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Albania applies for EU fund to support agriculture sector

Xinhua, September 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Albanian government has formally submitted its application to the European Commission to obtain a fund worth 71 million euros (79.21 million U.S. dollars) under IPARD 2014-2020 program, the Ministry of Finance announced Tuesday.

If approved, the Albanian government will use the fund to support the country's agriculture sector, according to the ministry.

The managing authorities in the ministries of finance and agriculture have submitted to the European Commission the request to be entrusted with budget implementation tasks for IPARD 2014-2020.

The program aims at supporting farmers, agricultural and agro-processing enterprises as well as subjects planning to carry out investments for production and processing in the dairy sector, meat, fruit and vegetables, protected plants and vineyards, according to the ministry.

The program also aims at supporting investments in aquaculture, natural and rural tourism and renewable energy production.

The Albanian government also plans to support approximately 2,055 investment projects via the fund.

The implementation of this program is projected to begin in 2017 while it is expected to create about 800 jobs.

In June, the European Union(EU) ambassador in Albania Romana Vlahutin announced that Albania would be entrusted with the management of 71 million euros from the bloc destined for agricultural and rural development.

The EU ambassador urged the Albanian authorities to show that they were ready to manage EU funds, warning that the European Commission has a very strict procedure which allows it to get the money back if it is not properly managed.

Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in Rural Development (IPARD) is an instrument applied by the EU to assist candidate countries to develop their agriculture sector. Enditem