The Journal "Agriculture and Forestry"
Časopis "Poljoprivreda i šumarstvo"
- Since 1955 -
Volume 60, Issue 1
| Volume : | 60 |
| Issue : | 1 |
| Authors : | Hamid EL BILALI, Aleksandra DESPOTOVIC, Sinisa BERJAN, Noureddin DRIOUECH, Jelena PETROVIC, Mirko KULINA, Konstantin RUSEVSKI |
| Title : | ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: POTENTIAL, GOVERNANCE, POLICY FRAMEWORK AND MARKET |
| Abstract : | The first strategic organic agriculture (OA) activities in Macedonia happened around 2000. Despite the country’s huge agro-ecological potential only during last decade there was a significant OA development thanks mainly to governmental financial support schemes, market opportunities and an enabling environment. The paper aims at providing an insight into Macedonian organic agriculture with a focus on governance, legal and political framework and market. It is mainly based on secondary data from the specialised literature. The work (i) analyses historical development and potential for and SWOT of Macedonian OA; (ii) examines legal and policy framework (e.g. Strategy for Organic Agriculture) and its alignment with the acquis communautaire; (iii) investigates roles of main public and civil society institutions involved in organic policy design and implementation (e.g. ministries; bureaux; agencies; bodies; institutes; Biomak and Biosan federations, associations) as well as international organisations (e.g. FiBL, SIDA, GTZ); and (iv) analyses Macedonian organic agro-food production - plant and animal production, wild collection and beekeeping – as well as processing, distribution and marketing; mainly linkages with international supply chains, and market actors and their roles. More than 200,000 ha of wild collection; more than 1,000 ha of arable land - mainly cereals, vegetables and fruit -; thousands of animal heads – especially dairy cows, sheep, goats and pigs - as well as thousands of beehives are certified organic. The sector is linked to international supply chains and is export-oriented. Domestic market is still quite small. Macedonia is in an early stage of organic food production, processing, distribution and marketing. Organic production is still not developed sufficiently in volume and diversity. Further growth is expected as a well-structured NGO network and a committed national policy push the organic sector. |
| For citation : | Hamid EL BILALI, Aleksandra DESPOTOVIC, Sinisa BERJAN, Noureddin DRIOUECH, Jelena PETROVIC, Mirko KULINA, Konstantin RUSEVSKI (2014): ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: POTENTIAL, GOVERNANCE, POLICY FRAMEWORK AND MARKET. Agriculture & Forestry, Vol. 60. Issue 1: 15-26, Podgorica |
| Keywords : | organic agriculture; Macedonia; governance; market. |
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