This book focuses on the major challenges and opportunities facing agriculture sectors in the wake of the transition from a planned to a market economy and potential entry to the European Union. Using Albania as a case study, it examines the shift from a centrally planned economy to free markets,...

This chapter looks at the past 20 years of transition towards democratic and free market economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In the 20 years since the fall of communism, the agricultural sectors of the CEE countries have done quite well overall. Market oriented reform is complete nearly...

This chapter looks at the historical background of extension in Albania and Eastern Europe and examines agricultural extension during the transition period. Development of agricultural extension services has been an important component of the transition from centrally planned to market-driven...

The first part of this chapter begins with an overview of Albania's economy, agricultural sector performance, and the sector's role in economic growth. It then includes a description of Albania's production and processing capabilities and ends with a discussion of the major characteristics that...

This chapter describes the legal framework and the situation of quality assurance and food safety in Albania. The account includes an analysis of the evolution of the system during the transition period, and a description of the present legal and institutional framework. The results are also...

This chapter provides a review on Albania's agricultural trade over the last 15 years (1996-2010). The five main sections of the chapter examine: (1) Albania's performance in terms of national and agricultural trade; (2) the main traded agricultural products and the main trading partners; the trade ...

This chapter shows how the substantial changes experienced by Albania in the last 20 years have decisively conditioned the trends of the agro-food system in terms of production, consumption, and trade balance. It looks at the impact of the collapse of planned-economy supply chains and land...

This chapter examines Albanian agricultural and rural development policy in the context of the EU integration process. It discusses: the strategic framework for agriculture and rural development; the implementation of national agricultural and rural development support schemes; and the alignment...

This chapter analyses the agricultural research, education and extension services in Albania in light of institutional and transitional economic changes. The first part analyses the development of agricultural education, research and extension services, with a focus on the current gaps and...