Albanian National Land Consolidation Strategy

Final Version 1 REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection ALBANIAN NATIONAL LAND CONSOLIDATION STRATEGY Developed in the framework of FAO technical assistance project “Support to the Preparation of a National Land Consolidation Strategy and a Land Consolidation Pilot Project TCP/ALB/3301” Final Version Tirana, January 2013 Final Version 2 Table of contents ALBANIAN NATIONAL LAND CONSOLIDATION STRATEGY .................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 4 2. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING SITUATION......................................................................................... 5 2.1. Agriculture and economic factors ............................................................................................... 5 2.2. Structure of private agricultural land and current situation of fragmentation ............................. 5 2.3. Social and demographic factors ................................................................................................... 6 2.4. Land market development ........................................................................................................... 7 2.5. Environmental factors ................................................................................................................. 7 2.6. Land consolidation linkage with rural development and other policies ...................................... 8 2.6.1. Sector Strategy of Agriculture and Food (SSAF), 2007 – 2013 and draft for 2014-20 .... 8 2.6.2. Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007 – 2013 ............................................ 8 2.6.3 Draft Programme for Rural Development 2011-2013 ....................................................... 8 2.7. Legal framework of the current situation .................................................................................... 8 2.8. Restitution and Compensation claims .......................................................................................... 9 2.9. International experience and evolution of LC activities in Albania .......................................... 10 2.9.1. International experience with land consolidation ........................................................... 10 2.9.2. Evolution of land consolidation activities in Albania..................................................... 11 3. STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS ...... 13 4. OVERALL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 15 5. LAND CONSOLIDATION PROGRAM DESIGN ......................................................................... 16 5.1. Principles of land consolidation ................................................................................................ 16 5.2. Procedures for selecting villages for land consolidation projects ............................................. 16 5.2.1. Call for applications for land consolidation ................................................................... 16 5.2.2. Selection of the villages (against published criteria) ...................................................... 16 5.2.3. Preparation of budget for the analysis stage of each selected village ............................. 17 5.2.4. Selection of implementing entity for the analyses stage of each selected village .......... 17 5.2.5. Agreement with communes/municipalities of each selected village .............................. 17 5.3. Land consolidation procedures in individual projects ............................................................... 17 5.3.1 Analysis stage (Stage 1) .................................................................................................. 17 Community workshop to launch project .................................................................................. 17 Election of stakeholder committee ........................................................................................... 18 Cadastre review and map preparation ...................................................................................... 18 Landowners and farmers interviews ......................................................................................... 18 Budget preparation ................................................................................................................... 18 Community development ......................................................................................................... 18 Decision on continuation .......................................................................................................... 18 5.3.2. Re-allotment stage (Stage 2) .................................................................................................. 19 Negotiations .............................................................................................................................. 19 Valuation .................................................................................................................................. 19 Preparation of re-allotment plan ............................................................................................... 19 Adoption of re-allotment plan” ................................................................................................ 19 5.3.3 Surveying and Registration (Stage 3) ...................................................................................... 20 Surveying .................................................................................................................................. 20 Registration .............................................................................................................................. 20 5.3.4. Timeframes ..................................................................................................................... 20 5.4. Institutional roles and responsibilities ....................................................................................... 21 5.5. Preparation of a national land consolidation program ............................................................... 23 5.5.1. Establishment of the institutional/organizational framework of LC and determination of procedures ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Final Version 3 5.5.2. Establishment of the legal framework ............................................................................ 23 5.5.3. Capacity development .................................................................................................... 24 5.5.4. Public awareness raising ................................................................................................. 25 5.6. Land consolidation as a tool for other purposes ........................................................................ 25 5.7. Establishment of a Land Bank and its use in LC activities. ...................................................... 25 5.8. Implementation phases and funding .......................................................................................... 26 6. STRATEGY OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION CRITERIA ...................................................... 27 7. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ........................................................................................................... 28 Annex 1: ACTION PLAN on the implementation of the National Strategy for LC (2014 – 2028) .... 29 Final Version 4 INTRODUCTION 1. The Land Reform of 1991, which brought a radical change in land tenure and property rights on agriculture land (from state to private ownership), is one of the biggest and most important reforms implemented in Albania so far. Through the application of the Law No. 7501 “on Land”, the land was divided on an equal basis among cooperative members and state farm workers according to soil quality and productivity and the number of family members registered in the civil registry in August, 1991. 2. The land reform had positive impacts as it transferred a critically important asset to rural families. However, the resulting high level of fragmentation and small size of farms lead to the decrease of the agricultural production, use of inadequate farming technologies, soil degradation and other negative impacts over the agricultural sector with major negative effects on the rural population. Poor rural infrastructure and low incomes in rural areas is a major cause of migration of population toward urban areas and abroad. 3. This National Strategy for Land Consolidation aims to address the above mentioned issues. It is based on discussions with interested stakeholders and on the implementation of a land consolidation pilot project in three villages of Terbuf Commune in Lushnje, supported by the FAO project TCP/ALB/3301. 4. The need for developing the Strategy is conditioned by the following factors: a. The establishment of economically viable and competitive farms (family farms) that can meet the modern market economy requirements; b. The improvement of the organization of the agricultural sector, and the capacity for efficient self-management in the agricultural private sector; c. The development of the agricultural sector due to adequate farm structure and improved rural infrastructure, and the development of the family-type farms with an orientation toward the market; d. The possibility to adopt and implement economic viable and environment-friendly agricultural practices. Final Version 5 2. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING SITUATION 2.1. Agriculture and economic factors 5. Over the last 10 years the Albanian economy has benefited from macroeconomic stability and economic reforms that have provided development opportunities for the private sector and promoted investments. Albania is a low middle-income country, with per capita income at EUR 3100 in 2009. Albania averaged 5.5% economic growth between 2006 and 2009, making it one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. The international crisis reduced economic growth to 3.3% in 2010. 6. In 2010 the agricultural sector (agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing) accounted for 17.3% of total GDP. The agricultural sector GVA (gross value added) amounted to EUR 1533, 8 million at 2010 rates. 