Subvention Grants Increased Agricultural Productivity

TIRANA, July 4

Agricultural production in Albania marked a significant increase thanks to the subvention schemes, experts say. Ymer Tola former deputy Minister of Agriculture and currently chair of the Albanian Agribusiness Council (KASH) said that the hitherto reforms, especially those undertaken for increasing investments and decreasing informality are showing their effects in this sector.
According to him, based on official data, the production of vegetables and fruit, mostly citrus fruit, increased considerably during the past year.
Meanwhile, agricultural exports increased by 28 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The agricultural value chain showed a better performance in terms of quality and quantity.
Further on, the number of farmers that are going to benefit from subventions during this year will be 12,000 while the support programs in 2016 increased thanks to EU grants and EBRD’s loans.
Tola highlighted the importance of the process on the formalisation of agriculture as well as the pilot project on the insurance of greenhouses in cases of natural disasters. Tola said that these are models that help the Albanian agricultural sector to meet European standards.

News Source: ATA