This year, a large quantity of peaches and nectarines has been recorded in Lumas, Cërrik, but according to farmers, low selling prices are leaving them with no profit. They stress that rising production costs, together with the lack of labor, are making it increasingly difficult to continue farming and earn an income from a whole year’s work.
Farmers explain that work in the orchards never stops throughout the year, while expenses for chemical fertilizers, spraying and maintenance have risen significantly. According to them, besides low selling prices, another major problem remains the lack of workforce, as young people have left the country. They say pay for a seasonal worker ranges from 25,000 to 30,000 lek per day, a cost they cannot afford under current market prices.
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“There is plenty of produce, but no price. I have been doing this work for 20 years, we were in Greece, we came back from emigration and invested here. We have sold it for 50, 40 and even 30 lek, depending on the produce. We have 1 hectare, I have apricots and peaches. Some years the peaches do well, last year there was no production, but there was a price, and we were satisfied. This year there is production, but there is no price. Yesterday we were also hit by hail,” says farmer Dorjana Hoxha.
“You spend 1 year going around it, starting in January when we spray them, prune them, husband and wife and we wear the child out here too. But what about the workforce? There isn’t any, I bring my son. Why isn’t there any? They have left. What are they supposed to do? Peaches are 30 lek. Prices have gone up. 1 quintal of fertilizer is 100,000 lek, but if you don’t put at least a little fertilizer, this can’t be done. How much does a worker get in the harvest season? They ask for 30, 25. It doesn’t pay for us to hire workers, we try to manage ourselves,” she adds.
Under these conditions, farmers are calling for more support for agriculture and interventions that would guarantee them a more stable market for their produce.
