Tag: Kosovo

This study analyses the performance of vineyards in Kosovo in terms of their technical, allocative, and economic efficiency. It uses two methods to measure efficiency: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Tobit regression. The data comes from a survey of 165 wine producers through face-to-face interviews in three regions of Kosovo – Rahovec, Suharake and Prizren – between the years 2016 and 2018, each yielding the average of inputs, outputs and prices for the three years. In order to determine the key variables for grape growing efficiency, it was necessary to consider the combined effects of the interactions between inputs, as this has an impact on overall final production. The results show great potential for improving the efficiency of viticulture. The average technical efficiency (TE) is 0.68, the average allocative efficiency (AE) is 0.77 and the average economic efficiency (EE) is 0.52. In general, TE, AE and EE were influenced by the selected variables, suggesting that the selected variables played quite an important role in enabling farmers not to use too many inputs in the production of grapes and instead to use them in appropriate proportions. It also shows how grape growers can improve their productive efficiency by adopting certain practices ...

This study assesses the effectiveness of the Subsidy per Head Scheme (SPHS) in increasing milk productivity, land use, herd size and income in dairy farms across the seven regions of Kosovo. SPHS represents one of the largest coupled subsidy programs in the agricultural sector of Kosovo in terms of farmer participation and budget allocation. We use a Propensity Score Matching approach to assess the impact of this program by comparing a group of participants with a group of non-participants during the 2013–2014 farming seasons. We test the robustness of the impact results using four different matching algorithms. Results reveal SPHS was not effective in increasing land use, gross income and farm size (number of cows), although SPHS had a limited impact on improving milk productivity. In addition, the study highlights the need to reformulate coupled subsidies and develop new, complementary strategies that address farmers’ needs more efficiently.

Quality and safety are important attributes for consumers in developed and transitional countries such as Kosovo. This study aims to examine Kosovar consumers’ characteristics, attitude and preferences towards meat as well as to provide meat consumer profiling using a descriptive analysis together with the Food-Related Lifestyle approach. We drew a sample of 300 Kosovar consumers by means of intercept sampling in Prishtina, Prizren and Gjilan. Results suggest that Kosovar consumers perceive country of origin (COO), especially domestic origin, as an indicator of quality and safety for meat. Two consumer profiles were identified through segmentation analysis: conservative and innovative food consumers. The innovative food consumer is the most interesting target segment for Kosovar meat. There is potentially a market for meat products bearing food safety and origin labels. Therefore, private operators could consider the use of safety certification labels to signal to consumers that their products are safer than common products. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of our findings for businesses and policy makers regarding domestic meat promotion strategies.