In Albania, located in South-Eastern Europe, some 24 percent of the land is dedicated to agriculture, which accounts for around 21 percent of the country’s GDP. The sector is strongly centred around family farming, with over 90 percent of the 380 000 farms in Albania being small-scale (less than 2 ha), family-run operations. Family farming, considered vital for the preservation of traditions and cultural heritage, is today seeing the increased involvement of women and young people, although such challenges as limited modernization, fragmented land and restricted market access threaten the sustainability and competitiveness of these small family enterprises.  

An earlier initiative focused on agriculture sought to define a vision for the digitalization of agriculture in line with the country's legal agritourism framework. In a further study, the land use, water resources and agroecological conditions in the rural areas around Përmet were evaluated, leading to the creation of a digital soil map, improving on the existing soil data, and facilitating data-driven decision-making processes.  

Under the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI), two villages – Tropoja and Përmet – have been assessed to gain a better understanding of the challenges at a local level, and a “twinning” approach is currently being evaluated. As of November 2022, common points of interest have been identified between Përmet in Albania, the Lormes European Smart Village in France and the village of Rahovec in Kosovo*, which is noted for its quality wine production.

DVI in Albania is seeking synergies with another FAO's flagship initiative in the country - One Country One Priority Product - with the aim to improve monitoring and resource management of chestnut forest resources through building a GIS-based map of chestnut forests.

*All references to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).