Albania is a transition country aspiring to
become a member of EU, while it is expected that it will
become Candidate member within 2012, enabling access
to IPARD funding. EU integration implies more
opportunities, in form of subsidies for rural and
agriculture development, but also imposes standards
related to quality and safety on one hand, and
enhancement of efficiency on the other hand. More
specifically, in order to be eligible for the coming IPARD
funding, Albanian agriculture holdings and agroprocessors,
need to meet national and EU safety
standards (see [1], [2] and [3]).
In this upgrading process, the role that extension
services can and should play is crucial. The Albanian
agriculture extension services have undergone a drastic
change from the time of the state-organized economy to
the market economy, as also the private extension
services have emerged. In this study, we look into
current situation and future perspectives for extension
agriculture services in fruits, vegetables and livestock
subsectors, in order to identify: a) the present behaviour
related to the use and provision of extension services; b)
the (perceived) needs for technical assistance and
Capacity Building (CB) from the perspective of service
providers and clients (agriculture holdings and agroprocessors)
with regards to services related to quality
and safety standards, certification etc.
Despite improvements in some private and public
services, such as cattle insemination and vaccinations,
other services are poorly served, such as services related
to quality/safety standards certification [9]. Further
research on extension services in Albania is needed as
availability of quality extension services is a key factor
to achieve agriculture competitiveness in Albania. This
is particularly important in the context of EU
integration and in the light of multiple relationships
developing with the globalised economy in terms of: a)
support to extension services through donor activities;
b) chain interplay between local and foreign agriculture
and agri-food industry; c) growing competition even in
the domestic market.