7. The main source of growth during transition period in Albanian agriculture has been a total of factors (land, labor and capital) productivity without any significant change in the amount of factors. Macroeconomic stability and economic liberalization led to reallocation of resources from less profitable (cereals) to more profitable activities (horticulture and livestock), which allowed agriculture to generate growth with low rates of investment. 2.2. Structure of private agricultural land and current situation of fragmentation 8. The distribution of agricultural land during the land reform in the early 1990s created a structure of small and fragmented landholdings. According to the Statistical Yearbook of MAFCP 1 (2011), in Albania there were about 388,697 farm families, the average area of family farms being of 1.26 ha of owned land divided in 4.7 parcels and the average area of parcel being of 0.27 ha. 9. The total area of the agriculture land of 695,000 ha comprises 24% of the entire territory of the country. Out of the total agriculture area, 561,000 ha or 81% is under private ownership and 134,000 ha or 19% is under public (state) ownership. 10. Cultivated land as of January 1 st 2011 was as follows: 409,000 ha of arable crops, 18000 ha of fruit trees, 46 000 ha of olives, 800 ha of citrus and 10700 ha of pergolas. 11. Currently, there are 134,000 ha of agriculture land under state ownership, of which 108,500 ha is the undivided agriculture land of former agriculture cooperatives – object of the Law No. 7501, adopted in 1991 – land that has been refused by rural families due to relatively poor natural fertility, far distance from dwellings, lack of infrastructure (roads, irrigation), slope, and generally location in the high mountain areas. Part of the state owned land are also about 25,000 ha of 1 Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection, Statistical yearbook, 2011 Final Version 6 agriculture land of former state farms, which went undivided due to exceeds of per capita norms, and to serve as land under the disposal of government institutions to carry out their functional duties. 2.3. Social and demographic factors 12. In the beginning of 2011 the total population of Albania was 2,831,741 inhabitants with a population density of 98.5 inhabitants per km 2 . The total population is composed of 1,421,810 males (50.2%) and 1,409,931 females (49.8%). Approximately 53.7% of the population lives in urban areas and 46.3% in rural areas. Since 2001, the population continues to decrease due to large scale emigration and fertility decline 2 . Of the population 1.3 million living in rural area, almost 50% are women. 3 13. According to INSTAT data of the last Census (2011), the total labour force (age 15 to 64) was made of 1,070,000, individuals, of which men were 560,500 and women 509,500. The employed labour force was 928,052, of which men were 491,000 and women 437,052, and the unemployed labour force was made of 142,000 people, of which 69,000 men and 73,000 women. Of the total number of the employed labour force 928,052 the public sector occupies 165,100, the private non agriculture sector 256,288 and private agriculture sector 506,664. The number of labour force employed in agriculture sector has slightly decreased compared to 10 years ago (2002) where this figure was 526,337, this mainly due to migration of rural population. 14. According to the Labour Force Survey carried out by INSTAT in 2007 and 2009, more women than men are employed in the private agriculture sector (respectively 37% of males and 60% of females in 2007 and 33% of males and 56% of females in 2009). This means that the agriculture sector is very important for the activation of the female labour force 4 . 15. In 2008 labor productivity in the Albanian agricultural sector was EUR 2,670 per employee which is rather low. Labor productivity in agriculture represented only 32% of labor productivity in the rest of Albanian economy. However, during the period 2001-2008 the labor productivity has increased by about 40% in agriculture sector. 16. Women participation in decision-making structures, their economic empowerment and access to resources depends to a large extend on their level of education, location (rural vs. urban areas) and their economic activity and employment status. The work force questionnaire (INSTAT 2009) shows that women are disadvantaged in their participation in the job market, only 52% of women aged 15-64 are part of employed population in Albania, while this indicator for men is 73%. 2 INSTAT, 2012, Census of Population and Housing, Preliminary data analysis. 3 MAFCP, 2012, Statistical yearbook 2011, Tirana, Albania 4 INSTAT, 2010, Labor forces survey 2009, Tirana, Albania Final Version 7 2.4. Land market development 17. A formal market of rural land (sale and rental) is not yet fully developed in Albania. As of 2007, less than 2% of the rural households had sold land on the formal market since the beginning of the privatization, and only 3.6% had rented their land. However, there is evidence that the informal market in rural land is more active. It is estimated that 6% of the households’ farms have rented out their land and the average farm size is slowly increasing showing that the landowners are transacting land among themselves. 18. The agricultural land market is still not fully developed as it should be in a market economy. During the year 2010, about 3600 land transactions have been recorded for a surface of 830 ha agricultural land with a total registered value of 37.8 million EURO (4.4 Euro/m 2 ). However, it is reported that many of these transactions are not for the purpose of agricultural development but for later conversion of land from agriculture to residential use and other uses. 19. Factors constraining the development of the formal rural land market include: the perception of land as a social safety net; unresolved and conflicting claims to land; time consuming and costly land transaction process; mistakes in relation to land registration during land reform (names, land documentation) and weak access to credit. Because land titles are perceived as insecure, banks often refuse to accept titles as collateral for land purchases. 2.5. Environmental factors 20. As a result of intensive use (and often without right criteria) of natural ecosystems, the environment in Albania is degraded at large extend. According to the National Environmental Strategy (2006) and the Environment Sector and Cross Cutting Strategy (2007) the key environmental problems are water pollution, air pollution, land degradation/soil erosion, and biodiversity losses (not in order of priority). The protected areas have extended from 9 to 13 % between 2007 and 2010 and are planned to increase to 17% by the end of 2013. 21. Although rainfall is abundant in Albania, with an annual mean precipitation of approximately 1500 mm per year, only 20% of this precipitation occurs during the crucial growing period between April and September. As a result of this precipitation trend, crop deficit during June, July and August ranges from 400-500mm, making irrigation a necessity throughout all of Albania. 22. Soil erosion, mainly caused by unsustainable forestry, agricultural and pastoral practices, is a major concern. Erosion affects 24 % of the national territory (on average 37 t ha 1 yr 1 ) soil loss, well above the “sustainablele” 10 t ha 1 yr 1 levels, however more than 60 % of the remaining land is also highly vulnerable to water erosion which is further accelerated by the illegal forest cutting that after 1990 destroyed about 300,000 ha of forests since 1990. Final Version 8 2.6. Land consolidation linkage with rural development and other policies 23. The GoA has its priority to become an EU candidate and later member state and is working to adjust the structures and the policy to the integration into EU. In the near future the land consolidation activities can be integrated and financed by the Rural Development programme (RDP) (investment measures under IPA-RD), which should be extended considering the objectives of the new rural Development Strategy for the programming period 2014-20 of the MAFCP as a basis of beginning of the next programming period. 2.6.1. Sector Strategy of Agriculture and Food (SSAF), 2007 – 2013 and draft for 2014-20 24. THE SECTOR STRATEGY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD OF ALBANIA constitutes a national strategy plan for the country’s rural development. The GoA plans to combat inefficiencies arising from small plots by supporting the development of farmer associations, improving irrigation infrastructure and strengthening water resource governing bodies, supporting modernization of equipment and distribution of high-quality inputs and investing in the development of agricultural knowledge and skills. MAFCP have in 2012 started elaboration of the new rural Development Strategy for the period 2014-2020. 2.6.2. Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007 – 2013 25. The Cross cutting strategy for Rural Development 2007-2013, based on the law on “Agriculture and Rural Development” lays the basis for the establishment of the institutions for the implementation of the agriculture policy measures, including rural development and sets the main priorities. Among others, the strategy states that farm consolidation will be promoted by a number of the activities, including measures to encourage the more dynamic farmers to use land that is currently under-utilized. Land consolidation has been an eligible measure in the EU Council Regulation on rural Development for 2007-13 and it is expected also to be the case for the next programming period. 2.6.3 Draft Programme for Rural Development 2011-2013 26. The Draft Programme for Rural Development (RDP) was prepared during 2010-2011 and had considered the budgetary period IPA till the end of 2013. The overall objective of the current Albanian RDP is to support the equitable development and to improve the quality of life in rural regions. The investments planned under the “IPARD-“like” grant schemes will cover the whole territory of Albania and are focused to: support Investments in Agricultural holdings with a minimum aid intensity of 50% grants of the investment with public funds and to support to Investments in Agro-Processing with a minimum aid intensity of 50% grants of the investment. 2.7. Legal framework of the current situation 27. Land consolidation is not covered in the existing legal framework. No legal framework on systematic land consolidation has been approved and the current legislation generally addresses issues of agricultural land management, land protection and administration and does not directly cover any of the main issues linked with the agricultural land consolidation. There is no provision Final Version 9 in the current legislation to include the consolidation of agricultural land even as a theoretical concept and the overall assessment is that the existing legal framework does not favor land consolidation. 