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One of the key factors influencing agricultural development and farm performance is access to finance. There are several factors that influence access to finance, including financial management capacity, which is linked to financial literacy. The paper analyzes the factors which determine farmers’ financial management behavior, in the case of Kosovo, based on a structured farm survey focusing on the vineyard sector. The findings suggest that half of the interviewed farmers did not keep records regarding costs and incomes. The likelihood to keep financial records is linked to several household and farm attributes. Market-oriented farmers who had contracts were more likely to keep financial records than those who did not. Policymakers through public advisory services as well as financial institutions should address the need to improve financial literacy among farmers.

The Albanian agriculture sector is deeply affected by climate change. To cope with climate change, it is necessary to understand its consequences. The views of agriculture extension service experts are crucial in improving farmers’ understanding and resilience, especially when farming practices are poorly adapted to the changing climate. This paper analyses the risks from climate change and the adaptive capacity of farmers based on an expert evaluation survey. The respondents identified prolongation of drought durations, rising temperatures, above-average occurrences of floods, pre-seasonal rainfall and frost as primary risks during recent years. Extension experts view a high (negative) impact from climate change through processes such as increased plant diseases occurrence, increased exposure to rodents, harmful insects and pests for plants and livestock, as well as forest and pasture degradation. The paper also provides experts’ opinions on the policy implications, such as considerations about adaptation strategies towards climate change.

When coupled with strong external shocks such as COVID-19, the high levels of uncertainty that characterise fragile economies can have a strong impact on household consumption and saving behaviour. This paper analyses household consumption and saving behaviour in conjunction with COVID-19 in the context of a post-communist economy. Models and intervention analysis are used to identify the effect of catastrophic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic on two key macroeconomic measures for the Albanian economy. The findings show that the pandemic period caused a significant contraction of consumer spending and a significant increase in savings. Higher uncertainty appears to have been a key driver of such household behaviour. The effect on savings will endure in the long run, while retail trade is expected to recover. These findings call for a more astute use of fiscal and monetary policies to address the harmful emerging short-run effect of reduced household spending.

This paper aims to analyze urban consumer preferences for Albanian honey, focusing on key product attributes such as origin, type, location and price, using a conjoint choice experiment and latent class approach. Origin and location-landscape were found to be the most important factors for most surveyed consumers. Albanian consumers prefer honey produced in mountainous forests and on pastures. Moreover, multi-flower honey is preferred compared to chestnuts honey. These results can be used to producers’ advantage when local branding and well-perceived certification (e.g., producer associations’ brands) would be applied in order to increase the consumer awareness and strengthen the intrinsic features of the product especially for small producers. Labeling should be clear and emphasize the origin as well as the natural landscape where beehives are kept. Furthermore, in its regionalization economic development policy, the government may consider supporting honey produced from the mountainous areas.

Access to finance poses a significant challenge for smallholder farmers, influencing the prospects for improving their livelihoods. Financial literacy stands out as a pivotal factor in overcoming this hurdle, playing a crucial role in attaining access to finance, maintaining creditworthiness and fostering economic stability. The objective of this study is to enable an understanding of the financial literacy level of smallholder farmers and to explore empirically the factors that can be associated with their financial literacy. The study is based on a field survey using structured questionnaires targeting 506 smallholder farmers located in different parts of Albania. Descriptive analysis and logit regression analyses are carried out in order to study the relationship between farmers' capacity to calculate credit obligations and their farm assets, access to knowledge, access to financial services and behaviours related to financial record keeping. The ability to correctly calculate the value of the credit costs has been found to be positively associated with access to previous training, experience with application for accessing subsidies, access to a bank account, and their habit of financial keeping records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates gender gaps in access to land ownership and land inheritance in Albanian rural areas by combining a large-scale survey and five in-depth focus groups discussions. The article considers three sets of variables: place-based characteristics; family characteristics; and individual characteristics. Results find that rural societies lack awareness around legal property rights, undermine the confidence of women in myriad ways, and continue to rely on customary laws. Current inequalities are placed in the context of Albania's entrenched patriarchal system. Culture and tradition are as important as, if not more important than, legal frameworks surrounding land ownership and inheritance. The findings bring intersectionality issues into high relief: where patriarchy is combined with poverty, gender inequality is exacerbated. Findings call for a more holistic approach that combines efforts to improve legal literacy, raise awareness among all genders, and alleviate poverty for boosting women's inclusion in the economy. HIGHLIGHTS In Albania, patriarchal customary laws disfavor women when it comes to property ownership, inheritance, and decision making. Women in rural societies, in particular, rely on custom and have low awareness of their legal property rights. Women who are more informed about formal laws view themselves as more equal to men. Where patriarchy is combined with poverty, gender inequality is exacerbated. Education and legal literacy are key to overcoming entrenched patriarchy and fostering women's empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Farm to school (F2S) programmes ensure school pupils receive an appropriate diet, fight malnutrition, and motivate children to attend school. The participation of local smallholders in F2S schemes contributes to these objectives, but also provides a market opportunity for local small farms. This is particularly important in the case of developing or emerging economies that are characterised by malnutrition among children and where smallholdings often struggle with limited market access, as is the case with Albania. The aim of this paper is to explore the main factors affecting farmers' willingness to participate in a F2S scheme using data from a structured farm survey. Regression analysis results show that economically based motivation (farm-related factors such as size and post-harvest losses) intertwined with social capital factors and attitudinal indicators (experience and attitudes towards cooperation, reliance on local governmental support, information, and product safety perception level) affect farmers' willingness to participate in F2S schemes. For farmers to participate viably in such schemes, it is necessary to provide knowledge, awareness, and support for ensuring compliance with food safety and quality standards and for improving cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]