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Corruption in AZHBR, which distorts subsidies

2023-02-19 11:42:51Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Corruption in AZHBR, which distorts subsidies
Illustrative photo

Gerta Loku spent a considerable amount of money and many hours of work to complete the documentation to benefit from the IPARD subsidy scheme of the European Union.

Gerta has many years of experience in goat breeding and a clear business plan to expand the number of heads, to then offer agritourism services with the authentic taste of organic dairy from the rarest breeds of goats in Europe.

"The day I was going to submit the file, they didn't open my phone. The scheme works like this: You have to find a realtor to provide the fund in exchange for 30% of the subsidy value.

Being a well-known person in the public and an activist, I am not even offered real estate," said Mrs. Loku, who has not benefited from the IPARD scheme even though she meets the conditions.

In recent years, funding from the IPARD scheme in agriculture has increased. This year, 42 million euros are available from this program, almost 30% more than last year. But the distribution is not such as to support cluster development, either in agriculture or livestock, with the aim of developing the entire chain of a product in an area where feasibility is high.

Last year, funding from the national scheme was 1.5 billion ALL from about 1 billion ALL in 2021. About 6,211 livestock farmers benefited from the Support Scheme in 2022, compared to 4,316 livestock farmers who benefited in 2021.

The National Scheme applied by AZHBR supports farms with more than 100 sheep and/or goats, amounting to 1,200 ALL/head, but not more than 360,000 ALL per subject. As for farms with no less than 10 cows, the support is in the amount of 10,000 ALL/head, but not more than 500,000 ALL per subject.

Roberti from Semani says that the support is not enough, as food costs have increased, while a liter of milk still costs as much as a bottle of packaged water.

Luan Çela, who breeds a farm with 10 cows in Fier County, said that for years he has been working seasonally in Italy and Greece to cover the costs of feeding the animals. After many years in emigration, he returned to Albania to raise his parents.

"Every year I work for several months abroad, otherwise the expenses of the farm cannot be afforded", he said. Luani, even though he has applied for subsidies many times, has never won, as often in his village, funds are divided according to political affiliation.

With all these new financings, it can be seen that the agriculture sector has shrunk last year. In the first 9 months of 2022, the country's economy grew over 4%, the agriculture sector was declining. Within agriculture, the livestock branch had the biggest decline, agriculture experts claimed.

A report by the FAO (food branch at the UN) shows that Albanian farmers receive only 3 euros of direct support per hectare from the state, while 42 euros go to the institutions and entities that monitor the agricultural sector.

This is the opposite of the situation in other countries, where most of the funds go directly to the farmer. In Kosovo, 69 euros per hectare go to the farmer and 54 euros to the administration, while in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 66 euros per hectare go to the farmer and 60 to the administration.

On average, the countries of the Western Balkans gave their farmers about 53 euros per hectare, while in Albania, this figure was 18 times less, with only 3 euros. The FAO report points out that the government offers very little in the way of public funding for farmers and the money earmarked for the sector does not go where it should.

With this level of funding, the report said, the state does not provide enough assistance to farmers to cope with market competition, prevent rural depopulation, or increase productivity. As such, the country must urgently increase direct financing and improve the functioning of institutions so that the funds are properly absorbed.

To meet EU criteria, Albania must share the equivalent of a third of what it expects in EU funding.

Therefore, Albania must quintuple its allocation for agriculture. Working in agriculture is difficult, but in Albania it is also stressful. Albanian farmers are exposed to climate change, lack of expertise, laboratories, certifications, etc.

They work without contracts, without financial support, and for all these reasons, their "business" is often in limbo./MONITOR


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