The Changing Face of Rural Space : Agriculture and Rural Development in the Western Balkans

This report brings together lessons from previous studies, supplemented by new analysis. It frames the challenges facing the rural and agri-food sector in the Western Balkans to illustrate the directions for policies, now and in the future. Part one looks at the characteristics of the rural and agri-food sector today, its potential and its obstacles. Part two looks at the future of the agri-food sector and rural space. Value chains will change with more competitive imports, with larger retailers influencing value chains, and with farmers and processors needing to respond to these trends by producing goods that meet quality and safety standards consistently and reliably. These changes will drive the modernization of agriculture, leading to an agri-food sector with fewer and more productive farms. Beyond the agri-food sector, effective rural development programs will be needed to ensure that agriculture's modernization is balanced and equitable. Local authorities and rural communities will have to be involved in developing and implementing territorial strategies for leveraging the non-farm potential of rural areas. Food safety standards will become more important as countries strive to meet private and public standards, and climate change will introduce uncertainty and compel farmers to adapt. Part three provides a roadmap to help governments create a strong and healthy rural and agri-food sector able to respond to these challenges. It looks first at the strategy that should drive public spending in agriculture and the composition of that spending. It then looks at how governments can best provide public services to agriculture, in extension advisory services, agricultural information services, and agricultural education and research. The report's aim is to enable governments and donors to have a common vision of the goals and directions of their policies and programs. It identifies future threats and challenges to the sector, and provides a framework of outcomes and objectives to inform future government policies and donor assistance to the sector.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Lampietti, Julian A., Lugg, David G., Van der Celen, Philip, Branczik, Amelia
Format:	Publication biblioteca
Language:	en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2009
Subjects:	access to credit, access to infrastructure, agricultural areas, agricultural development, Agricultural Education, agricultural exports, agricultural extension, agricultural extension services, agricultural growth, agricultural information, agricultural information services, agricultural inputs, Agricultural land, agricultural policies, Agricultural Policy, agricultural producers, agricultural production, agricultural production systems, agricultural productivity, Agricultural Products, Agricultural Research, agricultural research programs, Agricultural Research System, agricultural resources, Agricultural Sector, agricultural services, Agricultural Support, Agricultural trade, agricultural wages, agricultural workers, agricultural yields, Agriculture, Agriculture Organization, Agriculture Policy, Agriculture Research, animal health, animal products, animal welfare, animals, arable land, average wages, beer, beverages, Brucellosis, capacity-building, capacity-building support, Cattle, cereal imports, cereal production, cereals, CGIAR, Climate Change, cold chain, collective farms, commercial agriculture, commercial farmers, commercial farms, commodities, competitive grants, consumer demand, credit markets, crop, crop varieties, crops, dairies, dairy, dairy sector, determinant of poverty, diseases, diversification, economic growth, employment opportunities, European Commission, export markets, FAO, farm incomes, farm size, farm systems, farm technologies, farmer, farmer organizations, Farmers, farming, farming season, feed, fertilizers, flour, food chain, food control, food exports, food imports, food markets, food preparation, food prices, food product, food production, food products, food quality, Food Safety, food safety control, food safety standards, food safety system, Food Safety Systems, food security, Food Supply, food systems, foods, Forestry, Fruit, fruit juices, fruits, global markets, Grain, Grain Production, Grocery products, Hazard, high-value products, household size, human capital, hygiene, hypermarkets, income, income gap, income support, income-generating opportunities, indicators of poverty, innovation, Insurance, insurance markets, Integration, irrigation, labeling, laboratories, land ownership, land rights, land size, large farms, live animals, livelihoods, Livestock, Livestock Production, living standards, marketing, meat, microbiological criteria, milk, mills, national research, new technologies, nonfarm income, organic foods, organic produce, packaging, pesticides, pests, plant health, poor, poor people, poor rural areas, Poverty rate, poverty rates, poverty reduction, Private Sector, Production Systems, production technology, productive farms, Public Services, public spending, raw milk, remote areas, research centers, research systems, risk management, Rural, Rural Areas, rural communities, rural credit, Rural Development, Rural Development Strategies, Rural Economies, rural economy, rural employment, rural entrepreneurs, rural infrastructure, rural inhabitants, rural people, Rural Phenomenon, rural population, rural poverty, rural residents, Rural Sector, rural sectors, rural workers, safety net, small farmers, small farms, smallholder farmers, Social protection, social safety nets, social security, soil degradation, soil management, Structural adjustment, Structural adjustment programs, subsistence, supermarkets, Sustainable Development, Technical Assistance, temperature control, territorial development, tomatoes, traceability, trade liberalization, transaction costs, transition economies, unemployment, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, vegetables, war, water use,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13541
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