Good Practices for Disaster Risk Reduction in Agriculture in the Western Balkans

Abstract

The Western Balkan region is prone to various natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, droughts and forest fires, due to its location, climatic and topographic characteristics. The agriculture sector is adversely impacted by these hazards, through the damage of agricultural facilities and equipment as well as losses in the crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry subsectors. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of hydro-meteorological hazards, and smallholder farmers in these countries are therefore especially vulnerable as they mainly depend on the sector and its activities for their food and livelihoods. This paper presents the findings from interviews with farmers, extension officers and agriculture experts regarding 12 identified good practices that can help to reduce the adverse impacts of natural hazards, in particular, floods, landslides and droughts, on agriculture in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The differences between these stakeholders’ perspectives will be illustrated and the requirements needed for the uptake and upscaling of these practices in the Western Balkan region will be discussed.