The challenge
With more than 360 indigenous species, the Cape of Rodon on the Adriatic coast offers vast biodiversity, making for excellent conditions for organic farming. However, many areas lie fallow and have been used primarily for pastoral farming since the end of the socialist regime in 1990. In the traditional family structures, working people – most of them men – eke out a living, mainly from fishing. Other than that, the region offers very few economic prospects. Many men migrate to the cities or work as seasonal labourers in Italy. The cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plants such as thyme, balm and oregano, which grow wild in the region and which people collect for their own needs, offers new employment opportunities, especially for women. The develoPPP project aims to promote organic cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants and conserve and strengthen local resources. FLAVEX thus secures a stable supply source for the sought-after herbs, contributing to long-term business opportunities and economic development in the region.
Project approach
The aim of the project partnership was to conserve the natural resources and biodiversity on the Cape of Rodon peninsula and establish organic and socially sustainable farming in line with EU standards for organic farming. To this end, the following measures were implemented between 2016 and 2019 with a total budget of EUR 475,000:
- Lease of around 22 hectares of plots on previously uncultivated land belonging to smallholder families.
- Test cultivation of additional plant varieties in a newly created biodiversity nursery.
- Training of local smallholders in good agricultural cultivation methods.
- Provision of EU organic seed and seedlings.
- Financing of a cutting instrument for high-quality processing of the raw materials.
- Purchase of a minibus for female workers.
- Investment in off-road work machines and accessories.
NATURAL ALBA leased the land and carried out the test cultivation. FLAVEX financed the technical equipment for the harvesting measures and processing activities, provided the seed and organised the training courses. FLAVEX also established organic operations for EU organic cultivation of oregano and lemon balm on the leased properties, for which GIZ ensured the water supply. FLAVEX and GIZ joined forces to introduce a voluntary organic code of conduct among the participating smallholder families.
Our joint project has shown that organic cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants creates new skilled jobs in Albania and ensures our long-term supply of raw materials.
Results
Ten percent of the cultivated area on the Cape of Rodon is now used for organic farming of medicinal and aromatic plants. Natural Alba and the smallholder families involved are certified under EU standards to farm organically the areas leased and cultivated through contract farming, thereby guaranteeing companies like FLAVEX high-quality organic products. Thanks to the medicinal and aromatic plants produced by the smallholders, who are either employed or work as contract farmers, the average annual income from formal labour has doubled, from around EUR 800 previously to EUR 1,600, as women are now also contributing to income to a greater extent.
- 30 women farmers are permanently employed with the company
- 8 smallholder families are farming 8 hectares of land on a contract basis
- A total of 64 hectares are certified according to EU standards for organic farming
develoPPP Classic
develoPPP Classic is aimed at medium-sized and large companies that want to invest sustainably in a developing or emerging country and expand their operational activities locally. Suitable projects receive technical and financial support of up to two million euros in public funding.
Project partners
