More than 7m euros in farm damage from waste

Among the injured farmers is Bedri Morina, from the village of Drenoc in the Malisheva municipality, who for Radio Free Europe shows that the entire area of crops in the neighbourhood of ão Morina has been damaged.

It shows that the area of over 20 hectares planted with wheat culture has been damaged, while some 2 hectares have been planted with vegetables and have also been completely damaged.

Morina, however, says no damage assessment has been made.

“Paths, tomatoes, peppers, saddles, grapes and trees all damaged”, Morina relates.

Adem Arifaj, chief of the Plant Protection Division, under the Ministry of Agriculture, at the same time chairman of the Commission to assess damage at the country level, says Radio Free Europe that the most damaged cultures this year are wheat, trees, vineyards and vegetables.

According to ground assessments, Arifaj says, the value of damages exceeds over sevenm euros.

Otherwise, the Kosovo government has approved the decision to immediately compensate for damages caused this year by rainfall and hail in Kosovo municipalities.

But it has not determined the amount of compensation, since, as it is said, it will be subject to analysis and budgetary opportunities.

In addition, the government has authorised the Ministry of Finance for the establishment of a special fund for 2019 and the establishment of the Commission that will create the agricultural productivity insurance system in Kosovo, stabilise the agriculture market in the country and provide support to this area.

But, farmer Bedri Morina shows that so far, he has not received any answers from the municipal or central level to the possibility of paying back injuries.

I've been told that we have no means for compensation. But, however, municipal officials have confirmed that if tools are separated from the government, opportunities exist. However, so far we have no information on compensation for damages”, Morina says.

To the impact of rainfall on plant development, Ymer Rusinovci, professor at the Faculty of Agriculture at Pristina University, also speaks.

The sandfall affects negatively because it reduces the weight of wheat, represents the harvest process, and, as a result, flour that will be accomplished by the grower of local production, will have lower quality this year. Similar situations include a considerable portion of vegetables that have a large invasion of rainfall, currently of humidity”, Russia says.

The Republic of Kosovo has an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, while according to the statistical year's Kosovo Statistics Agency, the land area used for agricultural productivity in 2016 has been over 416 thousand hectares. From this area, arable field has been over 180 thousand acres [180 ha], and gardens about 1,000 acres [1,000 ha].