International Rural Development Strategy conference in Pristina

04.06.2013

Within the framework of the Twinning project, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) of Kosovo conducted the second public conference regarding the new strategic approach for Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2014 to 2020 on Tuesday, 04 June 2013, Hotel Emerald, Pristina.

About 150 representatives from the Agri-food sector, Forestry, Rural society, NGOs, research institutes and Government were present to get informed and to discuss the draft Strategy which is considered as a major milestone in the elaboration of the future Agricultural and Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (ARDP 2014-2020).

Two international speakers, Mr Andrä Rupprechter from the European Council and Mr Laszlo Vajda from the Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development made presentations and gave recommendations on successful RD programming as well as successful alignment with EU requirements.












Discussion panel, from left to right: Ms Shqipe
Dema (MAFRD), Mr Kapllan Halimi (Director
General of MAFRD), Mr Blerand Stavileci
(Minister Agruculture) Mr Andrae Rupprechter
(EU Council) and Mr Laszlo Vajda(HU MRD)

The new Rural Development strategy of Kosovo fits to the Europe 2020 strategy and its long term strategic objectives of contributing to i) the competitiveness of agriculture, ii) the sustainable management of natural resources and climate actions and iii) the balanced territorial development of rural areas. The proposed strategy also takes into account the IPAII strategic policy objectives with focus on addressing the specific needs of Kosovo agri-food sector, forestry and rural areas.

The overall objectives of the new Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy for Kosovo for the period 2014–2020 are:
• To develop a competitive and innovation based agri-food sector with increased production and productivity, capable to produce high quality products and meeting the requirements of EU market, contributing to security and safety of food supply, pursuing economic, social and environmental goals by fostering employment and developing human and physical capital.
• To protect natural resources and environment of rural areas, addressing the challenges of climate changes by achieving sustainable and efficient land use and forestry management and by introducing agricultural production method preserving the environment.
• To improve the quality of life and diversify job opportunities in rural areas by fostering employment, social inclusion and balanced territorial development of the rural areas.
The new strategy document will be available online on MAFRD’s website for further discussions. Everyone is invited to send further contribution under the email address strategy2020@rks.gov.ks