TIRANA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Tuesday a decision to merge the country's 13 agriculture directorates into regional agencies in a bid to enhance performance of these structures.
The agencies have been conceptualized as four in charge of agricultural legislation and four regional agencies in charge of veterinary services and plants protection, Rama said.
Calling the current directorates as outdated structures, Rama told reporters from the city of Elbasan that this system would be succeeded by 4 plus 4 regional agencies.
"This process of reformation is intended to consolidate the agency for rural agricultural development and better organize the service of agriculture counseling. We create a real instrument in the hands of those in need for agricultural counseling," Rama said.
Rama expressed his confidence that these agencies will bring in an added value and a process that will improve food safety on a constant basis.
According to him, Albanian government was firm in its stand to guarantee the entirety of the food chain that represents a vital sector for Albania, a potential, yet untapped resource in the socio-economic development of the country.
The Albanian government has gradually increased its support to agricultural sector, considering the latter as a sector with a untapped potential to country's economy.
Only a few weeks ago, Rama announced the new funding scheme for the farmers, allocating a fund of over 20 million U.S. dollars in the form of subsidies to be given to farmers across the country.
Such support comes at a time when the exports of Albanian agriculture products have seen a double-digit growth in the last few years, mainly exported towards European Union markets.
