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KOSOVO
Agriculture & Food Industry
Talks About Producing
will be involved in agriculture. For example, in the
UK, a small percentage of the population is involved
in agriculture now and a similar trend will also take
place here in Kosovo.
ET: Tell me a little bit about the development that
has taken place in the sector since the declaration
of independence in 2008?
I. Vehapi: Before the declaration of independence
there was the new election, in which the future Prime
Minister made agriculture one of his campaign
priorities. Subsequently, after the declaration of
independence, we laid out our agricultural priorities
for our donors. Within this program, the new prime
minister has made agriculture an absolute priority
which was stressed at the Donors Conference in
Brussels. Of course, there are also private investors
from Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy,
and other European countries interested in Kosovo’s
agricultural sector.
ET: What is the most important role that European
investors can play in Kosovo’s agriculture sector?
I. Vehapi: We need them to bring technology and
know-how but also the finance for new initiatives. On
top of this, we are looking to develop commercial
farms endowed with modern technology, higher
yields and higher efficiency so that labour can be put
to work in other sectors. Most importantly, Kosovo
wants to make it as easy as possible for outside
private investors to invest in the agriculture sector.
We already have some commitments to invest in the
agriculture sector, primarily from private investors,
because agriculture is one of the top five sectors of
Kosovo’s economy.
ET: What challenges do you see ahead for the
agriculture sector?
I. Vehapi: Firstly, the most important challenge is that
the farms are very small and thus less competitive
and profitable than those in neighbouring countries.
Therefore, the main challenge is land consolidation
which will create larger farms in the future. Beyond
this, Kosovo needs more capacity in processing agricultural
products. Also, food storage is an issue as
currently farming is determined by the seasons. This
is certainly one area where investors can get a high
return on investment.
ET: How do you plan to confront these challenges?
I. Vehapi: First of all, these challenges are certainly
a priority. Bigger farms are necessary to compete
and achieve the necessary productivity. To this end,
we always advise our farmers to unite in associations
and cooperatives to be stronger.
ET: How do European investors look at the
investment opportunities with regard to this
consolidation?
I. Vehapi: For land consolidation, one of the main
investors was the World Bank and EU which is also
investing in the irrigation system. Since the consolidation
and irrigation are our priorities, we
increased our budget regarding these two areas.
The investments in these sectors will create opportunities
for farms to be more competitive which will
attract foreign investors. We have a target of 70,000
hectares and so far 12,000 have been recovered.
ET: Why should Europeans invest in Kosovo rather
than neighbouring countries?
I. Vehapi: My opinion is that investors should look at
Kosovo because we have a young population that wants
to work and for less money than in other EU countries.
So it is a low-wage country compared to neighbouring
countries. However, at the same time, we have an
educated workforce, a significant percentage of which
has studied and lived abroad. Most of them would like
to work here, which is a great opportunity for foreign
companies wanting to set up business here.
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