New Funding Scheme for Agriculture

Albania is paving the way to boost its exports of fruits, vegetables, farming, food, and agro-processing industry products in 2018. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Niko Peleshi, announced Monday a 20-million euro national agricultural financing scheme for the next year to turn the Albanian agriculture into the main engine of the country's economic development. The national funding scheme will mainly focus on growing the agricultural, livestock, and food exports, correcting imports and attaining food safety standards. "Agriculture funding in 2018 will increase significantly. I'm talking about the national agricultural financing scheme estimated at about 20 million euros, the largest support to agriculture," Peleshi said. Also, Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the proceedings of the National Conference on Agriculture. Rama pledged that during the current 4-year governance mandate the issue of property titles in agriculture will get resolved definitively. Further on, the prime minister emphasized the need of agriculture being promoted into a field that yields profits. PM Rama emphasized that the structures into which the farmers have joined are what can yield the success needed. Rama added that the state will subsidize only those crops that can bring about success. The prime minister drew the attention even to opportunity of EU funding of agriculture, but added that these funds can be provided only on the required standards that guarantee success. PM Rama also spoke about involvement of the University of Agriculture in sharing their experience and that would lay the foundations of rural development of the country.

Source: Balkanweb