Alket is a farmer in the southern district of Fier, who gained recognition for his success with expansion of his greenhouses thanks the support provided by the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency through the National Agriculture Support schemes. Thanks to ARDA support, he has tripled the greenhouse cultivated area and has employed state-of-the-art vegetable and fruit growing technology.
He started investing modestly in his greenhouses through a personal investment back in 2017 and has modernized farming technologies within a very short time span thanks to his hard work and the support he has benefited over the years.
Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Director of the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency Frida Krifca visited Alket’s investment in his greenhouses in Fier, with the difference from the original investment speaking for itself. “This investment began in 2017. It is a personal investment through Alket’s savings and he wishes to show us the difference between what it used to be when everything started and the standard he has set through ARDA’s two support programmes. He invested in building a second greenhouse through the support investment programme under the 2019 state budget and he gained support under IPARD programme for advanced heating systems for greenhouses. It is an example showing how investors could succeed in strengthening their household economy and expand commercial activity through greenhouse crop production,” Krifca said, adding that local farmers have received significant support for their investment projects. “We have widely supported construction of greenhouses and greenhouse crop production activities in Fier and the administrative units in the southern district. There is a number of investments made through the EU-funded IPARD Programme and the National Agriculture Support scheme. This greenhouse investment project has been supported through a state budget funding of 9.5 million lek. The construction process has significantly improved since the original investment,” Krifca said.
Expressing gratitude for the ARDA support, Alket said that thanks to the modern crop growing technology he has significantly increased the vegetable and fruit production and the demand for exporting his products is increasing. “We are now at the new planting season. We have signed agreements with a number of Italian businessmen. This product will be exported to Italy and its season extends from now to October, while we will grow products for the local market during the winter season. These greenhouses built through IPARD and ARDA support have been equipped with contemporary technology to plant and grow vegetables and fruits all year round. Every process takes place via a computer-based system. The quality and quantity of fertilizers, the chemicals and the climate are all controlled by a computer-based system. We plant and grow greenhouse produce all year round. The greenhouse production capacity is 100 to 120 metric tonnes per each season, but it depends on the species of the crops,” Alket said.
Alket wishes to further expand his investment and create more new jobs for local farmers. “Our goal is to build more greenhouses through the extraordinary assistance provided by ARDA. Agriculture is a very important sector for development of this area. We have hired six permanent workers, while we employ at least 12 to 13 seasonal workers starting in April.”
Hailing the successful investment, Prime Minister Rama said that the government’s objective is to make sure that the country’s agricultural exports value increased to over one billion euros. “The agricultural exports are valued at around 400 million euros currently and our goal is that exports are valued at over one billion euros during our third term in office,” the Premier said. “This is actually a realistic objective as agriculture has entered a completely different cycle and the seeds we sowed during the first term in office have already started to yield an increasingly developing network of production, processing and exporting and the goal for the exports to exceed the one billion euro value is realistic.”
ARDA director also announced that the call for applications for the National Agriculture Support scheme for 2021 will open on March 24, 2021 and farmers can file their applications via e-Albania portal. “We will launch the call for applications under the National Support scheme on March 24 through nine measures granting direct support to farmers and stockbreeders, who breed ruminants and cattle. They will benefit 1200 lek in grants for each sheep or goats and they will benefit support for replacement of plastic top cover of small greenhouses. We will also grant support to farmers investing in medicinal herbs growing and agritourism projects for farmers who wish to invest in their private family homes to turn them into guesthouses. This support measure has remained unchanged over the years as we are seeking to increase agritourism and accommodation facilities in the rural areas. The deadline for the applications is April 15. The applications can be filed via e-albania portal only as it turned out to be very effective last year. This will allow us to allocate funds for farmers as soon as possible,” she said.
