North Macedonia is in the early stages of preparation for sustainable agriculture, the European Commission (EC) assesses in the latest Report on the country's progress. The EC notes that the drafting of the new law on agriculture and rural development has been delayed and recommends that the country harmonize its agricultural support policy with the EU acquis.

As the Report states, there has been no progress in terms of interoperability with animal identification and registration systems to provide better quality data.

– All elements of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) are established according to the EU acquis. Data transfers and interoperability should be ensured along with verification of data accuracy. Progress is being made in ortho-photo imaging to facilitate the updating of the Land Parcel Identification (LPI) System. The Register of Farmers and LPI are yet to be transferred to the Paying Agency, the Report states.

Additional resources are needed to expand the Farm Accounting Data Network (FADN), but also to include data on environmental and social sustainability according to the new EU Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN).

- The new Law on Advisory Services has been adopted, but the legislation for the common organization of the market remains to be adopted and the institutional mandates to be defined, notes the Commission.

With regard to rural development, it is emphasized that the IPARD 3 Program has begun, and the finalization of IPRAD 2 is progressing. However, the Commission recommends paying attention to the institutional capacity of the Payment Agency and especially to reducing the number of late payments to applicants.

From the aspect of quality policy, the EC welcomes the adoption of the Law on Wine, while in relation to organic agriculture it indicates that a new law remains to be adopted.

- The activities to improve the monitoring and control of certification and traceability of organic products should be improved. Efforts should also be made to further develop the sector, making further use of the support available under IPARD 3, the EC states in the Report.