Meeting in Korçë, Minister Salla: Flood compensation to be paid soon

On Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Andis Salla met in the Korçë and Pogradec area with representatives of medicinal plant businesses and farmers to discuss the sector’s problems, support schemes and the subsidy process.

The minister highlighted the region’s considerable agricultural potential and farmers’ strong interest in national support programmes, reflected in the substantial number of applications.

Regarding the damage caused by floods and natural disasters at the end of last year and in January this year, he said the government had completed the legal procedures and was awaiting approval of a normative act, which would pave the way for compensating farmers across the country.

“Compensation will be provided very soon. The normative act is being prepared and farmers will be compensated,” the minister told Euronews Albania journalist Xhensil Shkëmbi, who had asked him about promises of compensation following the January floods.

Turning to livestock schemes, Salla noted that lowering the minimum eligibility thresholds had generated the highest number of applications ever recorded. According to him, the threshold for small livestock was reduced from 100 to 50 head, while for cows it was lowered from 10 to 5, also including small farms.

For the first time, a grant of €10,000 will be awarded to young people investing in livestock farming. He also mentioned that implementation is continuing for the scheme that compensates 10% of sales invoices, with procedures carried out through the tax administration.

So far, support provided through this scheme has reached €13.5 million, the minister said. He stressed that the goal is to directly assist farmers who cultivate the land, through simple, bureaucracy-free procedures, while payments will be made twice a year, in July and December.