Agricultural Finance in Kosovo

Abstract

Public expenditure on agriculture  in Kosovo has been growing massively  over the last five years, however,  additional resources need to be directed  to the sector in order to accelerate the  attainment of agriculture’s potential  positive impacts on Kosovo’s economic  and social development, improve Kosovo’s  agricultural competitiveness in the region  and meet EU requirements. Agriculture  has a share of less than 4 % of total  state budget allocations. Yet this is too  low a share for a sector that accounts  for about 12 % of GDP, provides between  25 - 35 % of employment (mostly in the  informal sector), and accounts for 12 %  of total exports. Hence an increase in  budget allocations should support the  consolidation, sustainability and growth  of Kosovo’s agro-processing industry,  will provide for increased employment,  and ensure a secure future for Kosovo’s  people and society. This paper presents  an analysis of the public finance practice  and issues in agriculture in the context  of the international public financial  management regulations.