TIRANA, Nov 5 /ATA/ Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Frida Krifca, outlined on Friday at the Parliamentary Committee for Manufacturing Activity, Trade and Environment the 2022 budget for agriculture.
Krifca said that “the 2022 budget earmarks 7.1 billion ALL for financing rural development, of which 3.2 billion ALL go to support for about 50 thousand farmers, 400 million ALL to support start-ups in agriculture. According to the Minister, ALL 2.2 billion is the IPARD program, while ALL 400 million is support for farmers to increase production of agricultural crops that are high in demand on international markets.
“The budget will support fishermen to expand the fleet and increase investment in fisheries and aquaculture, agro-processors to strengthen capacity and a special program for empowerment of women and young people in agritourism,” said the minister.
Krifca stressed that, for the first time, the farmers will be refunded for seeds and seedlings to guarantee food safety for consumers.
“We promote formalization in the dairy industry to increase production through funding per liter but also to encourage young people who are engaged in the sector of livestock. The oil scheme will include olive culture this year,” the minister said.
Referring to food safety, Krifca said that “this sector will have the highest budget ever estimated at 2.3 billion ALL, will have more modern laboratories for food control and 120 AKU teams will be equipped with modern inspection infrastructure.”
“The 2022 budget will also ensure the establishment of the farmer’s register, which will list all the preparations in use. ALL 1.7 billion have been earmarked for drainage and irrigation, the budget will also focus on flooding preparedness and prevention. In 2017-2020, we financed 13.6 billion ALL for irrigation infrastructure, ” said Minister Krifca.
