Governance, Financial Constraints, and Collective Fragility in Albania’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Value Chain

Abstract

Smallholder participation in high-value agricultural value chains is frequently constrained not only by market volatility but also by governance asymmetries and institutional fragility. This study examines the governance configuration of Albania’s medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) value chain, a sector of growing export importance that supports thousands of rural households. The research adopts a qualitative design based on focus group discussions with approximately fifty MAPs producers in two major production regions, Reç (Malësi e Madhe) and Belsh. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify how producers interpret market coordination, institutional performance, financial access, and collective organization within the value chain. The findings reveal a buyer-dominated and largely informal governance structure characterized by the absence of formal contracts, intermediary-driven price formation, limited regulatory oversight, and restricted access to financial support mechanisms. Producers report declining farm-gate prices, weak bargaining power, and administrative barriers to public support schemes. At the same time, fragile collective organization and limited trust among producers undermine the emergence of countervailing power. Structural constraints, including storage limitations and labour shortages, further intensify smallholder vulnerability. Building on these findings, the study proposes a governance imbalance framework showing how buyer dominance, institutional fragmentation, collective fragility, and constrained financial intermediation interact to sustain asymmetric value distribution. The article contributes to rural development scholarship by highlighting how governance and financial structures jointly shape participation outcomes in smallholder-dominated export chains and by identifying policy pathways to strengthen contractual governance, producer coordination, and inclusive financial support.

Received: 20 February 2026  │  Accepted: 10 June 2026  │  Published: 23 July 2026