In response to the food, energy, and fiscal crises compounded by the Ukraine conflict and lingering COVID-19 effects, FAO North Macedonia collaborated with UNDP and UNICEF in the Joint Programme titled “Identifying Systemic Pathways for Responding to the Global Crisis on Food, Energy and Finance in North Macedonia.” Funded by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented in the second half of 2022, this project aimed to support the Government of North Macedonia in establishing systemic pathways for a robust response to the crises. FAO’s primary role focused on addressing challenges related to food accessibility, affordability, and resilience.
FAO’s work involved addressing critical data gaps, enabling data-driven decision-making for sustainable and inclusive transformation of food systems. Key FAO contributions included multi-stakeholder workshops, data collection on agricultural support expenditures, and recommendations for near-real-time food security monitoring. This project aligned strategically with FAO’s ongoing Technical Cooperation Program (TCP/MCD/3805/C4), which focused on developing a National Food Security Strategy and identifying a coordinated response to the food crisis.
FAO’s Role and Activities in the Project
FAO’s contribution was centred on generating actionable insights and facilitating effective policy dialogue to enhance food security and resilience. Key activities included:
Stakeholder Engagement and Policy Dialogue: FAO organized consultative workshops and focus group meetings with representatives from government, farmer organizations, academia, and the private sector. These dialogues fostered a deeper understanding of risks to food security, energy, and social services, emphasizing the impact on vulnerable groups like women and children.
Data Collection on Agricultural Support Expenditures: FAO collected data on agricultural production support and public expenditures related to social protection, providing insights into the financial requirements for sustaining food security.
Near-Real-Time Monitoring of Food Security: FAO assessed the capacity for monitoring food availability and accessibility in near real-time, providing recommendations to improve response capabilities and establish early warning systems.
Situational Reports: Bimonthly reports provided updates on national food security, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. These reports informed government policy and public awareness.
Recommendations for Social Protection and Public Expenditure Adjustments: FAO proposed ways to optimize public expenditures for social services, identifying fiscal spaces that could be repurposed to strengthen food security responses.
Systemic Pathways in Response to Crisis
FAO’s analysis emphasized the importance of data-driven policies and long-term, cooperative strategies to improve resilience in North Macedonia’s food systems. The identified pathways included strategic investment in food security, sustainable agriculture practices, and regional cooperation:
Restructure Public Spending for Agriculture: Public spending should be redirected to enhance productivity, focusing on high-value agricultural products, while linking subsidies to measurable outcomes.
Enhance Land Consolidation Efforts: Inefficient farm structures, outdated agricultural infrastructure, and other challenges contribute to the abandonment of agricultural land and young people leaving the rural areas in North Macedonia. Land consolidation should be further scaled-up as a long-term solution to improve agricultural productivity and competitiveness by reorganizing land into larger, more efficient farms. Land consolidation initiatives foster sustainable agricultural development and improve rural livelihoods.
Focus on High-Value Crops and Export Products: North Macedonia should assess its comparative advantages to identify specialized crops for export, strengthening economic resilience and diversification.
Align with the EU Green Deal: Linking agricultural transformation efforts with EU Green Deal priorities can enhance sustainability and competitiveness.
Overhaul Agricultural Financing: Establish an apex financing structure to de-risk borrowing for small and micro-enterprises in agriculture. Public-private partnerships could support rural infrastructure investments, including irrigation and road development.
Enhance Knowledge Transfer: Reallocate resources to extension services and knowledge-sharing on sanitary and phytosanitary measures to improve sector competitiveness and food safety.
Key Insights from FAO Project Briefs
FAO produced three key policy briefs that encapsulated the findings and recommendations from this project:
Data for Estimating Near-Real-Time Food Availability in North Macedonia: This brief highlighted the importance of closing data gaps in food security, including information on food waste, regional prices, and hydro-meteorological conditions, to enable effective forecasting and crisis response.
Food Availability through Agri-Food Production and Trade in North Macedonia: Rising input costs and supply chain challenges were highlighted, particularly the impact of fertilizer prices (up by 58.1%) and feed costs, which strain domestic livestock production.
Recommendations for Better Estimating Near-Real-Time Food Availability in North Macedonia: This brief focused on the need for systematic data collection, such as food balance sheets and cost-of-production surveys, to enhance decision-making and protect vulnerable groups during crises.
