Government reaction required, cultivation of raspberry towards extinction

Fermer Ekrem Nkarman, from the village of Lupc of Podujevo, is disappointed with the price it is this year, while with his entire family, he says he lives from growing raspberries.

It requires central institutions to intervene with a 20-center subsidy per kilogram collected to overcome this crisis for this year.

The bourbon shows that it was planted 3 hectares and 70 acres [3 ha] of gold with raspberry culture, two acres of mapema variety, and 1 hectare and 70 gold, poleca.

However, nearly two acres [2 ha] says they were damaged by spring floods, and this year there is no harvest. Until, actually, there's only one hectare of 70 gold that has very good order.

We're not happy at the price, the price is too weak. The National Snow Association has applied to the Ministry of Agriculture for 20 cents by supporting us per kilogram. The minister of Agriculture has expressed readiness to help us, and now I have to talk to the prime minister and Finance Minister Bedri Hamza, in seven days he will give us a reply. I had asked my orchard to support the prime minister, to protect this mess, to get through this crisis this year. It is not just a crisis in Kosovo, but it also has a crisis in Europe”, said Candorman.

The farmer says that no one assigns the raspberry price as an individual but terms it as bell.

The swimmer relates how he and all his family members are engaged in his orchard to harvest the radiator, but says at the price already set, he will have to work for only 10 cents.

He says if the government does not intervene, it is possible that thousands of jobs will be eliminated.

“loggers up to 65 or 70 cents are given to the farmer until he puts him in the ark to get him to the gathering point. Now, if you count it for 80 cents, for 10 cents, it's a hard job, commitment, 10 cents, it's not worth it... I'm employed by four family members, I'm a seasonal worker over 15 working, they take the family out of this job, and I hope the Ministry of Agriculture will take this job into account<1>

The other farmer, Nundman Hoxha, from the village of Obranja and Podujevo, who has planted 40 raisins, is disappointed at the price set for this year, saying that if the government does not intervene, more than half of the farmers will stop cultivating this culture.

For the current price, it's a pity. According to all likelihood, if you continue with this trend, they will unplug a chain of this culture that was created in Llap because they can't afford it. It's not up to the collection points either, but it doesn't depend on us as farmers... if the Government doesn't take any concrete steps regarding subsidy, at least 70 percent will stop this activity”, Hoxha said.

The complaint about the price also has the collecting points, according to which this price is undermining farmers who are cultivating raisins.

Company Director-General “Laberion” that made the raspberry gathering, the Osman Union, says the milk quality this year is much better than the other years, but that the price is extremely low.

“Clity except for climate conditions is quite pronounced, differs from last year much, is an unprecedented quality. The disaster is that the price is poor enough, it's unreasonable for farmers. In this case not only for farmers but also for us as a collection center because for us fixed electricity expenses, workers and all other fixed expenses are what they are, the price is weak. In this case the price we accept with that weak one we sell further. We've made our complaints in our relevant institutions, but we hope more than ever this time we have to help these farmers, because this is strategic culture”, Osmani stressed.

Osmani shows that his company pays the farmers every week for the raspberry they send to his company. He says that during the season he engages more than 70 workers.

The director of the Directorate for Agriculture in the Podujevo municipality, Vezir Yanuzi, relates the challenges facing the farmers of this city who cultivate raspberry culture as a result of low sales prices. He says the Podujevo municipality has a 1,000 hectare area with the culture of raspberry.

The former Agriculture Minister, who knows this problem well, has asked the central institutions to help these farmers overcome this alarming situation this year. Because those as wardens have tried to do their best to help these farmers, but they have no budgetary opportunities.

With this year's high productivity following heavy rains and powerful winds that have followed us from January to today, farmers have managed to protect their cultures, and today they are facing an extremely low market price. And I'm obliged as Director of Agriculture, to look for central institutions, this case from the prime minister's office and the Ministry of Agriculture to urgently take action and make some urgent planning and share some budget or financial means that farmers working on growing raisins are helped for production by 20 to 30 cents to pass this alarming situation and call emergency”, Januz said.

Januzi points out next year they have information that the price will be better, so it is required that the Government intervene this year to cope with this crisis.

With a budget of 3m euros, Januz believes that they will be able to protect this culture this year and that farmers will not be disappointed and continue with the same trend next year and increase the area with raspberry culture. But if no solution is found, then according to Januzi, the farmers' expectations for years to come will be erased.

Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Minister Nenad Rikalo has promised support to raspberry growers. He has done so after a meeting he had with representatives of the raspberry collection centres in Kosovo, as well as the chairman of the Association of Mijdra Cultivators, Sami Uka.