Parliament: Salla vows higher olive-oil standards; Bardhi demands dedicated support schemes for the sector

The debates over the olive sector have pitted the majority against the opposition in Parliament, during the discussion of the agreement for Albania’s participation in the International Olive Council.

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Andis Salla said participation in this organization is of particular importance for developing the sector, standardizing and increasing opportunities for trading Albanian products.

Salla emphasized that olive-oil production plays an important role in the Albanian economy and that in recent years the sector has seen steady development, while processing and storage technology has improved, as has the quality of olive oil.

“Albania’s participation in the International Olive Council, where we have been members since 2009, is important. Olive-oil production has an important place in the Albanian economy and is a source of income for farmers and families engaged in olive cultivation, processing and trade. In recent years, this sector has seen steady development. The technology of processing and storage has improved, as has the quality of olive oil. Standardization and creating better opportunities for trading Albanian products, as well as Albania’s participation in this organization, are of particular importance,” the minister said.

The minister also underlined that membership in the International Olive Council enables the control and exchange of technical and economic information with member countries, adding that the agreement brings no additional financial cost to the state budget.

“The control and exchange of technical and economic information among member countries deepens our relations. Albania’s participation in this organization enables us to maintain the expertise, control and quality it offers. This brings no additional financial cost to the budget. Our aim is for Albanian farmers and operators to benefit from quality control and for Albanian olive oil to be competitive and well-known in European markets,” Salla said.

On the other hand, the head of the Democratic Party parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, criticized the government for the way it supports farmers and the olive sector.

Bardhi said an international agreement is not enough if farmers do not receive concrete support on the ground. He called for olives and olive oil to be declared a national priority for the next five years and for dedicated support schemes to be created for this sector.

“Corruption kills both olives and agriculture. This government, instead of financing farmers, distributes European taxpayers’ money to drug traffickers. Today you bring an international agreement that speaks about developing the sector, increasing competitiveness and promoting olive oil, but what value does this agreement have when the government, in fact, does nothing? What use is a paper agreement to the farmer when no favorable policy and no concrete government support reaches his land? There are at least 100,000 farmers engaged with olive oil, but for them there is no national scheme to support them. There are no dedicated direct subsidies. The government can declare olives and olive oil a national priority for the next five years. That is what farmers and producers demand today: dedicated schemes to support this sector,” Bardhi said.

In response to the opposition’s accusations, Minister Salla said the government has several forms of support for the olive sector. Salla added that support for farmers is not limited only to the olive sector but also includes investments in infrastructure and other fields related to agriculture.

“We have several supports in the olive sector, such as investments for new plantings, irrigation systems, equipment for processing and packaging olives and olive oil. We have an increasing budget for the olive sector every year. We cannot say that the government is not supporting farmers. There are many other supports in infrastructure and other issues related to agriculture,” the minister said.