During the last quarter, the Albanian Agribusiness & Tourism Support Facility senior experts, have been actively engaged in discussions concerning challenges for agribusinesses and agritourism enterprises during and after Covid-19 through online platforms and e-discussion formats.
AASF’s senior experts have provided the audience with a situational overview of most relevant agricultural products of the season in Albania.
Mrs. Adela Leka, AASF’s Deputy Team Leader, has participated in webinars organized by FAO, Albania Investment Council and other institutions. Mrs. Leka has contributed, throughout AASF’s case studies and market experience, towards supporting smallholders and family farms throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, she has presented several success cases and opportunities on how the efficient use of guarantee schemes as AASF can increase Small and Medium Enterprises access to finance.
Simultaneously, during his participants in many public webinars, Mr. Ilir Pilku, AASF’s Senior Agribusiness Expert, has presented seasonal agriculture studies contributing on the ongoing process of strengthening consumer safety and social standards during and after the Covid-19 crisis. In addition, Mr. Pilku adds that by applying quality standards, it can increase production and lower market risks for both farmers and agribusinesses.
Furthermore, AASF’s key stakeholders and Partner Financial Institutions, have also organized and participated in webinars concerning agriculture as key feature topic during pandemic crisis.
Mr. Alban Mara, representative from OTP Bank Albania, one of AASF’s Partner Financial Institutions, emphasized as a panelist the focus that the bank has towards agriculture and how participation and technical assistance under AASF has been instrumental in motivating increased lending to the sector.
While Mr. Agim Rrapaj, Chairman of the Albanian Agribusiness Council, emphasized the importance of support from EBRD and the Albanian Government for agriculture, and in particular for those business affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Albanian Agribusiness Support Facility – AASF, is a project funded and developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in cooperation and with support from the Government of Albania.