Climate risk assessment helps advance agricultural resilience in Kosovo

United Nations agencies and experts gathered in Pristina to focus their attention on climate risk in the Kosovo¹ agricultural sector and find pathways for strengthening climate action in agriculture.

The 23 April event marked an important step towards strengthening climate resilience in the agricultural sector and supporting rural livelihoods, particularly among women farmers. It was framed by the project Promoting Rural Women’s Empowerment in Kosovo, funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and UN Women. Among other topics, discussions centred on a joint assessment report being developed to provide an in-depth analysis of current and projected climate risks affecting agriculture.

Climate impacts in Kosovo are seen through declining crop yields, increased stress on livestock and damage to crops and infrastructure caused by more frequent and intense climate events.

To this end, participants – including representatives from national and local institutions, international partners, academia, civil society and farmers – had the chance to deepen their knowledge on the subject through expert presentations and a panel discussion on how policy and practice can better respond to climate risks.
At the event, Rita Glavitza, Counsellor and Head of Office of ADA in Kosovo, emphasized the importance of inclusive and concrete action. 

“The intersectional approach is crucial to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind,” Glavitza said. “Empowering rural women and addressing structural inequalities is therefore not only a matter of equity but also a prerequisite for effective and sustainable climate action.” 

Stephen O’Malley, United Nations Development Coordinator in Kosovo, highlighted the importance of coordinated efforts in addressing climate risks and supporting rural communities. 

“It is a priority for the United Nations to support the generation of evidence to support evidence-based policy decisions,” O’Malley said. “We want to make sure that the limited resources are targeted, as well as possible, to the most vulnerable. In other words, we want to make sure that we leave no one behind.”

These points are timely, given that 2026 has been declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer to shed light on the social and economic potential of empowering women farmers.

“We must underline that the collective effort of these institutions – including ministries, civil society organizations, the academia and the private sector – is needed to effectively implement the initiatives and programmes of international partners,” said Marcell Farkas, FAO Junior Technical Officer on Climate Change. He noted that, despite vulnerabilities, Kosovo has significant adaptive capacity.

The panel discussion on strengthening climate action through policy and practice brought together perspectives from academia, development partners and farmers directly affected by climate change.

Arlinda Kastrati, a beekeeper, amplified the voices of farmers.

“Climate change has had a direct impact on my beekeeping activity,” Kastrati said. “Late frosts in spring have damaged flowering, while extreme summer temperatures have caused stress and diseases in bee colonies. There have been years with lower yields, and in some cases, no production at all. To cope, we have had to adapt our practices, from using supplementary feeding to monitoring hives more closely and introducing more resilient plant species.”

Donika Lamaxhema from UN Women emphasized that climate impacts are not experienced equally.

“Rural women are often on the front line, yet they face additional barriers in accessing resources, information and decision-making,” Lamaxhema said. “Supporting them requires not only targeted policies and access to finance but also ensuring that women are part of decision-making processes and that solutions respond to their real needs.”

According to the participants, the assessment’s recommendations should inform policy planning, and farmers should be provided with more practical support through advisory services, targeted investments and climate-smart solutions. This would help the agricultural sector in Kosovo better prepare for future climate shocks while ensuring that rural women and vulnerable groups are not left behind.

¹References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).