Agriculture and rural development in Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey will benefit from over €900 million from the European Commission for the period 2021-27. This will be used to help investments in agri-food sector competitiveness, environment management, climate action and improved attractiveness of rural areas.
Food security, climate action, alignment with EU standards and increased resilience of agriculture are among driving factors behind this aid package from the European Commission instrument for pre-accession assistance for rural development (IPARD). It is expected to leverage a total investment of over €2 billion when combined with national public and private contributions. The programmes are designed to contribute also to the objectives of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and the European Green Deal more broadly. This will be done for example through EU support for asset modernisation, manure and waste management, renewal and efficient energy, organics and environmental technologies, innovation, and climate. A press release details the IPARD measures involved.
