on equal
basis. The Law No.8752 “On creation and functioning of land administration and protection
units” (2003) determine the structures of local government units for land protection and
management. The Law No.9244 “On protection of agricultural land” (2004) establishes the
principles, rules and institutions for protection and sustainable improvement, good practices of
agricultural management, etc. However, these laws do not contain any special provisions
addressing the issue of agricultural land consolidation.

29. It is clear that under the above conditions it is necessary to have a rapid and direct intervention in
the existing legislation to address the issues related to land consolidation. This intervention
should not only consist of amendments to the existing legislation but also be comprehensive and
complete, in the form of a special law on land consolidation.

30. The experience during the pilot project implementation, as further displayed in section 2.9.2, has
demonstrated a number of difficulties and obstacles, among which those related to the regime of
property rights, particularly in terms of issues linked with the implementation of property
transactions, procedural dynamics of the registration of these transactions at IPRO, which are
crucial both for their importance in relation to the other issues exposed and the level of difficulty
they create until their final solution.

31. Serious obstacles are related to the stipulations in the current legislation on excessively
cumbersome procedures for the implementation and registration of transactions, while the trend
of increasing transactions costs continues (recently, on 10/20/2011 the Council of Ministers
decided to significantly increase the service fees for the transactions effected at IPRO).

32. Specifically, some of the most frequently encountered obstacles in the proceedings for
registration of transactions are related to the fulfillment of certain preconditions, such as the
obligation to submit the authorization from the court for the representation of juvenile members
of the agricultural family once the transaction is formalized. Another obstacle is the need for prior
correction of different inaccuracies between the technical information contained in the legal
documentation of ownership and factual situation on site (total surface, parcel’s configuration,
boundaries, etc).
2.8. Restitution and Compensation claims

33. The issue of restitution and compensation for pre-1945 landowners continue to be unresolved
in Albania preventing many citizens from feeling that their land and property ownership is
fully secure.

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34. Law no. 7698, dated April 15, 1993, on Restitution and Compensation to Former Property
Owners, recognizes the right of ownership to all former owners or their heirs for property
which had been nationalized, expropriated, or confiscated according to legal acts, sub-legal
acts, and court decisions issued after November 29, 1944, or taken illegally by the state by
any other method. It also determines methods and measures for their restitution and
compensation
35. During the period from 1993 till the end of 2011 over 62,000 claims for restitution and
compensation have been analyzed. At the national level, as of today, decisions have been
made on more than 90% of the cases, comprising a total of 55,000 decisions on restitution of
the ownership right, and compensation rights for about 43,000 expropriated subjects. In total
90,459 ha of land has been restituted to the expropriated entities, of which 4,359 ha of
building area, 4,138 ha of agriculture land, 79,879 ha forest area, and 2,083 ha of combined
land5.
36. The administrative control process of the submitted requests is toward finalization, as the
deadline for request acceptance was 31 December 2008. During 2011, the Agency of Property
Restitution (ALRC) has made a total of 1,506 decisions, of which 1,160 decisions belong to the
Ownership Restitution Directorate and 346 decisions belong to the Ownership Compensation
Directorate. Currently, ALRC administers 7,300 requests on recognition/restitution and
compensation of ownership.
37. The fund for financial compensation during the period 2005 till 2011 has been around 27 million
Euro. The physical fund transferred by the Government for physical compensation is 71,000 ha of
forest, 17,000 ha of agriculture land and about 117 state owned buildings.

2.9. International experience and evolution of LC activities in Albania
2.9.1. International experience with land consolidation
38. The practice of the Western European countries shows that there is no commonly adopted
land consolidation model. In some countries land consolidation is based on voluntary
participation of owners (e.g. Denmark) while in others there are more compulsory elements to
land consolidation (e.g., Germany, the Netherlands).
39. Modern practices of land consolidation in Western Europe were developed after the Second
World War. Until the 1980s the focus was mainly on improving agricultural structures by
reducing land fragmentation and providing farm size enlargement. Because problems with
farm structures in Western Europe were largely addressed, the main focus of land
consolidation projects during the last 25 years has shifted to an emphasis on more efficient
use of rural area, balancing the interests of agriculture, landscape, nature conservation,
recreation and infrastructure.

5 Agjencia e Kthimit dhe Kompensimit te Pronave (AKKP), Raport, 2012
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