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Lore & Background

Shundi's career spanned decades of service in Albanian agricultural institutions. From 1956 to 1960 he was a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Research in Lushnje, then served as chief agronomist of the Agricultural Cooperative of Krutje from 1960 to 1962, and as Chief Agronomist of the Agricultural Department of the Lushnje District from 1962 to 1964. During this period he conducted experiments and published studies on periods, depth, and tillage methods for the main types of arable lands and for each climatic zone of Albania. From 1964 to 1975 he was Director of the Livestock Feeds, Field Crops and Scientific Research Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, where his research focused on forage systems. He introduced the forage systems in his 1974 monograph *Bimët Foragjere në Zonën e Ftohtë* (English: *Forage Crops in Cold Climates*), with a much larger republication in 2004. Later, from 1980 to 1992, he was first a professor and then dean of the Agricultural Faculty of the Agricultural University of Tirana, where he introduced the concept of the Coefficient of Land Usage (CLU), a measuring indicator determining the degree of intensity of use of agricultural land through plant cultivation.

In Their Own Story

In 1975, Shundi along with academic Mentor Përmeti organised the first pan-Albanian conference on agricultural scientific work. Sixteen years later, in 1991, he organised the second and last conference of that level, titled 'Agriculture under the new economical Developments in Albania,' focusing on the major economic transformations following the transitory period of post-Communist Albania. After migrating to the United States in 1998, Shundi continued to write prolifically. In 2001 he published *Bujqësia dhe Veprimi Agronomik në Troje Shqiptare* (English: *Agriculture and Agronomic Activity in Albanian lands*), described as the first historical book ever published on the history of Albanian agriculture, chronologically covering from the Neolithic Age until the 20th century. He followed this with *Historia e Bujqësisë dhe Agroindustrisë Shqiptare* (2003), covering the 6th to 19th centuries, and *Jetë Agronomike* (2004), focusing on the second half of the 20th century. From 2001 to 2010 he also published six books on viticulture and viniculture, including *Vreshtaria Praktike* (2001), praised by Italian academic Eugenio Sartori, and *Fjalor Shtjellues për Vreshtarinë dhe Verëtarinë* (2006), which included terms and proverbs from Arvanitic, Cham Albanian, Arbëreshë, and Gheg Albanian.

Reader's Guide

Shundi's work as an organiser extended beyond national conferences. He organised 11 pan-Albanian conferences on viticulture and viniculture in Albania and Kosovo in the 2001-2023 period. He was co-organizer of two scientific conferences on Albanian wines along with the Academies of Sciences of Albania and Kosovo: a 2017 seminar held in Rahovec, Kosovo on the Vranç wine, and a 2022 symposium held in Tirana, Albania on 10 local wines of Albania and Kosovo. Internationally, Shundi took papers at five professional delegations of Albania at the Food and Agriculture Organization's General World or European meetings (1973, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1987), the Symposium of the Italian Association of the Agronomy (Potenza, Italy, 1991), the Symposium of the European Network of the FAO (Nitra, Slovakia, 1992), the International Symposium on forages organised by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute (Bari, Italy, 1992), the Symposium of the European Network of the FAO on forages (Montpellier, France, 1987), and the XVIIth International Grassland Congress (Palmerston North, New Zealand, 1993).

Did You Know?

• During 1956-1964, Shundi was also a basketball and volleyball player/coach for KS Traktori in Lushnja, which played in the Albanian Basketball League and Albanian Volleyball Leagues.
• Shundi introduced the Coefficient of Land Usage (CLU) to Albanian agriculture, a measuring indicator that includes units of mass, area, money, and time (ton per ha/$/days).
• His 2006 book *Fjalor Shtjellues për Vreshtarinë dhe Verëtarinë* included terms and proverbs from Arvanitic, Cham Albanian, Arbëreshë, and Gheg Albanian dialects.
• Shundi's 2001 book *Bujqësia dhe Veprimi Agronomik në Troje Shqiptare* was the first historical book ever published on the history of Albanian agriculture.
• He was co-organizer of a 2017 seminar in Rahovec, Kosovo on the Vranç wine, and a 2022 symposium in Tirana on 10 local wines of Albania and Kosovo.