The agreement of the Ministry of Agriculture with the USAID provides 3.8 million euro for agriculture sector

Prishtine, 08 August 2018 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development and the USAID Mission in Kosovo today signed the Agreement of Trust for the support of agriculture sector. Through this agreement a special program will be created in order to support the values chain of berries and medical and aromatic plants in Kosovo, for the implementaiton of which it is provided a fund in the amount of 3.8 million euro.

Based on this agreement, it is also intended the agriculture economic development of the country, increase of agriculture production and together with this increasing the farmer’s incomes, as well as development of employment.   

On signing this agreement, Minister of MAFRD, Nenad Rikalo, said that the cooperation with the international partners from year to year has provided very positive results in development and progression of agriculture sector. 

“This agreement of cooperation with the USAID is very important, since through it we have reached to make a contract for three years, which guarantees support to our agriculture producers who deal with the cultivation of raspberries, blackberries and together with this, expect increase of production, we also intend to increase the quality of these products. As well as we intend to increase the possibility of exporting these products to foreign markets, and to assist in making a long term contracts that guarantee the safety of these products”, said Minister. 

He thanked USAID for the continuous support to the development of agriculture sector in Kosovo. 

On the other side, Director of USAID Mission in Kosovo, Lisa Magno, highlighted that the USAID will continue to support the agriculture sector and in general economic development in Kosovo. Through this partnership, she said they intend to increase the quantity and quality of agriculture production.

“Now, we are entering into a direct partnership with the Government of Kosovo, specifically with the Ministry of Agriculture, which in the short term is aimed to increase production and export, but beyond this we see the partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture as an opportunity to support Minister and his team to better target the assets that they have and to use them better. We are very grateful for the cooperation that we had with the Minister and we look forward to have further cooperation in the future to help Kosovo” she said, adding that the agriculture is a very important part of  economic development and this can make changes in the life of Kosovo’s citizens.