Assessing technical efficiency of vegetable farms in North Macedonia

Farm economic performance measuring is important for farm management purposes and for assessing the impact of agricultural policy measures. Efficiency studies enable assessment of farm performance since highly efficient farms are considered to have higher potential for operating in a changing economic and technological environment. The aim of this paper is to assess the technical efficiency of vegetable farms in North Macedonia, utilising Data Envelopment Analysis, as a non-parametric approach estimating the relative efficiency of decision making units producing multiple outputs and using multiple inputs. The analysis is based on Farm Monitoring System data including 75 vegetable farms in 2011 survey. Apart from baseline scenario, additional scenarios include available agricultural policy support in 2011 and 2016. The average technical efficiency of vegetable farms is 0.62 considering constant returns to scale, i.e. 0.71 and 0.75 considering variable returns to scale (in output and input oriented perspective, respectively). With better farm management, technical efficiency score can be improved on average by 25%. Technical efficiency increases slightly with subsidies, on average by 2 to 3%. Analyses based on farm level data, are valuable when estimating the effects of implementation of agricultural policy as well as when creating new policy interventions

Optimizacija proizvodnje na farmama za proizvodnju povrća u Republici Makedoniji

The aim of the paper is to develop an optimization model to support the analysis of decision-making on Macedonian family farms. Normative linear programming paradigm is applied, utilising its optimization potential. The model is applied on a hypothetical vegetable farm case. The optimal structure in all scenarios indicates that the optimal solution is the production of tomato, pepper, cabbage, carrot and bean. The base scenario reveals a gross margin of 17,924 € which is highest compared to other scenarios. The working capital available is a binding constraint in second and third scenario, where the optimal solution reveals that the land resource is not exhausted. Gross margin sensitivity was examined using the working capital parameterisation. The model is quite flexible thus enabling different crop enterprises to be added additionally.Cilj ovoga rada jest razvijanje modela optimiranja kako bi se pružila potpora analizi donošenja odluka na makedonskim obiteljskim farmama. Primijenjen je normativni obrazac linearnog programiranja, pri čemu se koristio njegov potencijal optimiranja. Model je primjenjen na hipotetski slučaj farme za proizvodnju povrća. Optimalna struktura, prema svim scenarijima, ukazuje da je optimalno rješenje proizvodnja rajčice, paprike, kupusa, mrkve i graha. Osnovni scenarij ukazuje da je bruto marža od 17,924 € najviša u odnosu na ostale scenarije. Postojeći obrtni kapital obvezujuće je ograničenje u drugom i trećem scenariju, u kojima optimalno rješenje ukazuje da zemljišni resursi nisu iscrpljeni. Osjetljivost na bruto maržu ispitivala se parametrizacijom obrtnog kapitala. Ovaj model je prilično fleksibilan, tako da pruža mogućnost naknadnog dodavanja poduzeća koja se bave proizvodnjom različitih kultura

The role of rural development funds in EU pre-accession countries: the case of IPARD II

The European Union is a key strategical priority for the pre-accession countries in the Western Balkan and Turkey. The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) assists countries aspiring for EU membership to prepare their institutional and administrative capacities for future compliance in all sectors including agriculture and rural development. Apart from the financing component, the role of IPARD is much broader in preparing the preaccession countries for effective implementation of structural and rural development funds upon accession. This paper aims to provide a comparative cross-country analysis on the IPARD programme 2014-2020 (IPARD II) funding of the current beneficiaries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). The main derived indicators include the use of IPARD II funding, measures and absorption rates. IPARD II payments are effectuated in all candidate countries from 2019, while payments started earlier in 2017 in Turkey and in 2018 in North Macedonia. With the prolonged start of the IPARD II programme, significant amount of the available funds remains unused, and the number of implemented measures is still limited. There are noticeable country differences in terms of expenditure among measures, but overall, the largest share of used funds so far is dedicated to investments in physical assets in primary production and processing. All countries have established some form of institutional and administrative capacities for implementing the agricultural and rural development policies, especially for the IPARD funds. Still, there is a need for additional capacity building, due to numerous factors, among which the dynamic environment with many continuously changing aspects (CAP reform, accession methodology, climate change or issues arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemics). Further promoting the programme, strengthening the national institutions’ set-up and capacity, aligning to the beneficiaries needs, and supporting them in preparing viable or sustainable projects are recommendations for better use of the current funds, as well as for the preparation of IPARD III cycle

Report on the Status of Organic Agriculture and Industry in North Macedonia

Report on the Status of Organic Agriculture and Industry in North Macedoni

Assessing the Future Development of the Macedonian Agriculture: Partial equilibrium model of livestock-feed sector

The country is facing one of the biggest challenges since its independence – the process of the EU accession. Taking into consideration that „forecasting important economic events is source of power“ (Howitt, 2005), the aim of this paper is to develop a model in order to assess the impact of the EU membership on the Macedonian agriculture. The model is recursive, dynamic, multi-product partial equilibrium model for the meat, dairy and cereals sector in the Republic of Macedonia. It follows the AGMEMOD principles, hence comprising the local features of the Macedonian agriculture. The baseline scenario shows a positive growth of the pig meat, lamb meat and cow milk sectors. On the other hand, in the EU scenarios the most positive effect is expected in the extensive sectors, e.g the sheep and beef productions. The grains show modest growth on the supply side, but the projections on the net-trade demonstrate further deficit increase. The biggest gain in the EU scenarios comes from the higher level of prices, but also from the higher budgetary support. Compared with the experiences of the previous enlargements, the model confirms the expectations about the development of the selected sectors after the EU accession

