Nedrete Arapi, a successful farmer in the village of Zgjane, Lushnje district, is one of the biggest exporter of locally-grown fruits and vegetables to Europe today. It all started with a modest collection warehouse and thanks to the commitment and financial support of the government and through funds under EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development of the European Union (IPARD II), she has managed to have a modern structure today, building business premises that meet high standards.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, along with the Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Albania, Luigi Soreca, and the Director of the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA), Frida Krifca, visited the collection warehouse “Elian Export”, which covers an area of nearly 1540 square meters and storage capacity of 9200 cubic meters, with the aim of selecting, calibrating collecting, packing and trading fruit and fresh vegetables for export.
Nedrete said it has been a good agricultural season despite the current pandemic situation. “At first we were scared as they said the cucumber price had significantly fallen. I was the one urging local farmers not to pull out and uproot their crops and plants, telling them the day would come when their produce will be sold again. Those who heeded my advice turned out to be winners in this situation as the cucumber price soared to 800 lek from 100 lek it was previously. This year has been most successful agricultural season. I talking based on facts and documents, not empty talk.”
ARDA Director Frida Krifca said that 123 applicants have submitted their investment projects worth 40 million euros and projects worth 160 million euros have been proposed under the second call. “We are here at Elian Eksport warehouse, an investment financed under the IPARD programme. Just like Nedrete, we have signed financing contracts with some 123 applicants who have presented agro-processing and farm development investment projects worth 40 million euros. We are taking great steps forward. Investment projects worth 160 million euros have been submitted under the second call for applications,” she said.
Nedret, who works together with her son, says that with new investment her life has returned back to normal, as she will no longer have to work 24 hours a day to carry out selecting, calibrating collecting and packing of fruits and vegetables to load 8 to 9 lorries a day, because such a volume of work can be carried out in 10 to 12 hours a day, providing at the same time highest and best quality for the market. “A significant part of our products used to go rotten when working in the old warehouse, while we and our produce can now breathe freely. The new investment provides a huge relief when it comes to the produce coming from the surrounding villages. Local farmers supply us with fruits and fresh vegetables and the warehouse premises area also fresh and cool. We have now three refrigerated rooms, where the products are processed as soon as delivered by farmers. We also carry out a more beautiful and quality packaging for the foreign market.”
The Ambassador of the EU Delegation Luigi Soreca said that IPARD had a very successful beginning in Albania. Since its start, IPARD has attracted great interest of Albanian farmers and agri-food businesses. “Over the past months we have launched an IPARD promoting campaign on the social networks and Albanian citizens have reacted fantastically. They have made more comments than about anything else. It has attracted huge interest. Thousands and thousands of people have followed the campaign, demanding that they become part of this investment and benefit from it,” he said.
Praising ARDA for its work, PM Rama noted that such a large volume of direct investment in agriculture investment has never happened before. He urged farmers to join their forces to become successful in trading their products. “It is very important, because we used to encounter serious problems in terms of capacities to develop and support right projects that should meet the standards required under the IPARD program. ARDA has done a fantastic job together with you we have managed to make our way to the top in terms of the EU funds absorption rate in the region and this is a never-before-seen direct investment in the agriculture infrastructure. This programme is very important, because many people see rural areas through the media reports only, with farmers growing and producing what they do produce and then complaining they can’t sell their products and calling on the state to purchase their products and the majority of people have no idea what is going on in the country’s villages, because the media reports no good news and the bed news is disseminated quickly. So, it is important that farmers make up their mind and should not act as single individuals seeking to gain access to the market, but become part of a much bigger and longer chain sending locally-grown produces to a collection warehouse and making direct sales,” the Premier said.
