Thanks to the government support to agribusiness and to the agro-processing industry, agricultural products of Albanian farmers are increasingly oriented towards the international market, in addition to having a better quality.
The financial support provided has enabled farmers to expand and modernize the areas of cultivation, as well as those of storage and processing of their products destined for the foreign market.
The collection point “Hatija” in the municipality of Kutalli, Berat, is one of the agricultural businesses that deal with the collection, processing, conservation and sale in international markets of agricultural products, livestock, fruit and vegetables, trees, etc. Lorenc Hatija, the manager of this business, is one of the farmers who has benefited from the support program. He used the amount made available to him to build a modern refrigeration warehouse, in a very advantageous geographic location in order to collect domestic production of vegetables. He now has every opportunity to give a new quality standard to local products through processing, storage and packaging them in thoroughly modern conditions, as required by the international market.
Accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Mayor of Ura Vajgurore Juliana Memaj, and local MPs, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the collection point “Hatija” to see closely the benefits that support program has provided to farmers.
The manager of the frim, Lorenc Hatija, was optimistic for the help provided to him, and said that thanks to this support he could increase the number of indirect employees from 1.000 to 2.700. In addition, through this government support, he has managed to double the production capacity as well as that of preservation and storage, increasing the production for export to 7-8 thousand tons. “We have had 3.000 tons since October 2015. Now we have over doubled the goods. From approximately 3.000 tons we had in the beginning of 2015, now we have approximately 7-8 thousand tons for export only, 100% export.”Hatija said.
In conversation with him, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the programs of financial assistance provided by the government guarantee the greatest support ever given to the development of agricultural production, exports and employment simultaneously. “We had an export growth in January. From 1.1 billion ALL last January we’ve gone to 1.5 billion ALL this January. There is an increase of exports and a decrease of import of some agricultural products, which have had a more significant development thanks to the support we have provided. We have opened a completely new cycle for agriculture with the support of the Albanian government, which has set up a guarantee fund, and with the second level banks who, thanks to our cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, are ready to provide loans with very favourable interests for agriculture. This combined with the program to finance irrigation and drainage, the largest program funded by an Albanian government in these 25 years, in order to ensure that all canals are cleansed as well as to guarantee irrigation and drainage. We are confident that this will give us make us have a qualitative and quantitative leap.”
What the owner of the firm “Hatija” wishes is to have part of the business that launched initially in Greece transferred in the municipality of Kutalli. He has been encouraged to do this thanks to the support and the guarantee provided by the state in the last two years, which he has experienced in first person.
“I have the same business in Greece. Considering what I have been seeing in these two years, I hope I will moved my business here. There is support and guarantee here from the state. The production in this area here is increasingly growing. It has doubled since last year. From three million Euros, the turnover has increased to 7-8 million Euros. I hope we will double this in buildings and everything”, Lorenc Hatija said.
The Prime Minister encouraged once again the farmers to be provided with TIN in order to benefit the most from the support schemes. “We have made a sacrifice in the budget, in terms of the overall budget, by continuing to reimburse 20% of production in order to encourage formalization. And it is very important to be formalized, whether for you or for anyone who produce on the field, in order to receive the 20% refund. Those who have the TIN will benefit much more than before.”
According to the manager of the firm Hatija, this assistance has given its fruits also for many other farmers who have substantially increased the greenhouse surfaces. In the meantime, they are aware of the TIN provision. Mayor of Ura Vajgurore informed that 2.700 farmers are cooperating with this collection point, and not just in the Kutalli area, but also beyond.
“This is a great help for us. Greenhouses have multiplied to the maximum, because farmers have a guarantee for the production. This year 100% of the farmers have obtained the TIN”, the head of this collection point said.
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The dam of Duhanas in Berat, one of the largest in the country, is back to normal functioning after an important investment that was undertaken for the rehabilitation of the dam’s body, as well as for improving and modernizing the security parameters in accordance with international standards of the dams’ safety.
The funding carried out in the framework of the Water Resources and Irrigation Project gave a final solution to the serious consequences from alarming damages in the tank of Duhanas.
The rehabilitation of the dam of Duhanas increases its security and affects for the better the water supply of the scheme of Duhanas. This investment ensures the safety of the dam and prevents the lands of the village Uznove from flooding, as well as is a guarantee for the lives of hundreds of residents below the dam.
Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the tank to closely see the investment made. The director of the works informed that in addition to safety, the water collection capacity has increased as well, which will serve for irrigation. “The dam safety has increased significantly, but also the people living near this dam are much safer. In addition, the water collection capacity has increased as well as the number of irrigated hectares.”
Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the aim of the funding for the rehabilitation of infrastructure, for restructuring the dams and for arranging the sanitation system is to ensure irrigation and drainage in every meter of land where farmers work. “From a dangerous spot it used to be, this tank is now guaranteed and allows us to continue with the rest of the investment. What we want to achieve is to guarantee across the area of Berat, since we are in Berat, that wherever there are people who work the land, they will have water for drainage. This is what we must achieve. We should not let any land meter without water and without drainage.”