Sheep meat balance in Republic of Macedonia Section 2 . Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Sheep meat balance in Republic of Macedonia

Abstract Sheep meat is a traditional product for the Republic of Macedonia, with a decreasing production trend in the last fifteen years. The aim of the paper is to analyze the changes in the sheep meat balance and to measure the declining tendency of this sub-sector. The results show that the number of sheep as well as the sheep meat production decreased by one-third in the research period (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009), whereas the meat exports increased by one-third. There are many factors contributing to this situation, resulting into an increased cost of production and a decreased the farmers' return. In the conclusion of the article it is stated that governmental actions could have a significant role in order to avoid further deterioration of this sub-sector with huge social meaning for the Republic of Macedonia

PARTIAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL AS A TOOL FOR POLICY ANALYSIS IN AGRICULTURE: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF MACEDONIA

Agricultural sector modeling based on partial equilibrium modelling of the supply and demand has become standard approach in the market outlooks and policy impact studies. The model builders and users reveal many pros and cons of the process and results of modelling. The Macedonian experience confirms some typical obstacles and at the same time faces some new ones with a local perspective. The paper provides a summary of the milestones in modelling the partial equilibrium model for the livestock-feed sector in Macedonia with main focus on the obstacles and limitations in the process. This experience is expected to be useful for the countries in the Western Balkan region planning to build a sector models based on partial equilibrium concept as a policy analysis tool

Assessing the Future Development of the Macedonian Agriculture: Partial equilibrium model of livestock-feed sector

The country is facing one of the biggest challenges since its independence – the process of the EU accession. Taking into consideration that „forecasting important economic events is source of power“ (Howitt, 2005), the aim of this paper is to develop a model in order to assess the impact of the EU membership on the Macedonian agriculture. The model is recursive, dynamic, multi-product partial equilibrium model for the meat, dairy and cereals sector in the Republic of Macedonia. It follows the AGMEMOD principles, hence comprising the local features of the Macedonian agriculture. The baseline scenario shows a positive growth of the pig meat, lamb meat and cow milk sectors. On the other hand, in the EU scenarios the most positive effect is expected in the extensive sectors, e.g the sheep and beef productions. The grains show modest growth on the supply side, but the projections on the net-trade demonstrate further deficit increase. The biggest gain in the EU scenarios comes from the higher level of prices, but also from the higher budgetary support. Compared with the experiences of the previous enlargements, the model confirms the expectations about the development of the selected sectors after the EU accession.partial equilibrium model, agricultural policy, Macedonian agriculture, Livestock Production/Industries,

Stavovi makedonskih poljoprivrednika prema pristupu EU

Macedonia has been a candidate-country for EU membership since 2005. The EU integrative process, without doubt, will have an impact on the Macedonian economy and particularly on the agricultural sector. So far, the farmers’ attitude and intentions with regard to the EU integration and accession have not been thoroughly investigated. Respectively, the objective of the paper is to provide understanding of the Macedonian farmers’ attitude and behavioural intentions in the context of EU accession and the potential policy and market changes. Furthermore, another issue is to establish whether there are significant discrepancies among farmers and their attitude towards EU accession. The results revealed that the farmer community in the country is quite heterogeneous in terms of farm and farmers’ profiles and farm management practices. The cluster analysis suggests that there are four clusters according to which the variables explaining the attitudes were significantly different, provisionally labelled as “optimist “, “moderate”, “restrained” and “sceptic”.Makedonija je država kandidat za ulazak u EU od 2005. Integracijski proces će nedvojbeno imati utjecaj na makedonsku ekonomiju, posebice na područuju poljoprivrede. Do sada nisu vršena značajnija istraživanja u vezi stavova i namjera poljoprivrednika u odnosu na integracije i pristup EU. U tom smislu, svrha ovoga rada jest pružiti uvid u stavove makedonskih poljoprivrednika i njihovih reakcija u kontekstu pristupa EU te potencijalne politike i promjena na tržištu. Nadalje, predmet istraživanja bilo je i utvrđivanje postoje li razlike između poljoprivrednika i njihovih stavova prema pristupanju EU. Rezultati su pokazali da su poljoprivrednici u zemlji poprilično heterogeni u smislu farme, profila poljoprivrednika i prakse vođenja farmi. Klaster analizom utvrđene su četiri grupe čije varijable reprezentiraju značajno različite stavove, provizorno označene kao „optimistični“, „umjereni“, „suzdržani“ i „skeptični“

Expectations motivating the Macedonian farmers in attaining EU standards

EU accession means reaching EU standards, and the agricultural sector will expectedly be one of the key areas that will require adjustment in the case of Macedonian farmers. This paper is investigating the factors that motivate farmers to a certain planned adjustments, in order to provide further existence. This problem is addressed through the lenses of the theory of planned behaviour, by the use of factor analysis and stepwise regression. The results showed the perception of the market as the strongest motivational factor, and as such it should be used when designing the educational/informational approaches to farmers