The Faculty of Agribusiness is an academic unit at "Haxhi Zeka" University that offers quality teaching and learning for professionally qualified personnel for the labor market in agriculture, environment and food to contribute to the economy in the region and beyond with general public interest.

The Faculty of Agribusiness is oriented towards profiled study programs in harmony with market demands in the fields of Agriculture, environment, food and other related fields.

Faculty of Agribussines

HistoricPeja has been and remains one of the most well-known and influential centers of the Dukagjini Region and Kosovo in general. This center and this region are known for its antiquity, geostrategic position, and in particular for its demographics, hydrography, climate and suitable biodiversity. As such, Peja alone, without other regional centers, has an area of ​​603 km2, and almost half of the territory is mountainous - Rugova, rich in forests and pastures and suitable for the development of livestock. The agricultural sector not only in Peja but also in the region is distinguished by the characteristics of the settlements, for agriculture, fruit growing, livestock, forestry, etc. The rest of the city and the surrounding area is fertile arable land, suitable for the development of agriculture, fruit growing, viticulture, etc. The municipality of Peja borders: Istog, Klina, and Deçan. While with the municipalities of Plav, Berane and Rozhaja it borders with Montenegro. On the other hand, it borders with the Republic of Albania. The territory of the Municipality of Peja consists of two geographical units: one with a pronounced continental climate Mediterranean climate that includes approximately 30% of the total area, and the mountain ranges of the Albanian Alps in the northwest, with a developed hydrographic network that affects as a modification of the climate in this part. Historically, agriculture in Kosovo, especially in the Dukagjini Region, has been an important sector for household economies. This region is distinguished by an adequate road network and public transport. The city of Peja and the Dukagjini region since World War II have been known for their strong industrial capacities in the field of agriculture. In Peja, the Agricultural-Industrial Combine operated, as well as a large number of Agricultural Cooperatives in rural areas, in Gjakova, the Industrial-Agricultural Combine “Ereniku”, “Virgjinia”, the Agricultural Cooperative of Beci, in Klina, the Malushgani Combine, etc. Now, a large part of these capacities, after the privatization process, have been transformed into private enterprises or have been closed down. However, after the last war, the economy and agriculture have taken the direction of development on completely new grounds, modernizing and increasingly implementing the most modern techniques, methods and technologies for the maximum use of all possible capacities. Successful enterprises that stand out in this field are: the Peja Beer Factory, the "Agroprodukt" Aromatic Herb Factory in Istog, the confectionery factory in Klina, the seed processing factory in Klina, the Silosi wheat processing factory in Xërxe, the production capacities of the Elkos Company, the well-known "Molla" Association known for cultivating trees, etc., and many other institutions that have an impact in this field such as the Kosovo Agricultural Institute in Peja, the Kosovo Forestry Institute in Peja, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments, etc.     

Establishment of the Faculty of AgribusinessThe management and academic staff of the Faculty of Applied Business Sciences, who had taken on the burden of initiating and establishing the university in Peja, had already begun preparations in 2009 to identify which academic units of the future university would be. In this regard, many documents, sectoral and intersectoral strategies for the development of agriculture and agro-economics, not only in Peja but also in the Dukagjini Region and the country, were analyzed. Secondary educational centers in the region that offered programs of this nature were identified. Reports with statistical data on the number of people living in rural areas, technical and technological capacities, programs offered at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Prishtina, the number of private and public business capacities engaged in this field were studied. The most important factor that synthesized all these components was the Kosovo Agricultural Institute based in Peja as one of the most important institutions in the field of laboratory research and human potential - experts with a high scientific level. Based on these data, along with the proposals for other units that could be established in the future university, the faculty of agribusiness is also emphasized. The establishment of this unit was based on the characteristics possessed by the cities of the Dukagjini Region - Peja, Istog, Deçan, Junik, Klina and Gjakova, identifying their needs which would be combined with business components, assessing that these profiles were needed by the economy which after the last war was recovering in the country. Based on these ideas and assessments, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology at the end of 2009 engaged the British Council to analyze these proposals and data and come up with a concrete report. In early 2010, Professor Steve Bristow of the British Council submitted to MEST the feasibility report, giving guidance on the areas and directions that could be sustainable and useful for the establishment of certain units in the University that was being prepared to be established. In this document, the expert, namely Professor Bristow, recommends to MEST the establishment of the university in Peja. During the period from receiving the report to making the decision to establish it (March - November), the management and academic staff of the FAS contacted two agricultural experts with doctorates working at the Kosovo Agricultural Institute in Peja and asked them to join the team for the establishment of the university in Peja and the preparation of programs that were to be implemented in the future after they were accredited. The work on the establishment is now further accelerated towards the preparation of teaching programs. In this phase, the combination of agro-business components is analyzed in more depth. The goal was to affirm in the future university an integrated approach to programs, across all academic units, regardless of their nature, to be interconnected with the business component, being convinced that this would make this university valuable and special in the country and beyond. On 14.11.2011, the Minister of MEST issued the decision to establish the “Haxhi Zeka” University in Peja. Meanwhile, based on the feasibility report, the data collected on the sustainability and necessity of establishing this academic unit and the existence of human resources with adequate scientific qualifications, the Minister of MEST, on 06.01.2012, issued and signed the Provisional Statute of the “Haxhi Zeka” University, where in its article 26 the Faculty of Agribusiness is established as a faculty within this institution. After this decision, the working group in question, now under the leadership of two experts from the Agricultural Institute of Kosovo, assigned the programs that had to go through the evaluation-accreditation process. In June 2012, the Kosovo Accreditation Agency submitted the documentation for the faculty and for the evaluation of two programs: Plant Production Technology and Agro-Environment and Agroecology. After this phase, the Kosovo Accreditation Agency accredited the programs in question, which paved the way for the opening of the competition for the admission of regular academic and engaged staff and also opened the competition for the admission of new students in the academic year 2012/13. On October 1, 2012, the Faculty of Agribusiness began its work. The study programs offered are study programs organized according to the Bologna system, three years with 180 ECTS, respectively 4 years with 240 ECTS at the Bachelor level, while two years with 120 ECTS, respectively 1 year with 60 ETCS. An academic unit of the “Haxhi Zeka” University since 2012 is the Faculty of Agribusiness (FAB), which is currently organized into three departments and offers study programs at the following levels: 

