Prime Minister Edi Rama held a meeting today in the city of Cërrik, focusing on agricultural development, the challenges the sector faces, and the need for a comprehensive approach.

In his speech, Rama emphasized that agriculture should not be seen merely as a story of subsidies for survival, but as an opportunity to build sustainable and profitable rural enterprises.

“If we don’t give agriculture the profile of entrepreneurship, and if we don’t give those who want to stay in the countryside the opportunity to build a business that gives meaning to life there, then we haven’t done our job. This is not a story of subsidies just to keep people afloat, but a story meant to transform the spirit of rural enterprise. This country needs a strong rural entrepreneurship. We aim to place more focus on agro-processing and increasing exports of processed agricultural products — but that requires enterprise,” he said.

The Prime Minister announced that a new €250 million credit line has been made available by the Bank of Albania to support agricultural projects and rural development.

“We have allocated for farmers and the countryside a new €250 million credit line from the Bank of Albania — a colossal amount meant to meet our ambitions and support rural projects.

I really hope that today’s discussion marks a new chapter of cooperation. It’s not just about this new credit line, which needs to be fully utilized and risks being left untouched,” he stated.

Source - https://euronews.al