A new financing line between the Bank of Albania and the sovereign guarantee from the government will be made available to the agricultural sector in the country within this year. From a roundtable discussion with bank representatives, Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the low interest on loans and the reduction in collateral requirements will make this financing more attractive for farmers and rural entrepreneurs.
"We must be very open and I believe we must agree that 2.1% of the total volume of loans for this sector is really very little. With full understanding of the reluctance, with the conviction that with interaction and support between the central bank and the second level, many reasons for reluctance will be overcome. This is a qualitative leap, very promising for the sector and the country. Considering this, we have set the objective that in 2030 exports will reach over 1 billion euros. We have quadrupled them. Achieving the objective of 1 billion euros requires increased power of farmers and will come through investments and an increase in the volume of entrepreneurship in the village", said Rama.
The Governor of the Bank of Albania described such agricultural lending as a major step that will have an impact on poverty reduction.
"The performance still far from the needs that the agricultural sector has for credit reflects the reality of the risk that its lending carries as a result of the nature of the activity, the lack of collateral and high costs. But increasing your attention to its lending is an issue of strategic importance for the development of the country. Studies conducted have shown that lending to this sector has a twice greater impact on poverty reduction compared to lending to other sectors", said Sejko.
By 2027, the government should dedicate 5.1 billion lek from the state budget. "In the agricultural sector this year, reaching 146 million euros, where only for the national farmers' scheme and oil subsidy we have allocated 4.4 billion lek to bring it up to 5.1 billion lek by 2027," said Petrit Malaj, Minister of Finance.
"Natural economic development, currently under pressure from both the growing demand for exports, but also from growing domestic consumption, as a result of the increasing number of tourists visiting Albania each year, needs real development support and the creation of favorable conditions to promote quality investments," said Anila Denaj, Minister of Agriculture.
Agriculture occupies an important place in the country's economy, with 40% of the population employed in this sector. (A2 Televizion)
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