• Plant Production Technology (BSc, 180 ECTS);  
• Agro-Environment and Agroecology (BSc, 180 ECTS); 
• Food Technology (BSc, 180ECTS).
• Sustainable food production systems (Msc. 120 ECTS).  

The organizational structure of FAB and its scope of activity is regulated by many legal documents, while the basic documents that determine its organization and functioning are: the Law on Higher Education (annex 1), adopted in 2015, the Statute of UHZ of 2013 (annex 4), the Regulation on the Internal Organization of UHZ (annex 6).

Bachelor's level programs have been designed in accordance with the Law on Higher Education 04/L-037 (annex 1), Administrative Instruction no. 15/18 (annex 2) on the accreditation of higher education institutions in the Republic of Kosovo, the KAA Accreditation Manual (annex 3), according to the Bologna Declaration, the Statute of the University "Haxhi Zeka" (annex 4) and the Strategic Plan of the Public University "Haxhi Zeka". The programs have been designed with a contemporary approach that makes them comparable to the curricula of renowned international universities. At each step of the design of this program, special attention has been paid to the connection with the needs of the labor market so that graduates from this program provide value to research/scientific institutions and the country's economy in general. The program also took into account market research conducted by various organizations that prove that management skills are highly sought after in the labor market. The curricula of the Faculty of Agribusiness are designed according to the European ECTS credit transfer model, while the ratio between theoretical and practical work is 60% to 40%. 

Institutional leadership, management structures and administration and personnel arrangements

This academic unit of the University is headed by the Dean and two Vice-Deans (the Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and the Vice-Dean for Financial Affairs). The Dean and the two Vice-Deans are elected by the Faculty Council, which consists of professors, assistants, members of the non-academic staff and students. The Dean and the two Vice-Deans are also members of the Faculty Council. 

The management of daily administrative tasks and duties is supported by the coordinator for academic quality and development, legal and administrative officers, as well as administrative assistants.

Currently, the permanent academic staff consists of 8 Associate Professors, 5 Assistant Professors, and 4 Assistants. In addition to the regular academic staff, the Faculty of Agribusiness also engages academic staff in the capacity of collaborators (lecturers and assistants). 

Students, their socio-economic background 

According to the Statute, the University is obliged to create equal opportunities for all without any discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, marital status, language, religion, political belief, nationality, ethnic or social affiliation, etc., or membership in a national community, property, birth status or any other status. Students studying in the three mentioned study programs are mainly from the Dukagjini Region which includes the municipalities: Peja, Deçan, Klina, Istog, Gjakova, Junik, Rahovec, Malisheva, Prizren. In addition to students from the Dukagjini Region, students from other areas and regions of Kosovo, as well as from other countries such as Albania and Montenegro (4 Bosniaks, 12 RAE community and 1 Montenegrin), also study at FAB. Students studying at this faculty belong to all socio-economic strata of Kosovar society. In accordance with the UHZ statute, FAB students are organized in the Student Council in the academic unit, while they are represented in the Student Parliament at the university level and with voting members also in the FAB Council.