28. Some of the main laws such as the Law No.7501 “On Land” (1991) determine the subdivision and transfer of collective farm and cooperative land to the member of former families on equal basis. The Law No.8752 “On creation and functioning of land administration and protection units” (2003) determine the structures of local government units for land protection and management. The Law No.9244 “On protection of agricultural land” (2004) establishes the principles, rules and institutions for protection and sustainable improvement, good practices of agricultural management, etc. However, these laws do not contain any special provisions addressing the issue of agricultural land consolidation. 29. It is clear that under the above conditions it is necessary to have a rapid and direct intervention in the existing legislation to address the issues related to land consolidation. This intervention should not only consist of amendments to the existing legislation but also be comprehensive and complete, in the form of a special law on land consolidation. 30. The experience during the pilot project implementation, as further displayed in section 2.9.2, has demonstrated a number of difficulties and obstacles, among which those related to the regime of property rights, particularly in terms of issues linked with the implementation of property transactions, procedural dynamics of the registration of these transactions at IPRO, which are crucial both for their importance in relation to the other issues exposed and the level of difficulty they create until their final solution. 31. Serious obstacles are related to the stipulations in the current legislation on excessively cumbersome procedures for the implementation and registration of transactions, while the trend of increasing transactions costs continues (recently, on 10/20/2011 the Council of Ministers decided to significantly increase the service fees for the transactions effected at IPRO). 32. Specifically, some of the most frequently encountered obstacles in the proceedings for registration of transactions are related to the fulfillment of certain preconditions, such as the obligation to submit the authorization from the court for the representation of juvenile members of the agricultural family once the transaction is formalized. Another obstacle is the need for prior correction of different inaccuracies between the technical information contained in the legal documentation of ownership and factual situation on site (total surface, parcel’s configuration, boundaries, etc). 2.8. Restitution and Compensation claims 33. The issue of restitution and compensation for pre-1945 landowners continue to be unresolved in Albania preventing many citizens from feeling that their land and property ownership is fully secure. Final Version 10 34. Law no. 7698, dated April 15, 1993, on Restitution and Compensation to Former Property Owners, recognizes the right of ownership to all former owners or their heirs for property which had been nationalized, expropriated, or confiscated according to legal acts, sub-legal acts, and court decisions issued after November 29, 1944, or taken illegally by the state by any other method. It also determines methods and measures for their restitution and compensation 35. During the period from 1993 till the end of 2011 over 62,000 claims for restitution and compensation have been analyzed. At the national level, as of today, decisions have been made on more than 90% of the cases, comprising a total of 55,000 decisions on restitution of the ownership right, and compensation rights for about 43,000 expropriated subjects. In total 90,459 ha of land has been restituted to the expropriated entities, of which 4,359 ha of building area, 4,138 ha of agriculture land, 79,879 ha forest area, and 2,083 ha of combined land 5 . 36. The administrative control process of the submitted requests is toward finalization, as the deadline for request acceptance was 31 December 2008. During 2011, the Agency of Property Restitution (ALRC) has made a total of 1,506 decisions, of which 1,160 decisions belong to the Ownership Restitution Directorate and 346 decisions belong to the Ownership Compensation Directorate. Currently, ALRC administers 7,300 requests on recognition/restitution and compensation of ownership. 37. The fund for financial compensation during the period 2005 till 2011 has been around 27 million Euro. The physical fund transferred by the Government for physical compensation is 71,000 ha of forest, 17,000 ha of agriculture land and about 117 state owned buildings. 2.9. International experience and evolution of LC activities in Albania 2.9.1. International experience with land consolidation 38. The practice of the Western European countries shows that there is no commonly adopted land consolidation model. In some countries land consolidation is based on voluntary participation of owners (e.g. Denmark) while in others there are more compulsory elements to land consolidation (e.g., Germany, the Netherlands). 39. Modern practices of land consolidation in Western Europe were developed after the Second World War. Until the 1980s the focus was mainly on improving agricultural structures by reducing land fragmentation and providing farm size enlargement. Because problems with farm structures in Western Europe were largely addressed, the main focus of land consolidation projects during the last 25 years has shifted to an emphasis on more efficient use of rural area, balancing the interests of agriculture, landscape, nature conservation, recreation and infrastructure. 5 Agjencia e Kthimit dhe Kompensimit te Pronave (AKKP), Raport, 2012 Final Version 11 40. Today, land consolidation in most countries of Western Europe is one of the main instruments for implementation of projects related to development of public infrastructure and environmental protection, where the EU Water Framework Directive and the Natura 2000 directives provide an opportunity for the use of land consolidation as a useful instrument for the implementation of the changes in land use defined by these directives. 41. In contrast, several countries in the Central and Eastern European region have introduced land consolidation programmes in the last decade to address the problems of land fragmentation and small farm sizes. At the national level the land consolidation function is usually trusted to a Ministry responsible for Agriculture or its authorized institution. The elaboration of the re allotment plan is normally the core part of the field work that can be done by both public institutions and private contractors. 42. In most EU countries, the cost of implementation of land consolidation projects is co-funded by the State budget and the EU through the Rural Development Programme. 2.9.2. Evolution of land consolidation activities in Albania 43. The first land consolidation activities in Albania funded by the World Bank (WB) started in 2002 and were based upon the existing legal framework. The project encouraged land consolidation in four selected pilot communes by subsidizing transaction costs and technical assistance to facilitate market-based land transactions and conducting a policy study on land consolidation. Progress was hampered by the lack of a law on land consolidation, high transaction costs, and a high rate of problems in registration of ownership of agricultural land (and mismatch between graphical survey information and verbal title information) generated by the First Registration Program. 44. The implementation of the WB land consolidation pilot project, which was completed in 2004, raised awareness and brought the issue of land fragmentation to the attention of decision-makers and other stakeholders indicating concrete alternatives to address the current status of unsustainable agricultural structures and proved that land consolidation may be an instrument for sustainable rural development. 45. During 2010-2013 a project titled: “Support to the Preparation of a National Land Consolidation Strategy and a Land Consolidation Pilot Project”, funded by FAO has been implemented in 3 pilot villages in Terbuf Commune, Lushnje. The project has provided valuable experiences and outcomes, which have been taken into consideration for the preparation of this strategy. Field land consolidation activities allowed testing of land consolidation methodology and contributed to increasing MAFCP and IPRO staff capacities in the field of land consolidation. 46. In total 715 landowners were identified in the three pilot villages. Out of these, 528 (74%) were interviewed about their agricultural production and their interest in relation to the land consolidation pilot project (wish to sell, exchange, purchase or lease land). Based on the interviews, it was assessed that 444 landowners or as many as 84% of those interviewed were willing to participate in the project. Final Version 12 47. As of 31 January 2013, it has been possible to finalize voluntary land consolidation agreements involving 90 landowners and 135 parcels. It is estimated that in total it will be possible to finalize agreements with around 160 landowners involving the transfer of approximately 250 land parcels by the end of the project in spring 2013. 48. Despite the considerable interest among the landowners and farmers in the three pilot villages to participate in the land consolidation pilot, so-far (as of 31 January 2013) only 8 landowners have fully registered land transactions involving the transfer of ownership of 13 land parcels. It is estimated that in total it will be possible to finalize the registration of land transactions involving 18 landowners and 25 parcels by the end of the project. Thus, it is expected that by the end of the project it will be possible to fully register transfer of only 25 out of the estimated agreed transfers of 150 land parcels (17%). 