1. Land Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe – Integration with Local Rural Development Needs
Morten Hartvigsen
Land Tenure Officer, FAO REU
March 15, (Session 01-08)
Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty
Washington DC

2. Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) suffer from structural problems in agriculture - land fragmentation and small farm sizes
Land fragmentation in Terbuf Municipality, Albania

3. Land reform approaches applied in CEE after 1989:

4. Current level of ownership and land use fragmentation in Central and Eastern Europe

5. The need to address the structural problems after land reform has been recognized:
So far 20 of the 25 countries have since the beginning of transition recognized the need to address the structural problems in agriculture (land fragmentation and small holding and farm sizes).
Land consolidation instruments have been introduced.

6. Status of development of land consolidation programmes in Central and Eastern Europe
7 countries with ongoing land consolidation programmes
In 13 countries land consolidation introduced but not yet a programme
5 countries with little or no land consolidation experience

7. Minimum requirements for having a land consolidation programme:
Land consolidation embedded in the overall land policy of the country
A legal framework for land consolidation has been adopted
A public lead agency for land consolidation has been established
Secured funding on an annual basis
Technical and administrative capacity developed

8. Five more CEE countries are coming close to having operational land consolidation programmes (status April 2015):

9. Land consolidation programme countries (1/2):
Driving factors behind introduction of land consolidation fall in two sub-categories:
Wish to address structural problems and increase productivity (land use) in Poland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Serbia.
Focus on land ownership and building up of land administration systems in Czech Republic, Slovakia and partly Eastern Germany but also the wish to establish land management tool for local rural development (Plan of Common Facilities).

10. Land consolidation programme countries (2/2):
The EU member countries fund land consolidation programmes through the Rural Development Programmes.
EU accession has turned land consolidation instruments more friendly towards nature and environment.
The large potential to facilitate structural development (purchase of additional land) is not reached in compulsory land consolidation projects.

11. CEE countries with land consolidation experience but not yet a programme:
Driving factors behind introduction of land consolidation has mainly been wish to address land fragmentation and improve productivity.
More than 50 international technical assistance projects on land consolidation in CEE since early 1990s.
Focus is shifting from support to pilots to preparation for programmes.
The road from the first land consolidation pilot to an operational programme is often not straight forward.

12. The experiences of FAO:
FAO started work on land fragmentation and land consolidation shortly after it was founded in 1945.
FAO has now for more than 15 years supported land consolidation in CEE by:
Providing policy guidelines,
Implementing field projects in so far 7 countries and 4 new coming up
Organized 15 regional workshops between 2002 and 2015 (LANDNET).

13. Donor funded international technical assistance has implemented land consolidation pilots and developed national land consolidation strategies:
Pilots implemented in15 countries
Strategies developed in 9 countries

14. Land consolidation in a local rural development the context:
Rural communities in CEE countries where land consolidation is implemented usually suffer from many more development needs and constraints than “just” land fragmentation and small farm sizes.
Only few CEE countries have so far managed to integrate their land consolidation instruments with participatory community-led development planning.
Czech Republic and Slovakia have good experiences with preparation of “Plan of Common Facilities”.
FAO has in land consolidation pilots aimed at integrating re-allotment planning in a broader local rural development context.

15. Need for integration:
Development needs are bigger than what can be solved by re-allotment of parcels.
Small semi-subsistence family farms will not become competitive alone by consolidation and reduction of fragmentation.
Rural communities often suffer from a variety of problems including access roads, field roads, irrigation, drainage, erosion, access to markets, access to credit etc.
Elaboration of a Local Community Development Plan can be a way to integrate broader local development needs in the land consolidation project.

16. Local Community Development Plan:
Should be coordinated with existing development plans for the community (including municipality and regional plans).
Active involvement and ownership of the community is key.
A series of community workshops can facilitate the planning process (should be integrated with workshops organized for the land consolidation project).
Interviews with landowners/farmers in land consolidation process is a way to involve the individual stakeholders also in community development planning.

17. Community Development Planning Process:
Analysis of the current situation in the community.
SWOT analysis.
Preparation of scenarios for development (e.g. trend, optimistic and pessimistic scenario).
Action Plan with identified local development projects.

18. Institutional and funding aspects:
EU member countries have access to EU co-funding of up to 80% under the Rural Development Programmes.
Outside the EU, access to secure funding of land consolidation is a big obstacle when programmes are prepared.
Serbia is funding its programme from earmarked income from leasing out State agricultural land.
FYR Macedonia plans to fund the first round of land consolidation projects under the national programme with EU IPA funds from 2017 (only possible when land consolidation is defined as a priority in cooperation agreement between the country and the EU Delegation).
In addition need to secure funding for local rural development projects.

19. Morten Hartvigsen Morten.Hartvigsen@fao.org
Thank you
Morten Hartvigsen