SKOPJE, May 8, 2023— Investing in policies that facilitate the adoption of innovations leading to more sustainable agricultural practices could help North Macedonia address vulnerabilities linked to climate change and other environmental risks, according to the World Bank. Green growth in the agricultural sector of North Macedonia reportpresented here today.
The agri-food sector is one of the main contributors to growth in North Macedonia, accounting for 7.6% of GDP (in 2021). This figure is higher than in most comparable economies in the Western Balkans and other upper-middle-income countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region.
North Macedonia’s agricultural systems face a number of challenges, including adaptation to current climatic conditions and sectoral inefficiencies. These challenges are expected to increase due to the future impacts of climate change. The report focuses on these challenges and explores possible priority policy actions to promote a greener trajectory.
North Macedonia will also have to align its agricultural sector development policies to converge towards the objectives of the European Green Deal. Although the country performs above the EU-27 average in areas such as fertilizer and pesticide use, broadband coverage in rural areas and greenhouse gas emissions ( GHG), it is behind the objectives in terms of organic agricultural area, very diverse landscape and protected areas. .
“Agriculture requires a whole set of measures to protect it from climatic events and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy monitors and adapts to the conditions, and implements all measures available to protect yields from climate disasters”, said Ljupco Nikolovski, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy.
The report assesses actions needed to refocus support for the agricultural sector to reflect green growth ambitions, policy implications related to financing, and the availability and capacity of implementation mechanisms.
The report asserts that although the country’s support for agriculture through public financing has been generous, the strategic choices for the 2021-2027 agricultural and rural development policy made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and of the water economy are aligned with the new common agricultural policy. (CAP) and respond to sector challenges, North Macedonia has an immediate opportunity to focus more on policy design and implementation in areas relevant to green growth.
“Western Balkan countries, including North Macedonia, should continue to develop their agri-food sector given its importance for the economy and employment, but should do so with a focus on greening the sector, by adjusting agricultural and other relevant public institutions to support the adoption of new standards. climate-smart agricultural practices and increase the resilience of the sector”, said Frauke Jungbluth, World Bank Practice Leader for Europe and Central Asia, Global Agriculture and Food Practice. “Such alignment will also be essential to enable countries to have continued access to EU markets, to enable the absorption of future CAP funds, and for their farmers to be able to compete on a level playing field with other EU farmers.”
In the short term, the government should ensure that the policy approach and measures specified in the National Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development 2021-2027 are implemented. In the medium and long term, policy initiatives aimed at facilitating the green transition of the agri-food sector should be integrated into a new overall strategic approach.