49. The reason why it will be possible to register so few transactions when so many farmers were initially interested in participating is because of the very complicated transaction procedures for agricultural land. The land consolidation pilot has been implemented using the normal procedures for the sale or exchange of agricultural land, as there is no specific land consolidation legislation adapted to date. The most important registration problems faced in the pilot villages are: a) Family ownership of agricultural land, since land is not shared individually for each family member and any potential transaction can not be carried out without the consent of all family members. b) Procedures in inheritance cases c) Discrepancy between title documents (Tapi) issued during land distribution in 1991 and first registration in 1996. 50. The experiences from the land consolidation pilot clearly document the need for a land consolidation law in Albania with simplified and cost-effective procedures in order to support the implementation of a National Land Consolidation program. Final Version 13 3. STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS 51. The analysis of the current situation in Albania regarding the organisation and implementation of land consolidation process has indicated the following strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities on the basis of which the objectives, aims and implementing measures have been formulated. Strengths Weaknesses • The Government is fully committed to reducing land fragmentation recognizing it as a serious problem in Albania related to dis– functional land market, land abandonment, lack of competitiveness, etc. • Albania has a stable macroeconomic situation due to economic reforms undertaken and the possibility of stepping into the intensive economic development phase. • The existing national mid-and long-term policies and sector related strategies are supportive for current and future development of the agricultural sector. • Pilot actions in support to voluntary land consolidation approach have build up the ground to gain a certain degree of experience, to identify bottlenecks of the process and establish the roadmap and implementation practices. • Albania has environmental and other conditions favorable for intensive agriculture (soil, topography, climate, traditions), especially for high-value added agriculture products (fruits, vegetables, etc.). • There is a functional, dynamic and improving market for agriculture sector including inputs and products. • Most of the agricultural farms are focused on subsistence farming and, due to their unfavorable structure, are hindering the competitive and sustainable development of agricultural sector. • Albania has weakly functioning of land markets and furthermore the information on land market is un reliable. • There is no special legal framework related to land consolidation as well as there is a lack of funding for the implementation of land consolidation projects. • Agricultural land is not accepted as collateral by the banks because of the insecurity of property rights and the size of the parcels. • Poor rural infrastructure (roads, water supply, sewerage, water treatment, irrigation and drainage systems, etc,) is a crucial inhibiting factor for agriculture development. • Land transaction procedures are complicated and transactions costs are high. • There is no public awareness on land consolidation concept and process so far, that would have served as a precondition for farmers to embrace the process. • There is a lack of information and understanding among farmers, institutional actors, and government officials on gender perspective regarding land issues, ownership and rights in particular related to legal aspects. Opportunities Threats • Land consolidation could become a leading force for the transformation of the Albanian agriculture into a productive and profitable sector. • The development of rural infrastructures will increase the attractiveness of rural areas, encourage the development of non-agricultural businesses in these areas and create the opportunities for new jobs. • Land consolidation will create better opportunities for small farmers to increase their profitability, consequently ensure a better livelihood for themselves and their families. • Through land consolidation process and incentives (like government’s subsidy and IPARD scheme) rural areas and farming will become more attractive for the young generation that will have new perspectives. • Development of rural infrastructure will create new jobs to prevent migration from rural areas. • Albania has the possibility to use the experience gained by other European countries in the area of land consolidation and profit from EU co-funding under RDP when it will become a candidate country. • The country is eligible for EU cross border cooperation programs for rural development and environmental protection activities, that might be a funding source of LC projects. • There is a skeptical attitude of land owners and rural communities towards land consolidation. • Severe social and economic problems exist due to continuous rural areas depopulation, and ageing of rural population. • Lack of cooperation and activities on land consolidation have been impeding factors for rural development and environmental protection. • Lack of gender-equitable representation and participation means that the voice of women and other vulnerable individuals/groups, including youth, are not heard and their needs not considered in land and agricultural initiatives. • Rural development sector is facing frequent modifications/changes of the normative framework. • Cultural and traditional attitudes have an impact in strengthening gender inequalities in access to, use, and management of resources, shadowing the key contribution of women in family farms and agriculture. • There are no supportive means or incentives for marginalized individuals and/or groups in rural areas Final Version 14 52. The situation analysis presented above shows that currently the potential of agriculture sector is not fully used and the level of investments in agriculture is still low. 53. The extreme land fragmentation in agriculture is one of the main reasons impeding the modernization process and application of modern agriculture methods. Such factors have a substantial effect on the production level and efficiency of interventions in the agriculture sector. 54. Small and medium size farms comprise a significant portion of the total number of farms having a considerable importance for the rural economy, as they represent the main source of income for the majority of the rural population. 55. The majority of farms are subsistence farms and not market oriented. Such farms are not competitive due to their small size, high level of plot fragmentation, and low profitability. 56. The land market is underdeveloped and there is a little information on market mechanisms. Often land is perceived as a social good that provides benefits continuously; thus land owners are hesitant to enter into land transactions (sale-purchase) which consequently results in a low level of land mobility. In many cases land owners deal with informal land transactions especially when exchanging plots among each other. This is because of difficulties in land transactions, high and lengthy transaction costs, etc. 57. The existing procedures for the land transactions needed for land consolidation in the current situation without a land consolidation law are very complicated, bureaucratic and expensive. First and foremost it is necessary to solve issues such as mistakes in the agriculture land reform; mistakes with names, mistakes considering land documentation (land titles) and first land registration. Then there are also problems related to the Civil Code, which requires that every family member must appear in front of the notary for any transaction involving family land implying high transaction costs, etc. 58. Modernization of agriculture and diversification of activities in rural areas create the bases for a substantial transformation of labour force from agriculture related activities toward non agriculture related activities. The improvement of life standards in the rural sector should be supported through rural development programs that among others aim to create employment opportunities through diversification and development of income-generating opportunities in and out of agriculture in rural areas focusing more on environmental conservation and sustainable development. 59. Government projects on the implementation of land consolidation should contribute to the creation of a “layer” of commercial family farms, create more job opportunities (dairies, slaughterhouses, sale of fertilizers etc.) and contribute to more agriculture investments and technologies. Final Version 15 4. OVERALL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 60. The overall objective of the Strategy is the creation of family farms that are economically viable, competitive and sustainable. This is to be done in a way that contributes to the sustainable, inclusive and gender and socially equitable development of the rural and agricultural sector, economic growth, enhanced food security and reduction of poverty, rational use of natural resources, environmental protection and restoration of natural areas. 61. The specific objective of the Strategy is to assist farmers to improve farm structures by providing opportunities to reduce land fragmentation and enlarge farm sizes. The strategy aims to do this by developing conditions for land consolidation, including a national land consolidation programme, the adoption of an appropriate legal framework, and the successful implementation of land consolidation projects. 62. The Strategy is aimed at all farmers, with its primary target group being farming families (including all their members, male and female, young and old) who have the potential to drive agriculture production. Other types of farmers are also eligible to participate in land consolidation projects, and their participation can be important in order to achieve sustainable impacts. 