FarmeRs ecouraged to plant trees

TIRANA, April.2 – Agriculture Minister, Jemin Gjana, has confirmed that the ministry will assist farmers with technical and financial help if they respect standards and expand their cultivated land with vineyards, olive and fruit tree plantings. For the first time the Albanian government has allocated 4.5 million dollars subsidies for farmers throughout he country. This year the funding has helped farmers in the districts of Korca, Tirana and Durres to cultivate 500 hectares. Every farmer that decides to invest in the specific agricultural sectors gets an average subsidy of 0.5 million lek. During a meeting with farmers from the districts of Tirana and Durres, Gjana said that this is only the first project and will be followed by at least ten other that will target other sectors such as diaries, animal farming and olive oil production. The minister talked about pilot projects in Divjak묠Krutje and Hajmel to form corporate farming. Another discussed problem was the land rental which will be now regulated with contracts valid for no less than 15 years. Framers asked for assistance with lower customs tariffs as well as more regulation in the field of pesticides. Albania food imports reach an annual figure of $ 700 million, when it should have been exporting some of the products given its climate advantages.