Accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture and Director of the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development, Prime Minister Edi Rama spent a working dinner with farmers and people of the agro-processing industry, beneficiaries of the support scheme in agriculture. The purpose of this dinner was to share stories of success a year after the form of support through investment was redesigned, and to introduce a new way of applying for funding in 2015.
Director of the Agency of Agricultural and Rural Development, Suela Popa said that this scheme has proved effective, as shown by numerous stories of success and a growing number of applications to benefit from it. Popa also introduced a new way for applying in 2015.
“As far as the new relation schemes for 2015 are concerned, experts of the Ministry, in collaboration with academics at the University of Kamzёs and a group of experts of Harvard University, have realized the regionalization map of the Albanian products, which enables us to properly plan the budget for support schemes in agriculture, but above all it is a strategy for the design of schemes for the agricultural and rural development in the country”- Popa said.
Prime Minister Rama said that as a result of a whole new approach to agriculture, through investment support, the sector has shown encouraging signs of revival, increasing exports and expansion of markets.
“Thanks to these competitive grants and to this new approach, the sector is showing encouraging signs of being increasingly export oriented. Actually, the number of countries where our products are exported increased by 20 last year. Of course there is better, there is much better, but the signs are very encouraging. During 2015, the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development will collect 17 million dollars in subsidies, 1.7 billion ALL, to support farmers and rural development.”
Prime Minister singled out the advantages of the latest fiscal measures for strengthening the productive activity. Measures from which will benefit all citizens, since prices for some basic food products will be reduced.
“During this year, farmers will benefit also from the removal of a number of taxes, enabled by the new fiscal package. E.g., people of the agro-processing industry will be granted 20% VAT deductible for supplies from farmers, compared to the previous 6%. So, for any deliveries from farmers that can be verified through receipt, 20% VAT will be returned. For of all raw materials, grain, biological material, flour, food for animals, we have thoroughly eliminated customs duties that were a serious obstacle in this regard, and even this was done thanks to intensive communication with the interested farmers. Also, tools, food machineries and livestock for import are exempt from VAT. Through these measures, in addition to increasing economic activity and competitiveness as our very effort to promote competition in the village, to see and support agriculture, farming and economic activity in the village as an activity based not on pittance but on the need for of competition, our aim is to generate profits also for all citizens, by reducing prices of some basic food products.”
With an emphasis on the fact that in the nearest future funding opportunities will be much higher than the chances of absorbing them, the Prime Minister announced a deep reform of the entire system, with knowledge as its foundation.
“We are also preparing a reform of the whole current system. We believe that funding opportunities are much higher in the closer perspective than the chances of absorbing them. We are very concerned about coming to a point where our capacity to finance may be greater than the capacity for absorbing these funds. And I am not talking here about 30 of 40 million, but I mean the part of the potential funding that comes from EU projects and programs, that for some who have faced them are possible, but they are also difficult in meeting every requirement. First of all, they are difficult because we lack knowledge in this sector, not the knowledge of two or three experts, but the knowledge of farmers, of all of you who do not know how to submit an application and get a funding from EU programs. You cannot do it by yourselves. You need the help of the state. For this reason we believe that the current agriculture departments across the territory must return to the point of spreading this knowledge; they should become offices of technical assistance to farmers and help them get acquainted with the modalities of each program and help them to properly fill out application forms and follow the application process. We have the opportunity to increase funding extraordinarily, provided that we are willing to absorb EU funds and projects.”
Minister of Agriculture Edmond Panariti announced the launch of a Task Force to address the problem of livestock smuggling. He urged farmers to cooperate with the government and report any case of abuse in border checkpoints, by using the anti-corruption portal as an instrument in their support.
“We will create a Task Force and I will deal with border checkpoints and we will not hesitate to file a lawsuit against those who allow smuggling of animals and birds. In the first place, because in addition to making unfair competition, they spread infections. These are challenges that we have to face towards you, because this is mainly a national and institutional responsibility. The Anti-Corruption Portal has this purpose, so report with courage any abuse at border checkpoints. I will be by your side”- the Minister of Agriculture said.
The dinner continued with an exchange of opinions and ideas on how to make this sector more dynamic.
This was the second meeting of the Prime Minister with successful farmers who have benefited from the support schemes in agriculture. The first meeting took place about a year ago.
More than 8 thousand farmers across the country benefited during 2014 of the support schemes in agriculture.
