The overall objective of the assignment was to contribute to the preparation of the programme for agriculture and rural development for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in Rural Development (IPARD) for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection (MAFCP), Republic of Albania.
The specific objectives of this assignment were:

• The preparation of a sector study for the dairy sector in Albania in compliance with the regulatory frameworks set by the acquis communautaire and the Common Agriculture Policy, CAP.
• The preparation of a SWOT analysis related to the dairy sector
• The formulation of observations, findings and recommendations for IPARD implementation in the Republic of Albania.

The activities contributed to establish and strengthen the institutional and administrative capacities in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection to implement the IPARD programme (Capacity Building for Implementing the Rural Development Strategy). Important focus of the study was to analyse the situation in the milk sector related to food safety, environment protection, animal welfare and overall competitiveness and to identify measures to come closer to EU standards.