Empowering Rural Economies in Agriculture (EREA)

Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe and faces immense socio-economic challenges. In addition to high emigration, weak government institutions, traditional gender roles and discrimination against ethnic minorities, poverty is widespread in Kosovo. According to a recent study, 40% of the population live below the national poverty line, 17% of them even in extreme poverty. The unemployment rate is high (20%). Women are particularly affected; one in four is unemployed.

The agricultural sector plays an important role in the country's economy and employs around a quarter of the workforce. Around two thirds of Kosovo's population live in rural areas and are dependent on agricultural activities. However, these are often only carried out for subsistence purposes.

Productivity is also low compared to other countries due to a combination of different factors. These include a lack of modern agricultural technologies and expertise in good agricultural practices, limited access to markets and finances. Climate change and environmental risks also have a negative impact on the agricultural sector.

The project aims to bring about systemic change. More inclusive and sustainable market systems are intended to reduce poverty among the rural population, particularly among women and ethnic minorities. In addition to creating jobs, the aim is also to increase farmers' incomes. Market players and producer organizations are to deepen their expertise in agro-ecological practices and their access to organic agricultural products is to be strengthened, which will increase production capacity and product quality and make them more climate-resilient. The agricultural sector can be professionalized and the gap in the value chain closed through services provided by market players such as knowledge transfer to small farmers. These various measures strengthen the role of producers in the market system and at the same time promote access to international trade, especially for organic products. Special attention is also being paid to the local marketing of Kosovar products, including healthy organic products.

The aim of Caritas Switzerland is to increase and diversify the income of vulnerable people, such as small farmers and marginalized groups in rural areas, in the long term by improving their market access with the help of the Market System Development approach (MSD/M4P). Improving the productivity and quality of products as well as access to specialist knowledge play a role here, giving producers better market access. As the agricultural sector is particularly affected by climate change, Caritas Switzerland promotes agro-ecological and sustainable farming methods that are more climate-resilient and thus better protect smallholder farmers from climate-related losses.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with specialist partner organizations such as the Initiative for Agricultural Development in Kosovo (IADK), the research partner FiBL Switzerland, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD), EcoKos-Women (EKW) and various producer associations and national associations.