This year, 20 thousand hectares more wheat are targeted, experts concerned with the situation in agriculture

The Agriculture Ministry says agricultural cultures will be subsidised with a total of about 25m euros. But agriculture experts say this field has been sidelined by previous governments and that farmers have been democratised to deal with wheat planting.

The chief plant and irrigation productivity division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Bali Lestrani, during a proposal for Online Economy, says they have taken all measures for last year's subsidies.

The additional subvention measure is for each year, the design of the programme is made, but even this year is the same as last year, and support measures for all agricultural cultures that totally include 26 sectors even this year will be with a measure of support with a total of 25m euros for all agricultural cultures”, he said.

According to him this year, 80 thousand hectares are scheduled to be planted for the year-long washing cultures, while only 60 thousand hectares, 20,000 hectares less than planned last year.

Subsequently, as well as other years, the planning is about 80 thousand acres of lactarian culture. Last year has been a critical year for farmers in general in Kosovo because of climate conditions that have been adverse because of droughts and other factors. And from last year's planning that there were 80 thousand hectares planned to be planted, but there were about 60 thousand that meant about 20,000 hectares that were less. While this year we are hoping to plant 800,000 hectares if conditions will be better”, he said.

Lestrani added that even though all preparations have been made for early planting, crops have not yet begun because of droughts.

Pre-progressive preparations have not yet been made since the year of the sowing of secular cultures in the fall begins with the first phase or first week of October, but some of the municipalities that have warned us before the preparations have just begun”, he says.

But, professor at the Faculty of Agriculture Imer Rusinovac during a proposal for Online Economics, says the trend of cultivation is declining as a result of farmers' demotivatement, and the government of Kosovo should prioritize agriculture.

“In relation to the traditional period farmers in Kosovo had and in relation to the large cultivation surfaces involved in wheat was the dominant strategic culture compared to all other secular cultures. The growth trend is on the decline of the main reasons are farmers' demotives, and I consider that the Kosovo government should prioritize agriculture and not only in words in election campaigns, but it will be a reality in practice in order to add gross domestic production”, he said.

According to Rusinovac from ground data as well as the Statistics Agency, 2018-2019, it has marked export decline, while on the other side there has been increased import.

“Marketers from the Statistics Agency tell of an export decline and an import increase, this phenomenon that is undesirable because stimulative measures whether subsidies are always provided in order to add gross local production and reduce import. I consider that we are in the full period of September time that all farmers have to have a scale of furniture prepping the wheat planting surfaces. It's a fact that the cultivated surfaces are falling from year to year, the trend is declining, and this situation is a pity for all the traditional farmers that Kosovo had and all the good cultivation practices we had”, he says.

Russia added that the Agriculture Faculty, Agriculture Ministry and the Agriculture Institute in Pec find a common denominator in order to carry new technological tools as much as possible.

There's no reason for agronomim to come out today and tell farmers that planting, fertilizer is important. But we should suggest that when it has to be done what the optimum deadline is, what is the optimum dosage of food, respectively, and what is the optimum quantity of seed for planting, and these world loan institutions are calling new technological transfers with the aim of adding productivity to superficial units”.

Russia says that only with mutual co-operation can the situation improve and export agricultural products, which are our tradition, increase.