The areas planted with agricultural crops in the Maliq plain, one of the largest agricultural regions in the country, are declining.
According to farmers, this situation has been caused by the lack of market demand and prices that remain below production costs for agricultural products.
Margel Agolli from the village of Orman in the Municipality of Maliq is one of the prominent farmers in the area. After working for 25 years abroad, he decided to invest in basic agricultural crops, but today he says that the high cost of fuel and agricultural inputs has significantly increased production costs.
“I have been back for 10 years, working for myself. I returned from Greece. Natural disasters always happen, and we are not compensated. On top of that, cultivation costs are expensive — fuel, pesticides. Costs are extremely high. Potato production costs us 30 lek, but we sell it for 25 lek,” he says.
According to Agolli, subsidies are insufficient and do not cover the expenses required for agricultural work.
Fuat Orhan from the village of Rembec in the Municipality of Maliq is another farmer with large areas mainly planted with wheat.
“I have been working with wheat, barley, and corn for 35 years. Why are the areas shrinking? The main reason is that production costs have increased excessively. Fuel prices, chemical fertilizers, other secondary expenses, labor costs. It is absurd to sell wheat at 28 lek when it costs 30 lek to produce,” the farmer states.
Sharing the same concerns as the farmers is Kejdi Hasani, an agricultural specialist at the Municipality of Maliq, who admits that this year there has been a decline in the areas planted with several major agricultural crops.
“Farmers are reducing cultivated areas because of expensive agricultural inputs, competition from regional countries, and the lack of market security. They feel uncertain and unsupported,” he says.
While around 3,800 hectares of wheat were planted in the Maliq plain a year ago, this year the area has dropped to 3,500 hectares.
The area planted with corn has also declined from 4,000 hectares to 3,800 hectares, while potato cultivation has decreased from 700 hectares to only 500 hectares.
The post Farmers in Maliq Are Reducing Crop Planting Due to High Costs appeared first on Euronews Albania.