63. The time frame of the Strategy is a 15 year period from 2014 – 2028, divided into three major phases: Phase 1 (2014 - 2016): Preparatory work for the land consolidation programme, legal framework and additional pilots; Phase 2 (2017 – 2023): Implementation of land consolidation projects with an emphasis on improved farm structures; Phase 3 (2024 – 2028): Extension of land consolidation projects to address broader rural development initiatives in addition to improving farm structures. Final Version 16 5. LAND CONSOLIDATION PROGRAM DESIGN 5.1. Principles of land consolidation 64. The key principles of land consolidation are: a) Voluntary participation – Participation in land consolidation projects should be voluntary and an expression of the free consent of landowners. b) Participation, transparency and democratization- Any decision within land consolidation projects should be taken in a participatory, democratic and transparent way and brought to the attention of all owners and other stakeholders. c) Non-discrimination - No one should be discriminated against in land consolidation projects, including on the basis of gender, religion or ethnicity. d) Gender equality - Women and men, including youth, should have an equal right to participate in land consolidation activities. Land consolidation projects should protect and respect the property rights of all, women, men and youth. e) Environmental protection and sustainability – Land consolidation projects should protect the environment and ensure its sustainability, and shall not lead to adverse environmental impacts. 5.2. Procedures for selecting villages for land consolidation projects 65. This section identifies the steps for the process of calls for applications for land consolidation, selection of villages against published criteria, preparation of the budget for the analytical stage; selection of the implementing entity, and entering into an agreement with municipalities/communes. Simple and cost-effective procedures should be developed for these steps. 5.2.1. Call for applications for land consolidation 66. The MAFCP announces a call for applications on an annual or otherwise periodic basis, with a suitable deadline. 67. The MAFCP establishes a number of criteria for the efficient implementation of the land consolidation strategy due to the limited capacity and financial resources as well as different land tenure situation in the villages 68. Interested communes/municipalities respond to the calls for applications by preparing project applications with the participation of their local farmer communities. The communes/municipalities submit their applications to the MAFCP. 5.2.2. Selection of the villages (against published criteria) 69. The right process for selection of the participating villages is very important to guarantee the effectiveness of the land consolidation program, sustainability and a positive impact of the process for the majority of land owners Final Version 17 70. Villages will be selected based on predefined list of selection criteria and defined formats mentioned in call for proposals depending on strategy objectives or program objectives set by the Government and published by MAFCP. 71. The Land Consolidation Section (LCS) in MAFCP approves or disapproves the project applications based on the information submitted, assessment of the villages and available information and then ranks the approved applications and selects the top-ranked communes/municipalities. 72. The LCS has to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the potential project areas during the selection phase in order to identify the different potential problems and to assess the opportunities for land consolidation (interest among local stakeholders, land mobility etc.) 5.2.3. Preparation of budget for the analysis stage of each selected village 73. The budget will be prepared by the LCS in the MAFCP. 5.2.4. Selection of implementing entity for the analyses stage of each selected village 74. The MAFCP shall determine whether the implementing entity that carries out the land consolidation activities (technical issues, meetings, landowner interviews, etc) in a village is its Public Extension Service or a private contractor. 75. In the case of implemention by the private sector, the process for selecting the implementing entity shall be transparent and competitive. There will be a tender issued and the company that wins the tender for the first stage also wins an option for the second stage. 5.2.5. Agreement with communes/municipalities of each selected village 76. The MAFCP enters into an agreement on Cooperation with local government units and project implementing entity. The number of actors will vary depending on the source of project funding, etc. 5.3. Land consolidation procedures in individual projects 5.3.1 Analysis stage (Stage 1) 77. Land consolidation methodology shall ensure simplified and cost-effective procedures envisaging the following steps: Community workshop to launch project 78. After the selection of the villages, the MAFCP organizes a community workshop with the participation of all land owners, family farms members and other beneficiaries to launch the land consolidation project. 79. In this workshop project activities, benefits and expected results are explained; the initial level of landowner’s interest is tested; land consolidation procedures are clarified, a local Final Version 18 stakeholder’s committee composed by land owners and other farmers from the project area communities is elected. The implementing entity should be present in this workshop in order to hear the comments and proposals of the local community. 80. The Land Consolidation Commission (LCC), (as refer to chapter 5.4) is invited to participate in the project launching workshop. Election of stakeholder committee 81. At the initial community workshop landowners should select the local stakeholder committee which will represent the general interests of the different groups of landowners throughout the project implemention. Women and youth must have their balanced and equitable representation at the committee level. Cadastre review and map preparation 82. The implementing entity prepares the ownership map (Plan 1) and reviews and revises cadastral and ownership information during the individual interviews with the landowners. Landowners and farmers interviews 83. The implementing entity shall: (a) conduct interviews with all landowners and farmers, both women and men, in the project village and identify their individual interests and needs with respect to land consolidation; (b) analyze the results of interviews with landowners and farmers, and prepare a baseline report with an assessment of the posibilities for land consolidation in the project community including a land mobility map. Budget preparation 84. The implementing entity will collect relevant information for the LCS, to allow it to prepare a budget for the re-allotment stage (Stage 2). Community development 85. Where appropriate, land consolidation should be seen in a local community development context. The implementing entity organizes community meetings at village level with local government, various groups of stakeholders and individual/group interviews on community development, aiming to link the land consolidation project with community development Decision on continuation 86. The LCS will adopt a decision to continue project implementation or not depending on the landowner’s expression of interest. The project implementation entity submits a baseline report with Plan 1, Land Mobility Map and proposed budget for the implementation phase as annexes for approval before starting the next stage of the project. The LCS can take the decision to continue the project based on the baseline report from the implementing entity. In this way the LCS supervises and controls the process and project funds. Final Version 19 5.3.2. Re-allotment stage (Stage 2) 87. In order to obtain a clear and cost-effective registration and implementation of land transactions as one interconnected land re-parceling/re-allotment plan and not as the sum of bilateral agreements, the following activities will take place: Negotiations 88. The implementing entity facilitates the detailed negotiations between the involved landowners and stakeholders in the project area leading to the draft re-allotment plan. Upon finalization of the negotiations, each landowner signs a “Land re-parcelling agreement” with indication of final re allotment parameters (improved location, distance and shape of land parcels), a description of the parcels sold, purchased or exchanged (cadastral no., size, land quality etc.) and corresponding parcel values (prices). Valuation 89. In agricultural LC projects the LCS and the implementing entity may decide to carry out valuation of land parcels in order to establish the foundation for the agreements between landowners. In case of implementation of state and public large infrastructure projects, official valuation based on the existing law on expropriation is obligatory in order to provide a fair compensation to landowners. Preparation of re-allotment plan 90. The implementing entity prepares draft land re-parceling/re-allotment plan (Plan 2) as a result of the voluntary agreements which is a sum of all re-parcelling agreements signed by landowners and present it to the LCC. 91. The implementing entity organizes public consultations regarding the draft re-parceling/re-allotment plan. In every agricultural land consolidation project and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be carried out according to existing legislation by private licensed experts contracted by LCS in order to make sure that land consolidation will not have adverse environmental impacts. 92. All parcels as a part of LC project will undergo through error corrections as regarding land registration. Adoption of re-allotment plan 93. After completion of negotiations among land owners and finalization of the re-allotment plan (Plan 2), a public meeting will be organized where the plan will be presented in front of the LCC and all local stakeholders can be present and learn about the outcome of the project, ask questions and even complain if they feel something has gone wrong or was not fair. 94. The plan should be publicly available for 1-2 weeks before the meeting in order to allow landowners to have a look and think about issues before the meeting. Furthermore, the draft plan should be sent to members of the LCC in advance of the meeting. Final Version 20 95. The LCC prepares the decision presenting the list of participating properties and evidencing references in the agreements signed by the participants. In this meeting all issues and all unclear questions regarding the re-allotment plan (Plan 2) by the representatives of the LCS of the MAFCP will be presented and clarified. 96. The LCS and project implementing entity make sure that all necessary documentation is available in advance and guaranteed by the LCC prior to making the final decision at the public meeting. After clarifying all issues and answering all questions, the LCC approves the re-allotment plan (Plan 2) that is the result of the land consolidation project during the public meeting. 