Denada Jushi
At the height of the heat, along the Lushnje-Vlora axis, greenhouses and agricultural fields are bustling with work. Among them, a farmer picking tomatoes by the roadside stops to wipe his sweat:
"Farming is hard and dangerous work. You work hard for months, and 10 minutes of hail is enough to throw all your hard work into the ground."
Like this farmer, thousands of citizens in Albania still face the unresolved nightmare of property ownership. They develop this sector almost without subsidies, face losses year after year, and yet they do not give up on one of the two most important pillars of the domestic economy.
At a time when, even after 36 years and dozens of reforms, the issue of ownership remains an open wound and investments are hostage to contradictory laws, the government has submitted for public consultation the draft law "On the transfer of ownership of agricultural land to foreign natural and legal persons".
This initiative aims to give foreign citizens and companies the right to purchase agricultural land, both private and state-owned. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the goal is to create more favorable conditions for investment, modernize the sector and develop rural areas. However, the draft has sparked a fierce debate among legal experts, environmentalists and the opposition, who raise serious questions about the consequences of this liberalization in the conditions of the current property chaos.
According to the accompanying report, the agrarian reform of the 90s distributed land to about 445 agricultural families, while about 100 hectares of undivided land continue to be administered by local governments. It is precisely this category of land that is expected to pass into the ownership of foreigners, according to the new procedures.
The draft stipulates that any foreign entity may purchase up to 2 hectares of land within a municipality and up to 30 hectares nationally. The land must be used exclusively for agriculture, livestock or agribusiness, while changing its destination is prohibited, except in specific legal cases. Sanctions are also foreseen in case of violations or non-compliance with environmental standards.
Liberalization without property registration
However, the draft carries a major paradox: on the one hand, it aims to liberalize the market, while on the other, the process of initial property registration, consolidation of titles, and compensation of former owners has not yet been completed. This means that the state is enabling the transfer of a strategic asset, when the legal status of a large part of the land itself remains unclear.
The control mechanisms also raise doubts. The 30-hectare limit applies only to a single entity, but the draft does not provide clear filters to prevent the use of affiliated companies or partnerships (“shell” schemes) to control much larger areas. The risk of land being concentrated in a few hands remains real. It also remains unclear how the origin of capital will be verified.
ACQJ approached the Ministry of Agriculture to seek clarification on these uncertainties, but as of the time of publication of this article, no response has been received.
Legal risks and preferential treatment
For lawyer Irena Dule, the problem lies not in attracting investment, but in the structure of the draft law. According to her, instead of amending the existing law, a parallel law is being created that establishes a special regime only for foreigners.
"If the goal were simply to treat foreigners equally with Albanian citizens, changing a provision in the current law would be enough. The creation of a special law shows that the goal is not to eliminate discrimination, but to create preferential treatment for foreign investors," argues Dule.
Another concern is related to the privatization of state land at a time when compensation for former owners has remained pending. This creates an asymmetry: Albanian citizens face strict restrictions, while a legal “bypass” is created for foreign entities. The lawyer also raises doubts about the procedures for revocation of ownership in case of violations, describing the provisions as unclear and easily overturned in court.
Environmental expert Abdulla Diku also sees the issue of ownership as a fundamental problem. He recalls that Albania has one of the most limited areas of agricultural land in Europe and that it represents a strategic resource for national sovereignty.
According to Diku, the European Union is not forcing Albania to sell the land, but simply requires the free movement of capital. Many member states have maintained strong protective mechanisms for local farmers, such as pre-emption rights or strict administrative controls. Furthermore, the Albanian draft law uses the broad term “foreign persons”, opening the door to investors from countries outside the EU.
Somewhere proposes an alternative model: instead of selling, foreign investors should be guaranteed long-term use of the land through lease contracts.
"Albania needs investment in agriculture, but not necessarily for the sale of land. Investment and ownership are not the same thing. Food is a strategic element and land is the only resource where it is produced," says the expert.
Centralization of powers
Along the same critical line, the "Mundësia" Party MP, Erald Kapri, considers the draft law part of a broader model of centralization of power. He tells ACQJ that this scheme practically shifts final decision-making to the Prime Minister's offices, weakening institutional filters.
According to Kapri, this initiative follows the same philosophy as the law on strategic investors, the Mountain Package and the changes to the law on protected areas.
Before Albania becomes part of the EU, it must follow the strategy of member states, where agriculture and property are considered sacred, by investing in local farmers through financial guarantees. The sector is in dire need of capital, but it is essential to distinguish whether this development will be done by alienating ownership, or through models that absorb investment while maintaining control over the country's most strategic asset./ acqj.al
