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