97. After the decision is made by the LCC, all following operations will be purely technical and not involve the land owners as the change of property rights has occurred and has been approved by the commission. 5.3.3 Surveying and Registration (Stage 3) Surveying 98. The MAFCP will bid the process for private companies, institutions or licensed surveyors for a fixed price to deal with the provision of the service on the implementation of technical operations in the field. These comprise a surveying operation only for agriculture parcels that are divided under the project that will involve the preparation of documents for registration of re-allotment plan. Registration 99. Registration of all transactions as a single land re-parcelling/re-allotment plan adopted by LCC makes project procedures cost and time efficient due to simultaneous change of property rights of participating landowners. LC agreements will be registered according to the new LC law. 100. The MAFCP is responsible for the presentation and registration to the IPRO of the adopted land re parcelling/re-allotment plan. 5.3.4. Timeframes 101. The implementation period of agricultural land consolidation projects has to be 3 years at least. The FAO pilot project in Terbuf Commune shows that the period needed for staff mobilization, activities initiation, resolving the problems and obstacles, having transactions and their registration is about 3 years. 102. The initiation and key process moments should be in line and timely synchronized with the agricultural season; thus, interviewing of landowners and final negotiations between owners should be held over late autumn to winter, when farmers are not busy with agricultural works and have sufficient time to negotiate and implement all negotiated transactions, including the carrying out of inheritance procedures, as appropriate. Final Version 21 5.4. Institutional roles and responsibilities 103. The MAFCP shall remain lead authority for land consolidation and thus assume the overall responsibility for a future National Land Consolidation Program implementation (legal framework, preparation of annual plans; providing public announcement for private companies, providing available financial resources, guaranteeing coordination during the project implementation, etc.): a. Coordinate LC strategy implementation and monitoring; b. Elaborate and regularly adjust the national LC program; c. Funding, supervision and guarantee for a normal implementation of land consolidation projects; d. Select and contract entities for the project implementation e. Ensure methodological support for implementation of land consolidation projects; f. Conduct the selection of villages for participation based on received applications; g. Facilitate presentation of the Land re-parceling/land re-allotment plan for its approval by the LCC and subsequent registration by IPRO. h. Identify training needs, elaborate and implement capacity building programs; i. Establish relationship of cooperation with various ministries and partner agencies; j. Elaborate annual reports on the strategy implementation and present it to the Government for approval. 104. The MAFCP will establish the LCS. The initial number of LCS permanent staff will be 3 persons, including experts with wide range of experiences and skills in agriculture, legal issues, cadastre, etc. As it is going to be a new section, the financial resources are to be provided by the MAFCP. In the future, as the land consolidation program extends, the LCS may increase the number of staff and include specialists with agricultural background, agriculture engineering, land administration, environment and landscape management, rural infrastructure, water management, finance and project management skills. 105. A project operating manual shall be elaborated by the LCS including detailed step-by-step land consolidation project implementation guidance. 106. The MAFCP will set up relations and coordinate with different line ministries and agencies that would be involved in a land consolidation project, the local government units where the consolidation projects will be implemented as well as different donors. 107. At the regional level Agriculture and Food Directorates within the MAFCP shall be the main counterparts of the LCS to support land consolidation activities. Their concrete contribution will be made at different stages of projects’ implementation in their respective areas, i.e. in the project launching, selection process, public consultation, etc. 108. The Immovable Property Registration Office (IPRO) and its regional cadastral offices under the Ministry of Justice, as they are responsible for land titling and registration, maintenance of records and oversight of surveying and mapping, carrying out the state policy on land relations, registration, cadastre, geodesy, mapping and geo-informatics, as well as correcting any errors, will play a crucial role in LC. This institution shall provide initial ownership and cadastral information to the implementing entity, issue land extracts required for the elaboration and authentication of Final Version 22 alienation contracts and most important carry out registration of the land re-allotment plan according to the procedures to be adopted in a new law on land consolidation. 109. Local Government Units (communes/municipalities) represent the general interest of local communities and submit applications for land consolidation projects. Based on the pilot project experience, the role of local government units is essential for the success of project implementation. Specific functions to be performed by the local government units (LGU) include the following: Submit initial application Provide documents, data, relevant plans and urban planning maps Provide office space and host the local project team of the implementing entity Support project implementation during project workshops and in the daily work. Participate in the Land Consolidation Commission (LCC) 110. Territorial Adjustment Committees (TAC) (operating at national, regional and local levels) have authority over land for housing, trade, industry and services within commune/municipalities boundaries. All residential areas are required to have a General Adjustment Plan prepared by the national TAC, which sets the yellow line designating urban centres for a 15- year period. 111. Land Administration and Protection Directories at Qarku level deal with the agricultural land administration, maintenance, improvement, collection and update of information regarding land situation, etc. These offices shall provide a lot of information regarding the unused land, soil categories, etc. to the implementing entity for a land consolidation project. 112. Land Consolidation Commissions (LCC) are new bodies proposed in the strategy. They are required as part of the efficient procedures for land consolidation through the simultaneous implementation of all land transactions in a single re-allotment plan. A LCC will deal with the approval of land consolidation projects and with authorize the registration of all land transactions included in the approved re-allotment plan. 113. A LCC shall be established for each land consolidation project. It shall comprise five people, of whom two people shall represent the MAFCP, one person shall represent the relevant Regional Department of Agriculture, one person shall represent the municipality/commune in which the project is located, and one person shall represent, and be selected by, the landowners and farmers who participate in the project. A LCC will be chaired by one of the representatives from MAFCP. 114. The Local Stakeholder Committee (LSC) shall be elected among landowners and stakeholders participating in the initial community workshop and should equally represent and voice the interests of different groups of farmers and landowners, women and men, during the land consolidation project. LSC serves as local advocacy platform that can support ensuring a transparent planning process, where nobody is put under pressure to Final Version 23 participate against his/her will, and represent the general interest of all the members of the community where the project is being implemented. 115. Implementing entities that carry out the work on land consolidation projects may include the Public Extension Service under the MAFCP and private sector entities. 116. Implementing entities shall have appropriately certified staff, with the following minimum qualifications: (a) Academic level of at least B.Sc. in the fields of: agriculture, land management, law, cadastre or land surveying or equivalent; and (b) Experience in cadastre and GIS expertise; and (c) Certificate upon completion of specified courses on land consolidation. 117. All surveying and cadastral work shall be undertaken by appropriately qualified persons. 5.5. Preparation of a national land consolidation program 5.5.1. Establishment of the institutional/organizational framework of LC and determination of procedures 118. Aiming to fulfil its objectives, this strategy foresees the following actions: a) Establish Land Consolidation Section within MAFCP; b) Establish the legal framework; c) Training and capacity building; d) Launch and implementation of new projects, e) Assist the LCC to establish formal procedures regarding the approval of the re-allotment plan, f) Approval of applications and coordination of applications for new projects, g) Establish relations of cooperation with agencies and state institutions, h) Develop detailed guidance on LC project implementation and procedures i) Prepare annual work program and ensure necessary funding 5.5.2. Establishment of the legal framework 119. Chapter 2.9.2 demonstrated the need for a new law on land consolidation. The structural content of the new law on LC should address the following issues: a) Objectives of implementing the law based on improved sustainable rural livelihoods through more rational and economic parcel structure; b) Principles of voluntary land consolidation, such as free choice (voluntariness), transparency, accountability, respect for individuals, rule of law, efficiency, non discrimination, gender equality, etc.; c) Way of functioning of the scheme for the process, dynamics of its development towards the final objectives ; d) Establishment of the LCC, its composition and functioning; jurisdiction and competencies; e) Role and responsibilities of MAFCP, central and local government units, IPRO, farmers’ community and other potential actors in the process; f) Horizontal and vertical coordination mechanism between the institutional stakeholders involved in LC; g) Financing scheme; h) Details on procedures for the implementation and registration of transactions Final Version 24 120. It is also necessary to amend a number of existing laws and relevant bylaws in the current legislation, particularly in terms of streamlining administrative procedures. 