The draft law "On the Census of Agriculture" has passed all the stages of public and institutional consultation and is expected to be launched within this year to collect data on the landscape of agricultural land and livestock in the country, data that, according to local government experts, will create an overview of the rural economy.
The Consultative Council between the Central and Local Governments reviewed in December the government's draft law "On the Census of Agriculture", an initiative that aims to collect basic data on agricultural lands and livestock in the country's territory, which will cost the state budget about 890 million lek.
Envisaged in INSTAT's statistical strategy for the period 2022-2026, this census is expected to be carried out within this year, fourteen years after the last census of the situation of agriculture and livestock in Albania.
The objectives of the census aim to ensure the collection of detailed, reliable and statistical data on agricultural lands, forests, meadows, gardens, livestock, poultry, etc. for all individuals or farms, which in the draft law are identified with the term "agricultural economic units".
The data will serve, according to the report, for the planning and implementation of general agricultural economic development policies and the creation of a statistical register.
The report presented to the Council by the Ministry of Agriculture, which BIRN has, indicates a consultation of the initiative between ministries and institutions that will have a role in the implementation of this project, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as the responsible ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Directorate of Cadastre, etc.
The government claims that the “Agricultural Census” will be a key tool for deeply understanding the country’s agricultural landscape, is aligned with EU legislation, and ensures that Albania’s agricultural data is comparable and usable at the European level.
The Ministry of Finance explains that the total estimated cost for carrying out this major census is estimated at 890.91 million lekë and that these expenses will be covered by the state budget and other donor sources. More than half of them will go to human resource payments, while the rest will go to travel expenses, equipment and publicity campaigns.
During the public consultations, recommendations from civil society organizations were also received, such as the inclusion of the gender component in the collection of statistics, which comes as a recommendation from UN Women, and a proposal from the Center for Civic Legal Initiatives that publicly owned forests and pastures be included in the scope of this census in cases where they are directly used by 'Agricultural Economic Units' for their agricultural or livestock activity.
Local government experts see this initiative as a good opportunity to increase the planning capacities of local units for further rural policies.
Agron Haxhimali, director of the Albanian Institute of Municipalities, a member of the Legislative Council between the central and local governments, told BIRN that “the Agricultural Census is a working tool for the 61 municipalities and 12 regions, which allows them to plan rural development based on the real needs of farmers, not on guesswork.”
According to him, this will increase policymaking capabilities through the use of macro-data in development policies.
On the other hand, Haxhimali says that the census will provide an overview of the rural economy, "to know who produces, what produces and under what conditions, so that rural policies can be adapted according to the territory and potential of each municipality."
The expected results of the data to be collected by the census are expected to create, according to him, "an accurate map of agricultural land, farms, livestock and rural employment", clearly distinguishing priorities between regions and municipalities.
From the perspective of local government, Haxhimali believes that municipalities will benefit from census data, as it will serve municipalities for better decision-making on investments, subsidies, rural infrastructure and services, according to the concrete needs of their areas, but also for inter-municipal and regional economic competition./ BIRN
