The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Frida Krifca said at a meeting with local farmers that installation of new irrigation system based on the solar energy to reduce costs is expected to significantly improve the existing irrigation system through installation of high-pressure pipes instead of secondary open canals, using the Janjar and Mursi reservoirs as main water source for the project.

According to her, the joint project will also support construction of a new pumping system in Mursi water reservoir to feed the secondary irrigation networks the villages of Mursi, Vrine and Xarre.

“A new funding worth 8 million euros has been approved together with the World Bank  to support a project designed to ensure irrigation of an area of over 2500 hectares of land in this area,” she said.

Agriculture Minister said that the new irrigation technology will be used for the first time in Albania.

“The project will be first piloted here in Mursi and in an area of around 500 hectares in Divjake. Later decisions and projects will follow all over Albania once we see the results of this technology,” Krifca added.

This region has significant citrus production which is mainly exported to countries in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.

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