development
projects
location Albania dates January 2010 – December 2012 CABI project team Dirk Babendreier Ulrich Kuhlmann
building capacity for IPM education in Albania
Apples were an important crop for Albania, but by the time of democratisation in the mid-1980s, production had all but collapsed. Lack of agricultural training or access to technological advancement had led to Albania importing 90% of its apples consumed.
so what’s the problem? Albania’s apple production capabilities remain underdeveloped after the transition to free market economy, characterized by intensive labour, low productivity, and insufficient use of ecologically friendly practices. Similarly, agricultural universities struggle with funding and access to international databases, resulting in researchers not being competitive. However, the desire is there to rebuild the institutional capacity of agricultural educators and researchers to adopt ICM approaches that are already widely implemented in other European countries. Recently, the fruit sector was made a top priority of the Ministry of Agriculture in Albania and Korca, a prime area for apple farming, is the focus for an agricultural knowledge comeback.
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
what did this project do? The main objectives of this Institutional Partnership are to anchor ICM in the Albania, to improve local capacities in generating knowledge, and to enhance students’ and professors’ knowledge of applied ICM in the agricultural sector. We worked along the whole chain of agricultural education and research. Teaching tools (lectures and hand-outs for students) covering all relevant aspects of ICM were used to transfer ICM knowledge, along with supporting technical equipment. Partner institutions were trained to conduct innovative research, feeding directly into improved advisory services for farmers. Young scientists also joined the CABI Switzerland Centre to gain comprehensive training in ICMrelated research and implementation activities. The project contributed significantly to the sustainable improvement of ICM knowledge of students, farmers, advisers and researchers. Instilling the ICM philosophy at all levels of research, education, policy and practice allows a more rapid transition to robust and sustainable agriculture in Albania.
results A comprehensive series of ICM lectures were finalized for the University of Korca, while a condensed version was developed for the Agribusiness School, accounting for the different student profiles and educational needs of the two institutions. For the University of Korca, this lecture was implemented for the first time in March 2011 to become an integral component of the newly established Masters course in Rural Development. For both institutions, exams were implemented to assess each student’s comprehension of the training materials. It is expected that the ICM lectures will better prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector and promote agricultural methods that are more benign for the environment as well as for consumers’ and farmers’ health. All partners were supported in conducting innovative research based on farmers’ needs. In particular, staff from the partner institutions received training on experimental design and statistical analysis. In one example, an experiment on the effects of the biological control product ‘Madex’ on codling moth, the major apple pest, revealed promising results For the apple farmers Korca, a training series conducted by local partners focused on pest monitoring and rational pesticide use. Agrinet, with support from the Centre for Agricultural Technology Transfer (CATT), taught farmers to test soil, survey pesticide inputs, and monitor results, ultimately reducing their use of pesticides. An overarching result of the project was the strong networking links established. In both 2010 and 2011, young Albanian scientists received 3 months of on-the-job training on ICM in Switzerland. National support network between Agrinet, the CATT and the Swiss SME Andermatt Biocontrol AG, grew during the project. The farmer cooperative IP Apple Club, many members of which took part in the project, has grown in size, yield and acreage and is now producing more Albanian apples for export. .
www.cabi.org/ipmalbania partners Agrinet (NGO, Albania) Agrobusiness School Korca Centre for Agricultural Technology Transfer, Albania University of Korca
sponsors Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC) Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
contact CABI, Rue des Grillons 1, CH-2800, Delémont, Switzerland T: +41 (0)32 421 4870 F: +41 (0)32 421 4871 E: europe-CH@cabi.org www.cabi.org/switzerland
ID-IPMALB-03-13
Dirk Babendreier, Project Manager