“We are told that we cannot have subsidies for 1000 square meters of land. It can only be done for 5000 square meters and above. We don’t have that much land”.
This is the criterion that keeps 90% of Albanian farmers from benefiting government subventions in agriculture. As they say, only the bigger farmers will benefit. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture explained why this criterion was used.
“This is about property consolidation. The consolidation comes only by prioritizing and subsidizing lands that are above the average many farmers who have received lands from 1992 to 1993”, said Ilir Halilaj, Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Top Channel asked the Deputy Minister of Agriculture about this criterion that leaves most of the farmers who own greenhouses.
“It is about the efficiency and the airing of greenhouses. It is about the strength of the structure that protects the product from external elements, such as wind and hail”, Halilaj said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers can benefit subventions by applying in groups. Although many of them remain outside the scheme, the criteria that leave them outside will remain unchanged the next year as well.
“The incentives for cooperating with each other are there. The cost if they don’t unite is there as well. There will always be a balance for farmers, understanding what they profit from unification and what they lose if they don’t. We think that this formula will bring results in time”, the Minister of Agriculture said.
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