Agriculture & Rural Development

Overview

For most ECA countries, unlike those in other Bank regions, the ability to produce primary agricultural commodities sufficient to feed itself and meet export demand is not a prime concern. In most former Soviet Union countries (and to considerable extent Turkey), agriculture was heavily subsidized in the past, in terms of both production and consumption, particularly for the basic grains and livestock. With the removal of these support systems during the early years of the transition period, however, agricultural production fell sharply.   More...

 

Regional Differences and Challenges
ECA countries can be classified into four main groups: Eastern Europe, Western Former Soviet Union, Caucasus and Central Asia, and Turkey. Eastern Europe includes eight recent entrants to the European Union (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania); three prospective entrants (Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia); Albania; and the remainder of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo). More...

 

Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy
The World Bank’s strategy for agricultural and rural development in ECA includes four elements: (a) ensuring the legal basis for a modern and progressive rural sector, (b) creating the institutional basis for such a sector, (c) rehabilitating or building the physical basis required, and finally, (d) enhancing the competitiveness of the sector. More...