Kuçi, speaking about support for agriculture and livestock, said that support for farmers has increased year after year.

“From year to year, we have seen an increase in the number of farmer applications, as well as an increase in the number of farmers receiving funding. Every year, we have provided support through investment schemes. Since 2018, the monetary value of investments has significantly increased, as has the budget allocated by the government for the Ministry of Agriculture and AZHBR. We have also had access to EU funds, such as IPARD II,” said Kuçi.

The Director of AZHBR stated that starting from 2024, a dedicated investment scheme has been implemented.

Last year, a budget of 15 million euros was made available. The scheme was launched in September and continued through November. The number of applications received was exceptionally high, mainly due to the streamlined application process.

“This year, next week, we will approve by decision of the Council of Ministers the new two-year investment scheme for 2025–2026, which includes 9 support measures, compared to the 5 measures from last year, and with a budget of 20 million euros,” Kuçi emphasized.

Kuçi stated that, with the initial budget approved by the government, the agricultural sector was allocated a fund of 44 million euros. “In addition to this, we are allocating another 20 million euros for the 2025–2026 period, which will focus on nine programs within agriculture and livestock. The emphasis is placed on expanding cultivated land areas, greenhouses, livestock stables, and poultry facilities, as well as the construction of solar greenhouses, anti-hail nets, aquaculture, and agritourism initiatives for this year,” she affirmed.

“Last year alone, we disbursed 52 million euros for direct schemes. The initial budget allocated by the government was 33 million euros, which was increased through a normative act to cover the full demand of 67,100 applicant farmers for the year 2024. We have launched the direct payment scheme this year and have already received 71,000 applications that are currently undergoing administrative checks, with payments set to begin very soon,” she said.

“If we look at the investment figures, we received 404 applications last year. The application period was even shorter than this year. This year, applicants will have two and a half months to apply—until the end of September—to prepare their application files, so we can have more efficient files and better results for the farmers. The call is expected to open in July and remain open until the end of September. Throughout this entire period, we will be working continuously. We have a very good communication plan,” said Kuçi.

“We have three important instruments, not just the investment scheme, which has seen increased interest. I expect that this year we will have many more applications for investments. On the other hand, we also have soft loans and sovereign guarantees,” Kuçi emphasized.

/a.f//r.e/sm/