FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
For three decades, Spahi Jahja, from Fushë Kuqja in the municipality of Lezha, has been involved in viticulture. He started in 1997, when these fields were wasteland, and today he has over 16 hectares cultivated with different grape varieties. Despite the increase in the cultivated area from year to year, like thousands of winegrowers across the country, he is facing great difficulties.
The problems range from support schemes, high fertilizer prices, to the cartel pricing that is imposed on them when they deliver goods to collectors.
"The production is coming, the biggest problem is to market it, from Durrës to Shkodra there is no collection point and we go to Lushnje and they don't give us an invoice or a price. You just throw it away ," said Spahi Jahja, a winegrower.
"The Lezha and Shkodra regions don't have any collection points, there are no villages here? The land is not cultivated?" said Spahi Jahja, a winegrower.
While the country has been hit by a galloping price increase, the adoption of the national scheme has disappointed those involved in agriculture. For winegrowers, the support this scheme offers is almost negligible. If we compare it with Kosovo, a winegrower in Albania receives only one-tenth of the support provided across the border.
"Until recently, there was probably interest, starting with the increase in prices and especially this year, and it has hit us. Oil subsidies were removed, and they will give me 10 thousand lek, Kosovo gives 1000 euros per hectare for viticulture. With 10 thousand, it is unaffordable to deal with viticulture," said Spahi Jahja, a winegrower.
This year, the oil support scheme for farmers was abolished. A step that coincides with the new fuel crisis after the start of the conflict in Iran. A conflict that seems to be having effects also in Albania, found unprepared by external factors. This is also reflected in the rapid increase in the prices of all inputs for agriculture.
"The NPK that we received last year for 7 thousand, today 9500 lek, I don't receive any support. Last year there was input, and this year nothing ," said the winegrower, Spahi Jahja.
In this year's new support scheme, the government has promised a 10% refund of all invoices for the sale of products, but farmer Spahia says that this market is informal and the collection points do not issue invoices.
" The Ministry of Agriculture should look into this, because the farmer delivers it to the collection point without a receipt, but with a piece of paper and leaves ," said the winegrower, Spahi Jahja.
After three decades of trying to keep this difficult business alive, this winegrower hopes to be able to obtain support to build a winery, closing the cycle of his production. But this seems difficult at a time when IPARD funds have not yet been given the green light.
"We don't have collection points, we spend 100 liters of diesel, that's the profit... ", said the winegrower, Spahi Jahja.
"We will not let it go because we have invested a lifetime, I have been working for 35 years, but the state should pay more attention to it, but agriculture is dying," said the winegrower, Spahi Jahja./ InsideStory
Lini një Përgjigje