Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) 2022–2028
Multiannual reference guide and strategy for agriculture and rural development
Description
The Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) 2022–2028 is Kosovo’s policy framework for reform and investment in the agri-food and rural sector, aligned with EU approximation and the Common Agricultural Policy. It promotes an inclusive, productive and competitive agro-rural economy through four objectives covering farm competitiveness, natural resource management, rural businesses and employment, and institutional reform, including digitalization and knowledge transfer. The Strategy addresses constraints such as land fragmentation, outdated machinery, infrastructure gaps, high input costs and limited access to finance, and guides Government programming and donor alignment, including IPARD preparation.
Technology
While SARD is a policy strategy rather than a technology solution, it embeds a clear digital transformation agenda under institutional reform and competitiveness. It defines digital agriculture as the use of digital technologies to integrate production from field to consumer, improving decision-making and productivity. Digitalization is positioned as an enabling layer across service delivery, market orientation, monitoring and knowledge transfer. The Strategy refers to CAP-style digital systems, notably the Integrated Administration and Control System and the Land Parcel Identification System, identifies gaps in institutional IT capacity and explicitly includes digitalization and knowledge transfer as a specific objective.
Target
In beneficiary terms, SARD’s priority focus is on improving the performance of Kosovo’s predominantly small and non-modernized farms and strengthening the broader agri-food value chain – including competitiveness, market orientation, and farmers’ position in the value chain - , alongside rural employment/social inclusion measures and institutional reforms such as paying agency functions and service efficiency. The strategy targets farmers and their associations, processors and rural residents, while also serving the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) and other public institutions as a multi-year reference point for programming, CAP alignment and donor support including IPARD-related preparation. The strategy’s framework intended to guide MAFRD and relevant institutions, while serving stakeholders including farmers and their associations, manufacturing/processing groups, and rural residents by providing a stable multi-year reference point and a basis for operational programmes including the Agriculture and Rural Development Program and donor/IPARD alignment.
Impact
The policy sets measurable intended targets and defines impact through a results framework with mid-term and final targets. Under Strategic Objective 1, for example, it targets: a 20 percent increase of gross value added in the agriculture sector by 2028 (baseline shown as 477 million euro), an addition of 5 percent in annual work units), and 14.28 percent labour productivity increase by 2028. Beyond competitiveness, SARD’s indicators and action plan cover environmental and rural development outcomes such as targets linked to soil erosion reduction and climate/renewable-energy related indicators, as well as rural development measures (employment/local development instruments such as LAGs). The Strategy also connects impact to strengthened institutional performance and alignment with CAP-type indicator approaches including AKIS establishment as part of the broader performance logic.
Partners
Office of the Prime Minister Office of Strategic Planning; Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers; Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure; Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade; Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary; EU Office in Kosovo); FAO ; ARDP project
Four Betters
Better life
