The “Agro100 (greenhouses)” is the newest government program to triple the surface of greenhouses by the end of 2017, and to put in use innovative technologies. This new financial package, together with the benefits from the program of the National Guarantee Fund in agriculture aims at supporting the export of Albanian products which has been increasing in the last two years. To promote this new support to manufacturers and food processors, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited today the “Agroco” greenhouses in Krutje where investments are being made to build larger and modern greenhouses in the country.
Through the “Agro100” program, the government will provide direct financial support for those investors who will build greenhouses covering an area from 10 to 100 hectares. During these two years, the government has supported with various incentives to expand the surface of greenhouses, which have doubled compared to 2013. This had a direct impacted on the growth of agricultural exports in 2015.
“We have doubled the surface of greenhouses in two years, and this had an immediate impact on export. There was a boom in exports in 2015, along with a very positive development for the domestic market. But now we want to take the process of direct support forward. We will give 100 thousand dollars for 10 ha of greenhouses in 5 years. We will give 1 million dollars for 100 ha of farms in 5 years. Direct support”, Prime Minister Rama said. In this visit he was accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture Edmond Panariti.
Following a 5 million Euro investment in the first phase, “Agrocon” is building the largest greenhouses in the country, extending up to 10 ha, and having a total investment value of 25 million Euros at the end of the project. The company’s activity includes a number of chain processes, from investment in agricultural production, to the construction of a large centre for the collection and processing of the products selection and packaging, with the purpose of exporting them mainly in the markets of Western Europe. “We are in the construction phase, and we will have in total 10 hectares of high tech greenhouses. There is an extremely big demand for Albanian products in export. It is important to meet both the standard and quantity”, a representative of the company, Florian Lama said.
In addition, the 300 million Euro National Guarantee Fund in agriculture will provide support to bank for loans, with a focus on investments to increase innovative technologies and the planted areas in the greenhouses.
“The State Guarantee Fund is now available to everyone to get loans from commercial banks with much lower interests than the common ones, and all this for agriculture. There are potentially 300 million Euros that can be used by manufacturers, food processors or all those who want to enter this sector. It won’t be the farmer or the producer that goes to the bank, but ARDA will apply to facilitate the farmer”, the Prime Minister said.
Two new financial programs, whose effects extended in several years, will provide the greater support ever given to the development of agricultural production, exports and employment.
“It is a major qualitative leap in the relations between the state and the farms. We are convinced that we will increase employment, production, exports and of course, will bring a lot more variety in the domestic market, because, actually, as the latest figures show, the impact on the internal market has been pretty significant”, the Prime Minister said.
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There will be increased safety for the products of Albanian farmers face to floods, which had become the most serious threat to agriculture for many years. 45 major government projects in cooperation with foreign donors have been envisaged for a comprehensive and sustainable rehabilitation of the irrigation systems, and for the modernization of the security parameters, especially in lands with the highest share of agricultural products. Interventions in the systems of security, irrigation and drainage in order to improve them, will ensure a better management of the irrigation systems with an aim at increasing agricultural production and the productivity of land.
One of these projects is the rehabilitation of the dam Murriz-Thane in Lushnje, which is one of the largest dams and reservoirs in the country. As a result of successive damages, this reservoir could not be filled and used at full capacity. A 1.9 million Euro government investment consists in a comprehensive rehabilitation of the dam and the drainage system, thus ensuring and improving the rainwater collection capacity.
The rehabilitation of the Murriz-Thane dam guarantees water supply for the 29.500 ha scheme of Murriz-Thane, in addition to having an impact on the improvement and water supply of the 3000 ha scheme of Divjake. The rehabilitation of the dam paves the way to the rehabilitation and improvement of the irrigation schemes Murriz-Thane and Divjakë, for which the feasibility study and detailed projects are being prepared. This project will restore security for the farmers of Lushnje and for their products.
Accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture Edmond Panariti and local leaders, Prime Minister Edi Rama was today in Lushnje to inspect the progress of the project.
The prime minister said that from now on the focus will be to renew the irrigation and drainage infrastructure, as well as the clearing of the secondary and tertiary canals, through the largest funding program ever made. “We need to focus strongly on the recovery of irrigation and drainage infrastructure, and on the clearing of secondary and tertiary canals. The financing program is the largest ever made, whether for central structures, the 4 restructured drainage boards across the Albanian territory, either for municipalities. Actually, we have allocated for this area, for the whole of Myzeqe, a substantial funding so that municipalities can immediately begin to remove sludge of the past 20 years, due which many people could not have water”.
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The Prime Minister inspected also the works for the construction of the road Kamçisht-Ngurrëz e Vogël in Lushnjë. The 2.6 kilometre road crosses the municipality Krutje in Lushnje, and connects this intensive agricultural area with the regional road network, thus facilitating local agricultural producers, farms and greenhouses to bring their products in the market. 42 million ALL have been invested for this road.