121. Transaction costs for land consolidation projects must be defined based on the new land consolidation procedures, after the preparation of the new law on land consolidation and during the preparations for implementation of the national land consolidation program. 122. Land consolidation is seen as public investment. In this context, the inclusion of a provision in the new LC law to reduce transaction costs for land consolidation is an objective solution. Specifically, sanctioning the exclusion from payment of service fees in the IPRO, the reduction to 50% of the notaries’ service charges, and the exclusion from liability to pay tax on the transfer of property in case of purchase transactions, for a period of 5 years from the date of entry into force of the law. This omission within this time period stimulates interested farmers and at the same time significantly increases the opportunities for successful implementation of the law since its initial stage. 123. There is a special provision in the Civil Code, for the division of land by inheritance, which defines the minimum limit that cannot be divided further. However, there are evidenced numerous occasions when several judicial decisions on the inheritance of the first level courts do not properly reflect this legal restriction and this affects negatively to further fragmentation. For the settlement of these cases, the Supreme Court should decide on the unification of judicial practice, and it remains the most convenient way to definitively address this problem. 124. Based on the above, the following specific laws should be amended as follows: a) Amend the law “On registration of immovable property” to allow LC project implementing entity to carry out all the administrative procedures of transactions on behalf of participants; b) Amend the Law No. 8387/1998 “On assignment of property of agricultural land, forest lands, meadows and pastures” (article 5), to avoid the obligation for the submission of authorization from the court for the representation of juvenile members of the agricultural family once the transaction is formalized; c) Amend existing regulations (Government Decree No 713, dated 10/20/2011; Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 5, dated 01/30/2006) to reduce IPRO service fees and transaction taxes in case of LC; d) Revise and set new fees for the registration of services related to land consolidation projects. 125. The aforementioned adjustments to the legal framework are in full compliance with the goals set forth in the newly adopted Government Strategy Reform in the field of the property rights, which emphasizes the importance of consolidation as an effective tool for reducing the fragmentation of agricultural land. 5.5.3. Capacity development 126. The elaboration of the training program and training materials based on experiences accumulated during implementation of the LC pilot projects is a pre-condition for the successful implementation of a national LC program. 127. The LCS under the MAFCP is responsible for the design and implementation of the training program. Training program for implementing entity 128. Aiming to fulfill the needs for qualified and capable specialists to deal with land consolidation, a training program will be developed based on the best local experiences, revised legal and institutional framework and European experiences and gender issues. Final Version 25 a) The short training course of 2-3 weeks in land consolidation will provide the attendees with a certificate and make them eligible to work as land consolidation planners with the right background. b) The MAFCP will issue the certificates (in conjunction with other institutions as required). 129. Over the long term graduate degree curricula will be developed by the universities for professional master courses on land consolidation, which will allow graduates to be eligible to work as LC planners. Training program for government stakeholders: 130. The training program for government stakeholders will target officials involved in the strategy implementation. Tailored training course will be prepared and delivered by LCS. 5.5.4. Public awareness raising 131. The MAFCP will design a communication program using multimedia channels to inform rural communities about the Land Consolidation Program. Specific and targeted efforts will be made to reach out to women and youth to raise their awareness on property rights and ensure their meaningful participation in the LC program. 132. The MAFCP will include communication activities in its annual work plans. 5.6. Land consolidation as a tool for other purposes 133. In addition to improving agricultural structures only, where appropriate, LC approaches will be used for other purposes in conjunction with rural development. 134. In a number of cases, public interventions will result in changes in land use which will negatively affect farming activities of some farmers (e.g. infrastructure projects etc.) and LC approaches and land banking can be used to allow farmers to continue farming and even expand their operations (by acquiring alternative land through the use of LC and Land Bank approaches). In this case land consolidation procedures can facilitate project implementation, and diminish the need for expropriation, which will continue to be governed by the law on expropriation. 135. When Albania will become a member of EU there will be a need to comply with a number of EU norms such as Natura 2000 Directives and the Water Framework Directive, to take land out of production. In addition, LC can be used to reduce expropriation costs in connection with the building of public infrastructure such as highways, irrigation systems, etc. 136. Such land consolidation projects would be initiated by responsible authorities or line ministries. Institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Water Administration (MEFWA); the Ministry of Transports and Public Works (MTPW) may take a role as project initiators and propose project implementation sites. 5.7. Establishment of a Land Bank and its use in LC activities. 137. A Land Bank can be a very important instrument that helps in the successful implementation of land consolidation projects. Land consolidation planning is very difficult when land mobility is extremely low (very few sellers) where most of the farmers are interested in Final Version 26 exchanging parcels with the purpose to reduce the number of parcels (fragmentation). In such conditions it is beneficial to increase land mobility and the land bank might become a very good instrument to use by increasing the availability of the number of parcels that can be used in land consolidation transactions. 138. Land banking will be introduced and operations will be progressively scaled-up during the period of the strategy. Before the launch of a land consolidation project the MAFCP will consider appropriate purchase of the land from landowners when offered for sale (voluntary and at market conditions), and hold it temporarily so that it is available for sale or exchange to farmers participating in the LC project. 139. The MAFCP may create an initial (start up) budget and prepare simple administrative procedures for land purchase and subsequent sale, often in land consolidation projects. Such procedures could clearly be defined in an appropriate regulatory way. 5.8. Implementation phases and funding 140. Land consolidation will be implemented according to the phases of the Strategy. (A critical assumption is that Albania will become candidate country by 2014, therefore becoming eligible for support under instruments equivalent to IPARD in the EU Financial Framework of 2014-2020). Phase 1: 2014-2016 Two additional pilots to be finalized after the new law is enacted (the initial steps of the pilot project will be carried out in parallel with the law preparation). The purposes of this additional pilot projects will be to continue develop capacity and further test land consolidation procedures before scaling up. Estimated total costs will be 14 Million LEK/project without the cost for international technical assistance that will be an additional cost which MAFCP will seek to get funding from different donors. Phase 2 and 3: 2017-2028 Annually 3-4 middle size projects are implemented given that financial sources are earmarked in the budget on a year to year basis. Projects start is staggered, so that new projects start each year: 3 4 projects in 2017 (to finish in 2019), another set of 3-4 projects in 2018 (to finish in 2020), a third set of 3-4 projects in 2019 (to finish in 2021) and so on. Estimated total cost will be 14 Million LEK/project. 141. These cost estimates will be revised based on the monitoring and evaluation of the additional pilot projects conducted under Phase 1 (2014-16). 142. The projects are expected to be financed in proportion of 25 % from state budget and 75 % being external funding (grants) from the EU (as a candidate country). 143. Donor funding for the preparation of the new law, the next round of pilot projects, preparation of training programs, etc, will be a high priority of MAFCP. Final Version 27 6. STRATEGY OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION CRITERIA 144. Evaluation criteria are established in order to monitor the implementation of this strategy by means of regular assessment of the progress made towards the achievement of the aims and objectives specified in this strategy. 