CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Mantho, Stela |
|---|---|
| Title | Small scale farmers in Albania: Survival strategies, land fragmentation and sustainability |
| Summary | Agriculture sector in Central and Eastern European countries has developed through different pathways in comparison to the Western Europe. Small scale farmers are sometimes marginalized by the Common Agriculture Policy reforms and are often considered as an obstacle to development policies. This study explored agricultural sustainability concerns in Albania by analyzing the socio-economic context of survival strategies and the environmental implications of land fragmentation. Survival strategies of Albanian small scale farmers were more aligned towards market exchange, whereas redistribution and reciprocity strategies were less encountered. This disproportion raises implications for developing a sustainable agriculture model. Constructing links in order to balance the three modes of economic integration through: building new market structures, promoting forms of cooperation amongst farmers and fostering the participation of public organizations; will contribute to address socio-economic pressures and increase sustainability. With regards to land fragmentation, farmers are endowing informal initiatives mostly to address physical and activity fragmentation, whereas social fragmentation appears to be the least addressed. This latter issue requires a deeper and multi-faceted solution especially due to the high rate of migration and the decline of young people participating in agricultural activities. Multifunctionality of agriculture represents a development concept that addresses the economic, social and environmental considerations of agricultural activities and aspects of development for the rural areas. Even though it encompasses a wide range of concerns in the rural areas, there are various reasons why multifunctionality practices may be difficult to implement under the current socio-economic development in Albania. |
| Supervisor | Aistara Guntra |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/mantho_stela.pdf |
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