Malësi e Madhe is one of Albania’s most important territories for the production, processing, and export of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), a sector with significant potential for job creation, income generation, and sustainable rural development. Despite the important role women play in this sector, their participation remains largely concentrated in the lower-value segments of the value chain, while opportunities to develop sustainable and profitable economic activities remain limited.
To address this challenge, since February 2026, the Albanian Network for Rural Development (ANRD) and VIS Albania have been implementing the project Supporting Women’s Empowerment through Sustainable Production of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Malësi e Madhe, with the support of UN Women, under the programme “Empowering Women for Rural Development in Northern Albania”, funded by the Government of Italy through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The project is being implemented over the period February 2026 – July 2027.
The project aims to contribute to the economic empowerment of rural women and increase their participation in the MAPs sector by strengthening their capacities, improving access to technical and entrepreneurial knowledge, and creating opportunities for higher incomes and greater involvement in the sector’s value chain.
The intervention seeks to support women not only as workers in the sector, but also as producers, entrepreneurs, and agents of local economic development. The project works directly with women engaged in the cultivation, collection, and processing of MAPs in the Municipality of Malësi e Madhe through an integrated support package combining needs assessment, capacity building, technical assistance, and business planning. Key activities include a baseline and need assessment study, community outreach and beneficiary identification, training on administration, financial management and entrepreneurship, individualized business planning and profitability assessment, agronomic technical assistance for sustainable MAP cultivation and management, as well as study visits and exchange of experiences with successful actors in the sector.
The main beneficiaries of the project are women from the Municipality of Malësi e Madhe who are engaged or interested in engaging in the cultivation, collection, and processing of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Particular attention is given to women farmers, women with limited economic opportunities, women-headed households, and women with the potential to develop sustainable economic activities within the sector.
The project seeks to establish a sustainable model for women’s economic empowerment in the MAPs sector by contributing to:
- Increased income and improved economic well-being of rural women;
- Strengthened role of women within the MAPs value chain;
- Enhanced technical, entrepreneurial and business management capacities of women beneficiaries;
- Improved productivity and product quality;
- Stronger linkages to markets and financing opportunities.