Danish-Albanian Agriculture Consultations 2020
The Embassy of Denmark - The Trade Council of Denmark for Albania and the Danish Agriculture & Food Council have planned to organise agriculture days in Albania in 2020. Unfortunately, due to the unfavourable COVID-19 situation, it has been decided that no physical meetings will take place. Instead, exchanging viewpoints on agricultural solutions within the IPARD II programme to interested companies and entrepreneurs in Albania are made available remotely per request. The main theme of the Danish-Albanian agriculture consultations is smart, modern and sustainable agriculture.
The proposed consultations will be made in a dialogue between Danish and Albanian officials, ministries, agriculture institutes, agriculture organisations, companies and entrepreneurs. The focus will be on the national IPARD programme and specific measures, which are currently operational In Albania. IPARD II is the agriculture segment of the instrument for the Pre-Accession Assistance IPA II 2014-2020, which is assisting the EU candidate countries regarding implementation of the European legislation concerning Common Agricultural Policy and contributing to the sustainable adaptation of the agricultural sector and rural areas. Albanian farmers will have access to a total of EUR 94 million out of which EUR 71 million is granted by the EU and EUR 23 million is complemented by the Albanian government. Albanian farmers and other businessmen who would like to diversify their business orientation towards agriculture, are planning investments for improving agriculture production and are looking for the best technology in order to meet the EU standards. The financing range is from EUR 10,000 up to EUR 2 million. The European Commission has entrusted the Albanian authorities, naming the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development of Albania, with budget
implementation tasks for the following three measures:
- Measure 1: "Investments in physical assets of agricultural holdings" with a particular focus on the following sectors: milk, meat, fruit, vegetables, vineyards.
Other sectors subject to assessment.
Investment range: from min. EUR 10,000 to maximum EUR 500,000.
The program covers 60-70% of the investment.
- Measure 3: "Investments in physical assets concerning processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products" with a particular focus on the following sectors: milk and milk processing, meat processing, processing of fruits, vegetables, wine.
Other sectors are subject to assessment prior to applying.
Investment range: from min. EUR 25,000 to maximum EUR 2 million.
The program covers 50% of the investment.
- Measure 7: "Farm diversification and business development" with a particular focus on following sectors: 1a) production of medicinal herbs, mushrooms, honey, ornamental plants and snails, 1b) Processing and marketing of wild and cultivated medicinal and aromatic herbs, fungi and honey, 1c) processing at farm level and trading of agricultural products, 2) Aquaculture, 3) Nature and Rural Tourism, 4) Services for the population and rural businesses, 5) Handicrafts industry and production facilities, 6) production and use of renewable energy.
Other sectors subject to assessment.
Investment range: from min. EUR 10,000 to maximum EUR 400,000.
The program covers 50% of the investment.
In the end of October 2019, the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development launched the second call of IPARD-II Program. During the second call, applications were received based on the principle “first-come, first-served”. The closing date was 15 Jan 2020. During the second call EUR 57.68 million was distributed to the applicants, out of which EUR 43.26 million were EU funded and EUR 14.42 million was contribution of the Albanian state budget. The next call is expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2020.
More details about the Albanian IPARD programme could be found on the official Albanian IPARD website.
Detailed description of each of the above three measures, as well as other useful information, could be found on the Albanian IPARD agency website.