Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Anila Denaj said today that, “During the period January-July 2024, the Seeds and Seedlings Agency has certified 23,569,100 seedlings.”

“During January-July 2024, there have been 35% more certified seedlings compared to last year”, said Denaj.

The minister emphasized that the certification of seeds and seedlings is significant in the food safety chain, guaranteeing a high-quality final product for the health of consumers.

“Through certification, we assure farmers of the quality of their products, eliminate the risk of damage during harvesting and put a safety seal that paves the way for Albanian agricultural production to European markets with higher value, bringing more profit to the farmer”, she said./p.s./

Krifca said that, “There are about 5,000 different seeds and fruit trees with Albanian origins collected from all over our territory, which speak of an extraordinary plant wealth”.

The minister said that we have made a very big evolution during the last years, as far as the certification of seedlings is concerned.

She said that, “One of our support measures has been the orientation towards certified seedlings, which we introduced as a measure last year. We supported about 1 thousand hectares of vegetable production due to certification. We also had a larger amount of farmers who applied this year and we continue on this path because we consider the process of selecting certified seeds and seedlings important. These seedlings give a guarantee to our local consumer as well as consumers in the qualified markets where we intend to export the products”.

Krifca said that, “Together with the Genetic Bank at the Agricultural University of Tirana, the Center for the Transfer of Agricultural Technologies and the State Entity of Seeds and Seedlings, we are working together to identify our amazing inventory of seeds that we want to preserve from extinction, to preserve and maintain them, to give them added value and to include them in a value chain where can benefit the farmers who produce them”./gj.m/p.s./