Resource information
The National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a multi-sectoral national strategy applying to the period of 2002-2005. Its main objective is accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.The Strategy among others provides for measures for the development of agriculture and poverty reduction. In this area, it notes that accelerating growth of production and employment in private farms should be encouraged. According to it, this could be achieved through the following: (1) establishing programs to lease or sell cultivable land that is currently owned by government in small 2-10 hectare blocs to private farmers; (2) promoting private investment in minor irrigation, including especially extraction of groundwater and drip irrigation; (3) relaxing regulatory controls on introduction of new agricultural technologies, including new varieties of seeds and livestock genetics; (4) building or improving roads to remote mountain villages with declining population, to allow people to move back into the villages and to cultivate available land; (5) promoting associations and cooperatives of agricultural producers, traders, and processors to improve access to inputs, markets, and technology; (6) arranging for appropriate cultivable land to be certified for organic production undertaken by private organizations without any involvement of the Macedonian government; and (7) promoting rural banking and credit institutions and programs, including cooperative banks, to provide convenient banking services to farmers.Further, the Strategy also provides for measures that need to be taken for rural employment. Among these measures, it underlines the need for establishing incentives for business development in less developed regions; revising banking regulations to facilitate development of cooperative banks and/or savings houses; establishing low-cost public access to internet in all rural districts; and promoting traditional and non-traditional tourism in remote mountain regions.Moreover, the document contains measures for social protection of the rural population, which include: (1) adjustments in pension, disability pension and health insurance to expand coverage among the agrarian and rural population; (2) reviewing levels of pension and social protection payments in rural areas, with attention to equity (e.g., pensions compared to lifetime contributions), cost of living, and absolute levels of poverty for pension and welfare recipients; (3) establishing a role for municipal governments to assist design and target social protection funds to maximize poverty reduction impact and to reduce both exclusion and inclusion errors; (4) developing a system of social support for the elderly and impoverished persons living in villages in order to allow them to be taken care of by family members. The Strategy notes that in conjunction with social protection programs, a program should be established which will cover payroll taxes for a defined period (e.g., 2 years) for companies hiring people that are currently receiving social assistance.Finally, the document also contains implementation measures. According to it, in order to continue rural development efforts over time, the following institutional arrangements for planning and evaluation should be recognized and proposed: (1) some planning should be regional, including planning through new municipal governments, with their enhanced authority and fiscal strength; (2) national planning will have to continue, both in order to link regional plans as well as to provide additional financial support; (3) the government should establish a Rural Development Institute for continuous expert and scientific assistance in planning and evaluating rural development efforts and achievements.
