AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION AND AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN TRANSITION COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF POLOG REGION IN NORTH MACEDONIA

The belief in different circles that agriculture is dealt with mainly by the poorer countries, and that the development of other branches of the economy such as industry can push it forward in itself, to some extent has overshadowed the strategic role of this sector, especially in primary production or agricultural products. The sharp rise in prices of corn and derivative products in 2010 as a result of draught, began to alarm even the consumers with higher incomes who should spent more on food consumption. Undoubtedly, for developing countries that do not satisfy their own needs with food and depend on importing, agriculture development requires a more serious and decisive commitment than ever before. While this necessity cannot be questioned by anyone, this paper aims to analyze agriculture reform challenges in North Macedonia, where agriculture contributes 10 percent to GDP and 18 percent to employment, and based on survey data of eight agribusiness companies from the Polog region, to identify the development prospects of this sector.