TIRANA, July 16 /ATA/ Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Andis Salla appreciated today the ‘Census of Agriculture’ draft law as an indispensable tool for developing strategic, data-driven policies for the agricultural sector.
During presentation of the draft law in the Assembly, Salla said that “Over the last census cycle, the agricultural sector has experienced rapid modernization. Key drivers include expanded export capacity, the rise of agro-processing, and the adoption of modern farming models, all of which have been accelerated by European integration efforts. Despite this progress, the industry must navigate new hurdles related to land use, farm fragmentation, and the impacts of climate change”.
“Adapting to today’s realities requires better data. Albania must conduct a modern agricultural census aligned with rigorous international and European standards”, emphasized Salla.
According to him, the census will register all economic units engaged in farming and livestock across Albania, ensuring coverage of at least 98% of the nation’s agricultural land and livestock units.
Salla informed that the draft law establishes the framework for an agricultural census aligned with EU and Eurostat standards, ensuring Albania produces comprehensive, reliable and internationally comparable data.
“This integrated overview provides the first complete picture of Albanian agriculture. The reliable data on farm sizes, livestock, land use, and labor will serve as the blueprint for building future rural development policies”, Salla underlined.
Salla further emphasized the significance of this draft law.
“The results of this census will constitute an irreplaceable instrument for drafting sector policies, for planning public investments, for guiding national support schemes and for preparing Albania for implementation of the European Union’s common agricultural policy,” said Salla.
Salla appreciated that one of the fundamental elements of the draft law is the creation of a statistical register of agricultural economic units. /k.s/ /a.g/p.s./
