Ahead of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, Albania produced a national pathway that lays out its vision for the future. The pathway prioritizes prosperity driven by all actors in the food system to improve rural livelihoods, food security and productivity, deliver safe, quality food that promotes health and well-being, and increase the country’s capacity to adapt to climate change.
Agritourism represents a key entry point for adopting a systems approach, given its capacity to deliver multiple environmental, economic and social outcomes. Its benefits extend to diverse stakeholders within the food system, encompassing sectors including agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, marketing, food, culture and local economies.
Starting in 2022, the government convened multiple local dialogues that brought together diverse stakeholders to reflect on challenges and opportunities and identified ways to upgrade Albanian agritourism through collaboration across their respective sectors and disciplines. The dialogues created a safe and inclusive space in which people felt heard and empowered to voice their concerns and ideas in a publicly recognized platform. Thanks to these dialogues, the participants worked together to formulate their contributions to the national roadmap, using agritourism as an entry point.
This collective vision was shared with the government at a national dialogue that was co-chaired by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the UN Resident Coordinator and the FAO Representative in Albania. The consultation was attended by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment as well as representatives from academia, agrifood business, civil society, government agencies and the UN.
In the opening of the national dialogue, the UN Resident Coordinator in Albania, Fiona McCluney, emphasized the importance of local and national dialogues in advancing sustainable food systems in the country. “We gather today with key national stakeholders, the UN Country Team, and key development partners to discuss how we can collectively transform Albania’s food system,” stressed Fiona McCluney, UN Resident Coordinator. She highlighted the need for collective efforts towards a food system that delivers safe and nutritious food to the Albanian population, offers economic opportunities to food producers and agribusiness operators, and respects the environment by advancing jobs for youth in the green economy. She further emphasized the role of agritourism and rural tourism as key indicators and avenues for creating such opportunities.
