BY Ledina Alolli: The abandonment of the village by the government

The village is silently fading away. Not because the farmer isn’t working, but because the government has chosen to look away. This spring dealt a heavy blow to agriculture, especially in the Korça region, which has traditionally been one of the largest fruit-producing areas in Albania. Unexpected late frosts almost completely destroyed the fruit harvests.

Cherries – one of the most beloved and important crops in this area – were entirely damaged. Plums were heavily affected. Apples, though still in the growing phase, have also been seriously damaged, and yields are expected to be much lower.

In 2024, the Korça region produced around 2,000 tons of cherries, securing stable income for hundreds of families. That year, farmers sold cherries at 100–150 lek/kg, a price that allowed them to cover their costs and survive.

This year, in 2025, the situation is dramatic: production has dropped by more than 85%. In total, very few cherries have been harvested in the entire region, with losses estimated at 1,700 tons due to climate conditions. In economic terms, this translates into a direct loss of 3.5 million euros for farmers, just from cherries. This figure does not include the damage to plums and apples, which could push total losses for the fruit sector in the area to over 5 million euros.

Has the government intervened? Not at all. No on-site assessment. No compensation plan. No response. Farmers have been left alone to face nature and the market, without any clear support policy.

The market price this year has risen to 350–400 lek/kg due to the lack of supply. But this high price is misleading – because most farmers have nothing to sell. It’s not the price increase that is enriching them, but the lack of production that is impoverishing them.

Meanwhile, in the city, a kilogram of cherries has reached up to 800 lek. The same cherries that last year sold for 200–250 lek are now a luxury item that many families cannot afford. We are losing local fruits and creating a gap that will be filled by imports, further damaging Albanian agriculture.

This is the silent crisis unfolding in the countryside. Not because of the farmers’ ignorance. Not due to lack of work. But because of abandonment by institutions.

The government talks about “rural development,” about “agricultural transformation” – but the reality is this: the farmer has no insurance for crops, no support for climate damage, no meaningful representation in decision-making. Today, they don’t ask for handouts but for justice and attention.

If this continues, every year will be worse. If neither the climate is stable nor the state present, then the village has nothing to hope for except to shut its eyes.

While rural development is discussed on paper, in reality the village is being abandoned.

Not just by the youth who leave, but by a state that takes no responsibility even when farmers are left without bread. We are losing agriculture, and with it, we are losing a part of our identity. And when the village is lost, it’s not just a place that disappears, the foundation of our social and economic life vanishes with it.

“KORÇA BOOM”