145. By using various mechanisms for achieving organizational objectives coverage and by allocating the appropriate amount of financial resources from the outset to the implementation of this strategy the following results will be attained: a) Reduction in the level of fragmentation of agriculture plots b) Improvement of capacities dealing with agriculture land management and administration c) Increased investment in agriculture and development of the formal land market d) Increased competitiveness of the agriculture sector; e) Increased agricultural GDP per capita; f) Improvement of life quality in the rural areas; g) Increased awareness of land owners on their land and property rights and capacity building on gender and of gender issues therein; h) Increased awareness and capacity building of all actors involved on gender issues related to land consolidation i) Establish measurable gender sensitive indicators including baseline and progress over the years of strategy implementation 146. Implementation of the current strategy will be monitored through strategy objectives, number of implemented projects and achieved results. General indicators of the progress include various aspects of land consolidation including: the total number of implemented land consolidation projects, the total area of consolidated land, number of publications, radio and TV programmes on land consolidation, number of specialists who improved their qualification and are capable to deal with land consolidation, etc. 147. MAFCP shall develop particular evaluation and monitoring guidelines which will contain the main requirements and recommendations for project evaluation, based on the following main groups of indicators: a) Land tenure indicators: reduction of the total number of parcels, increase of the average parcel size, increase of farm/holding size, improvement of parcel shapes, and reduction of distances between parcels, improved specialization and mechanization; etc.) b) Economic indicators: changes in the agricultural production, changes in farm sales and consumption, changes in revenues and expenses of farms, access to infrastructure and services of farmers, etc. c) Social indicators: number of participating landowners (disaggregated by sex and age), changes of incomes of beneficiaries, number of youth involved in farming activities (before and after land consolidation), number of social infrastructures (schools, health services, social and recreational facilities) developed. Final Version 28 148. In the case LC is used for large infrastructure or nature reclamation projects, more indicators are needed than in the case of “simple” farm restructuring, such as land tenure situation, economic aspects, environmental and social aspects, etc. 149. Coordination of the land consolidation strategy implementation, monitoring, evaluation and the strategy adjustment will be performed by the MAFCP. 150. Monitoring the implementation of strategy and evaluation criteria of the strategy derive from the strategic goals and objectives and allow continuous assessment of strategy implementation progress. The monitoring process will be fulfilled in three ways: through annual monitoring, periodic assessment and final evaluation of the strategy. 151. MAFCP will prepare and present to the Government of Albania the annual progressive reports regarding the strategy implementation. Every five year an interim assessment will be carried out and at the end of the strategy period will be executed the final evaluation. 7. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 152. The implementation of the current strategy will go though three closely related phases as presented below: Phase 1: Preparatory phase (0-3 years): The first phase includes the period during 2014-2016, and the main actions involve the initial activities like, legal changes (develop new LC law and amend existing legislation, and other relevant bylaws), follow up with two more pilot projects after the finalization of the FAO project, training and certification, preparation of manuals, etc. Also during this phase the focus will be mainly on the establishment and equipping the land consolidation section; employment of LC sector staff, discussions with different partners in terms of financial support options/possibilities, seek additional funding sources; initial steps for the implementation of LC according to implementation schemes. Further technical assistance will be a high priority of MAFCP in phase 1. Phase 2: Starting the program (4 th to-10 th year): After finalizing the activities planned under the first phase, based on the monitoring and evaluation results and on the actual needs, a new plan of activities will be prepared as part of the second phase of the strategy. The main actions of the second phase include land consolidation activities focused on the restructuring of the agricultural sector in the on-going national land consolidation program. Phase 3: Introduction of more comprehensive projects (11 th to 15 th year): Towards the end of the second phase the focus gradually shifts towards implementation of LC projects with public infrastructure works, and integration of LC to rural development and non-agriculture purposes (nature protection, restoration and environmental purposes, various projects with resettlement needs), while still having projects on simple readjustment. Final Version 29 Annex: ACTION PLAN on the implementation of the National Strategy for LC (2014 – 2028) 1. LEGAL MEASURES Problem Solution Legal Act Responsibl e authorities Time schedule Existing legislation does not provide any special provisions specifically addressed to the issue of land consolidation. Direct intervention in the existing legislation for addressing the issues linked with LC. New law on LC. MAFCP & MoJ 2014 - 2016 Legal restriction to obtain a special authorization from the court for representation on behalf of minor family members (under 18), at the time of formalizing the transaction at the notary. Amending the law to allow bypassing procedures for obtaining special authorization by the court. The law no. 8337/1998 “On the Transfer of Ownership of Agricultural Land, Forests and Pastures”, Article.5. MAFCP & MoJ 2014 - 2016 Excessively cumbersome procedures for the registration of transactions. Amend the law to allow preferential treatment for LC project implementing entity to carry out all the administrative procedures of transactions on behalf of participants. The law “On registration of immovable property”. MAFCP & IPRO & MoJ 2014 - 2016 Several discrepancies between the data registered by IPRO on the registered surface of the land plot and the factual on site situation. Amend the law to allow IPRO to register actions on transfer of property rights according to the will of the family farm, only to parcels involved in case of LC, and also the relevant notes in the card for the rest of the property, in order to prevent further action until the final clarification of the conflict / inaccuracies The law “On registration of immovable property”. MAFCP& IPRO & MoJ 2014 - 2016 Final Version 30 Problem Solution Legal Act Responsible authorities Time schedule Adoption of a guidance by IPRO in which should be clearly defined the respective procedures, in case of LC. New special guidance (sublegal act) IPRO 2014 High level of transaction taxes and fees for the transactions effected at IPRO, in case of LC. Amend existing regulations for reduced IPRO service fees and transaction taxes in case of LC. Government Decree No 713, dated 10/20/2011; Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 5, dated 01/30/2006; MoJ 2014 High notary fees in case of LC. Revise the existing high notary fees, aiming preferential treatment in case of LC. Instruction of the Ministry of Justice. MoJ 2014 According to existing legislation the conduct of measurements is required by a licensed surveyor, requiring the payment of the respective fees of this service. Amend the law to allow that such measurements to be conducted free of charge by a licensed surveyor, employed directly by the commune. The law “On registration of immovable property”. MoJ 2014 2. Other Measures (Institutional, Methodological, Policies, Capacity Building, Funding) No. MEASURES EXECUTING AUTHORITIES TIME SCHEDULE I. INSTITUTIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 Strengthen capacity of LCS, Regional Agricultural Departments, other agencies and public institutions (IPRO, notaries, tax office, etc.) in the field of LC, including the implementation of the LC strategy and design, management and implementation of a LC programme. MAFCP. Ministry of Justice 2014 - 2016 1.2 Develop methodological basis for the implementation of LC activities (implementation guidelines, evaluation guidelines, monitoring programs, etc.). MAFCP 2014- 2016 1.3 Supporting eventual initiatives for the development of the additional pilot projects MAFCP 2014 - 2028 1.4 Drawing up a Public Awareness Programme (PAP) on LC containing the information package and ways to access information. The PAP will cover technical, social and gender issues, the impact of campaign on overall rural population and in particular on women, man and youth, as well as adequate publicity and public relation MAFCP 2014-2028 Final Version 31 No. MEASURES EXECUTING AUTHORITIES TIME SCHEDULE measures 1.5 Establishing the Land Bank (after relevant legislative acts have been adopted) MAFCP, Ministry of Finance 2020 - 2028 1.6 Prepare appropriate information packages and develop efficient ways of delivering these packages on LC procedures to inform local administration and all other actors involved at local level MAFCP 2014 - 2016 2. TRAINING PROGRAM AND CAPACITY BUILDING 2.1 Elaborate regulation on certification of LC specialists MAFCP 2014 - 2015 2.2 Providing international technical assistance for the preparation of the LC law and national LC program. MAFCP, Ministry of Finance 2014 - 2016 2.3 Elaborate training program for the implementation of LC projects MAFCP 2014 - 2016 2.4 Elaborate curriculum for university and post-university studies in LC including for the certification of purposes Agricultural University, MAFCP 2014 - 2016 2.5 Prepare and develop a full training program on LC and social and gender related issues. The content of the training package will be addressed to all levels starting from decision makers, LC project staff and local people (including women, man, and youth) and will focus on gender inequalities in relation to land and property rights , the gender and social implications of consolidation of agricultural land, understanding the gender and social dimensions of rural livelihoods. MAFCP, local government units 2014 - 2015 3. FUNDING LC ACTIVITIES 3.1 LC projects implementation Ministry of Finance, MAFCP 2014 - 2028 3.2 Continuous fundraising activities for the implementation of LC projects Ministry of Finance, MAFCP, Ministry of Environment, other agencies, 2014 - 2028 3.3 Creation of the Budget for organizing and running of courses and workshops MAFCP annually 3.4 Creation of the Budget information activities MAFCP annually 3.5 Fulfillment of requirements for accession to European funds for funding of the National Land Consolidation Program under the Rural Development Programme 2014-20. Ministry of Finance, MAFCP 2014 - 15