Prime Minister Edi Rama remarks at the “100 Villages” programme launch as part of Rural Rebirth that includes infrastructure, agrotourism, cultural heritage and employment boost through direct support to farming entrepreneurship:
There are certain pivotal moments needed to be re-emphasized in the context of Rural Rebirth ambitious programme, focusing on 100 villages we want to build a rural development programme based on touristic potentials.
Firstly, it is not about investments of a certain nature such as these in the past 20 and some years and neither focused on 100 separate islands, merely to change 100 villages. It is about 100 gravity centres on which we are convinced to establish development circles and networks of agro-tourism investments.
We are convinced that, given the experiences of other much advanced countries in such directon, – Minister of Agriculture provided Italy’s example, but if we date back in time even other European countries have undertaken fundamental social-economic transformations in the countryside highlighting rural tourist potentials, – unfortunately, in this age-long unexplored territory in Albania there is an ample small investments opportunity but with an inmense impact.
We have to consider that just like we launched Urban Rebirth programme, a national development programme focusing on centres and now is expanding towards suburban areas, based on the famous acupuncture technique of urban revival, hence placing needles on those strategic points to relieve the body energy, we will perform on the Rural Rebirth. We will focus on these illages, identified along with mayors, not merely to establish 100 infrastructural realities in relation to thousand others awating to obtain infrastructure but instead 100 rural development areas based on agro-tourism investments tapping onto cultural heritage, natural beauties, tradition as a whole, and certainly local capacities as well as investments by bigger entrepreneurs. A combination of all these elements will provide new conditions for a future not only related to agricultural products in the context of market offer but also a tourist development based on agriculture and animal farming.
There are 500 thousand inns and hotels in the 28 Eurpean Union countries. 150 billio euros are earned from these 500 thousand rural inns and hotels. It is imaginable and meanwhile just as it is unimaginable when you see these figures from the distance just as simple it is to understand within the reasoning insight of the economic impact these interventions have in the rural space, since it is a tourism venture that brings money closer to the 40 years and more age group in the rural space, having average and above average outcome thus classified within the elite tourist category.
Our thorough conviction, considering the experience of our nearest neigbours, Italy, after similar initiaties were implemented during years ’90-‘91, is that the attraction of vast tourists that we are currently attrackting and will attract in larger numbers in the upcoming years – it is sufficient to say that 2017 has surpassed 1.5 billion euros of tourism revenues compared to 2016 due to possibilities established by rural spaces adjacent to areas where seaside tourism is developed thus certainly creating a new stratification of tourist categories. It happens exactly because discovering Albania, unveiling those territories beyond the 500, 600, 1000 kilometers by the sea which are seasons most intensive part will generate a new start to expand the season to appeal more tourists within Himara, Tepelena, Gjirokastra, Lezha or Tropoja even during autumn and winter.
To this reason we have decided to make more forces concrentrate, 4 ministries in this 100 regions, centres, villages, identified along with the mayors and on the other side we will undertake a largely intensive ommunication programme with the big enterprises to encourage attention on agro-tourism investments which are small investments in terms of money granted to build agro-tourism structures but which instead have a huger input than much bigger investments restricted to a limited tourist season or either bigger than investments within agricultural products itself.
We would like to accompany the programme with certain fiscal facilitie to which we are in progress and soon will be made public related to VAT reduction and profit tax. There is something designated that fiscal facilities programme will be time-restricted, it won’t be endless. It implies that whoever willing to invest and benefit from fiscal facilities must bear in mind a two, three or four years’ period of time which is still amid discussions. Within an “x” period there will be maximum facilities in order to enable a private investment inflow to set up argro-tourism structures, to build inns, nearby farms and all hospitality structures as already defined within the categories and standardsof what is called agro-tourism.
Ministry of Tourism will at the same time provide a special certificate on the basis of which all incentives and support will be undertaken. Not every investment will fall into the agro-tourism category, which means that even the agro-tourism here, one of the first swallows I was informed that benefited by the National Guarantee Fund on agro-tourism, may or may not be in the condition of obtaining the certificate, it has to meet some conditions, some standards we have defined based on international practice and patterns, a certain number of rooms, a defined number of product cultivation and processing space, a set number of all elements that mke a structure be called agro-tourism. I believe it will be easy to this structure but it is as well the border that separates any kind of investment that could be undertaken in the rural space from agro-tourism investment.
Invetments in agro-tourism won’t be confined to these 100 villages. We will aim to orient investments to these 100 villages but certainly there are hundreds or thousands others not mentioned and not experienced before in our territory that can be transformed and turned into engines of rural development merely by an investment in agro-tourism.
Ministry of Agriculture support programmes financed by the state budget and the European Union, channeled amid the Agency for Agriculture and Rural Development (AZHBR), are endowed in most of their part with the ability to benefit support in order to invest in agro-tourism.
Certainly, an important communication campaign is needed in order to inform as many people or s many campanies as possible on these opportunities, but also to find a way to convey the message in as ample directions as possible, hence reiterating on who can benefit or who can undertake an inititive to invest in agro-tourism should also consider the opportunity to be directly supported financially by the state. It is of value to the mayors who I would like to reiterate that I look forward to see cooperation projects with farmers on collection centres, on centres of agro-processing which might be supported by AZHBR, or which could be facilitated by the National Guarantee Fund and projects on agrotourism investment, that is not yet taking place, – not relevant to whether left or right, at this point all look the same.
Just like we were explicit regarding water, we will not grant any money on water supply investments, on non-performing municipalities and that do not decisively head forward the water reform. Likewise, we will not provide any penny to support rural infrastructure, to municipalities that are not active in absorbing alternative funds, such as the AZHBR’s, the European Commission’s, the Guarantee Fund, on investments in collection points, at agro-processing and agro-tourism centres. We must be crystal clear on this. We will not construct roads for roads anymore, because we have not seen any good from these roads in rural areas for many years. We don’t have to invest in roads used to get the car and gamble in the city. We will invest in production roads and on tourism development roads across rural areas. Hence we will provide people in rural spaces the opportunity to look at an affluent and flourishing future ahead. So we will give young people the opportunity to understand that in rural areas, where their father has a land, it does not necessarily mean taking the hoe and dig the land, but you can build agrotourism thorugh fantasy and courage by using grandfather’s old home and joining some farmers together to bring products and therefore you become wealthy.
However, we have to infrastructure-support of course, because the road has to reach the place, we have to tap into to support the surrounding cultural heritage, we have to support by additional funds in order to pperform the investment, but solely in cooperation with the ones that are willing to work, willing to earn, willing to become masters of themselves and earn their living, not idling at the village café and wait for Cristiano Ronaldo pop in and solve your life’sproblem thorugh a distance kick at the famous El Classico to take place shortly, but building your future via tiredness and creativity just as these gentlemen have done here, ordinary people that employ so many others and that have transformed this region, abandoned until yesterday, a development reference where they gain and share success with each-other.
Thank you very much!
