The harvest season has arrived in the Pollog region, but farmers’ optimism has turned into deep disappointment.
The combination of inflated chemical fertilizer costs and high land cultivation expenses, against the minimal price at which grain is being collected this year, has devastated the financial situation of farmers. According to voices from the field, with these parameters, agricultural activity is on the brink of bankruptcy.
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“We didn’t foresee this… yields were slightly lower, but the price is also very, very bad. I’m talking about agriculture. Fertilizers have become exorbitantly expensive. With wheat, I’m in the red. This work is not worth it at all. Absolutely nothing. It’s below zero. Quality wheat sells for 11 denars a kilogram, second-grade for 9 denars, and the poorest for 8 denars. What can you do? A thousand kilograms, about 150 euros, meanwhile just the cost per decare came out to that. We are exactly even, not even the straw is left over. I don’t know which way to turn.”
The anger of local growers is extraordinary. They underline that a valuation of just 10 denars per kilogram is an insult. To illustrate this alarming situation, producers give a stark example from daily life, where the cost of a few kilograms of clean wheat barely equals the price of a cup of coffee.
“Even if you have… The value, 10 denars. One coffee equals three kilograms of wheat. Without a coffee, you don’t eat bread. It can’t get any worse. They know this. They don’t give subsidies, they don’t give them. And we’re still waiting to see what the yield turns out to be. How they’ll manage around here… Me manage? A total loss. 350 kilograms per decare. It only took wheat. What is reported is 120… And they don’t come to our homes, but we’ve sown the land. What to do, whatever they decide, there’s no way out.”
The consequences of this difficult season are also being felt firsthand by the operators of agricultural machinery in the field. Fitim Idrizi, while driving the combine harvester, explains that the harvesting process started two weeks ago, yet the current rates don’t even justify basic operational costs, such as fuel and plowing.
“The season started two weeks ago. It hasn’t ended yet, and we’ll continue harvesting for about another week. The crops have turned out well, but we don’t like the price at all. At 10 denars, with things left as they are, no account adds up. 20 euros for the combine service, 20 euros for plowing, just fuel and other expenses aren’t covered. But now what can we do, the fields must be harvested. We have to work so we can sow again,” said Fitim Idrizi.
Although the land has been generous this season, the balance sheet for farmers is once again negative. In the absence of concrete support or intervention in the purchase price, the hopelessness prevailing on the ground risks leaving many plots in this area fallow next season.
