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Supporting Development of Agriculture Land Markets to Bring Abandoned Land into Production - TCP/MCD/3802

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Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 11

Publisher FAO ;

Category Factsheet

Synopsis (short abstract) Farm structure in North Macedonia features numerous small family farms with an average farm size of between 1.8 and 1.9 hectares and a few larger corporate farms. Around 40 percent of the total arable agricultural land is state-owned. Excessive fragmentation is evident, with on average five to seven land parcels per farm. Although the average farm size decreased after independence in 1991, recent trends show a rebound. Factors such as excessive land fragmentation and small farm sizes are resulting in low productivity, competitiveness and profitability of farms. Rural outmigration contributes to widespread abandonment of arable agricultural land, with, on average, 32 percent of the arable land in North Macedonia being unutilized. The Government of North Macedonia recognized the potential of bringing back into production both private and state-owned unutilized agricultural land to boost local food production, improve family farm competitiveness and productivity, and stimulate agricultural land markets amid the COVID-19 crisis and multiple crises in the region.

Language English

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    Programme / project report
    Supporting Development of Agriculture Land Markets to Bring Abandoned Land into Production (TCP/MCD/3802)
    Analysis of land abandonment and development of agricultural land markets in the Republic of North Macedonia – Conclusions and policy recommendations
    2023
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    This report has been prepared as part of the FAO technical assistance project Supporting Development of Agriculture Land Markets to bring Abandoned Land into Production (TCP/MCD/3802). It presents the analysis on land abandonment in the context of farm structures and land market development and provides comprehensive policy recommendations to improve the situation. The mentioned project and the land abandonment analysis provided in this report is complementary and interlinked with to the ongoing land consolidation activities in the country supported by the European Union-funded and FAO-implemented Mainstreaming the National Land Consolidation Programme – MAINLAND project (GCP/MCD/002/EC) implemented during 2017–2022 and the ongoing project Enhancing Land Consolidation in North Macedonia (GCP/MCD/008/EC) to be implemented during 2022-2026. The work on land abandonment and land market development also builds on the earlier FAO project on the privatization state-owned agricultural land (TCP/MCD/3701/C1) implemented during 2018–2020.
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    Factsheet
    Support to Integrated Community Development - TCP/MCD/3702 2022
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    Agriculture in the Republic of North Macedonia is an important source of income for the rural population, although several barriers, such as low productivity, low wages, persistent migration and poverty patterns, and a high share of informal employment, hinder the sector The agricultural sector is driven by small farms and the vast majority of farms are run by families 99 8 percent) One of the main concerns in the country’s agricultural sector is the lack of targeted policies for smallholders Coupled with the lack of financial resources and restricted access to a functioning extension service and to markets, this restrains the development of family farms and induces a need for targeted smallholder support Although rural development is a high priority for the government, existing policies do not directly target smallholders and there is a need to increase awareness and capacities in integrated community development among policy makers and other relevant stakeholders FAO assistance was requested in this regard.
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    Brochure
    Enhancing agricultural land market development to address land abandonment and improve land consolidation procedures
    GCP/SEC/022/TUR
    2022
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    The project titled "Enhancing agricultural land market development to address land abandonment and improve land consolidation procedures" aims to support the introduction of a land banking instrument in connection with an ongoing land consolidation programme in Türkiye and a planned programme in Azerbaijan, and assess the need for land market development and the feasibility of land management instruments in Uzbekistan.
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