Tomorrow the support schemes "Molle e ndalume" for the majority of Albanian farmers...

2024-03-26 21:07:00, Opinione Prof.Gjok Vuksani

Tomorrow the support schemes "Molle e ndalume" for the majority of

Prof. Gjok Vuksani

Agriculture is the most backward sector of the Albanian economy because in the last seven quarters there has been almost zero growth. The agriculture budget for 2024 has been reduced by 11.6% compared to the previous year.

The support scheme for farmers is budgeted for this year about 45.3% less than in 2023 (the scheme for free oil remains unchanged).

Of the 141 million euros budgeted for Albanian agriculture, only 24% goes directly to farmers, while 76% of the budget goes to operating expenses, diets, salaries, etc. While Kosovo supports farmers with about 120 million euros for 2024.

The VKM of 2024 is a copy paste of last year's support schemes even though it has been months since the new Minister trumpeted with big words, consolidation, cooperation, union etc etc...

It is requested to form groups of farmers with 4 or 7 people without any legal basis, without any monetary incentive, only promising you what VKM gives you.

Although animal husbandry is going towards extermination with the halving of the number of dairy cows during the last 10 years, and the reduction of 700 thousand heads of small animals in the last 5 years, the support scheme continues to remain the same for a decade.

The same payments for livestock have been maintained, 10,000 lek for each cow and 1,200 lek for each goat and sheep.

Meanwhile, our Kosovar brothers are subsidized with 180 euros for each cow and 30 euros for each sheep or goat.

The lower funding limits of 10 cows and 100 sheep have been identically maintained, although the 2022 FAO study points out that this livestock support scheme has had the effect of reducing the number of livestock.

The same payment of 200,000 lek (a ridiculous amount) has been maintained for supporting the cultivation of vegetables in the greenhouse, but a red line has been set that cannot be overcome by most farmers because they must plant no less than 1 (a ) ha.

No farmer can fulfill the condition to cultivate 1 ha of greenhouse with only one crop (eg cucumber) because he cannot secure the market.

The same scheme for free oil for farmers has been maintained by setting minimum limits of 1 ha, automatically eliminating almost all farmers in the northern and eastern areas of Albania who have little land.

Due to the lack of land ownership certificates, often the oil does not go to the one who works the land but to the one who disposes of the papers.

The fishing support scheme has been removed without any study, although the directives of the European Union consider the development of the "Blue Economy" as a priority.

The scheme for "Markets of agricultural products, markets of live animals and slaughterhouses" has been removed, although the marketing of agricultural products is one of the sharpest problems faced by Albanian agriculture.

Farmers sell cucumbers and tomatoes for 20 Lek, while wholesalers sell them to consumers for 10 times, when 90% of transactions are informal and in this situation the Ministry of Agriculture gives up supporting the market of agricultural products, a greater absurdity cannot be have.

While the most scandalous fact is point 3 of the VKM when the available fund is less than the total request of applications, the value of the financing that is obtained per unit (head, hive or ha), is reduced in accordance with this fund.

Simply put, when the fund in a scheme is insufficient for all applicants, it is distributed according to the communist principle "one crumb for all".

So a livestock farmer will not receive 10,000 Lek for a cow according to VKM, but 5 or 6,000 Lek depending on the fund provided by the government.

In the supporting policies of the Albanian government, there is nothing about mechanization and automation as the only instrument for the development of agriculture in the conditions of rural depopulation.

Also, no support is given for exports as one of the priorities of the country's agriculture, there is no thought at all for the provision of agricultural crops in the conditions of pronounced climate changes and the great risk that our country has.

I do not see the subsidy as an end in itself, but as a mechanism that, based on preliminary studies, can orient farmers towards profitable crops and technologies.