Floods affected over 400 hectares of land, MALIQ farmers: Promised compensation has not yet arrived

Two major floods, in December of last year and January of this year, left more than 400 hectares of agricultural land in the Maliq plain submerged, causing significant damage to farmers.

At the time, the Minister of Agriculture promised compensation for the farmers, but this has still not happened.

Geni Fraholli, one of the farmers from the village of Sheqeras, says that all of his planted crops were destroyed, while the promised compensation has still not been received.

“I had 18 hectares flooded, it’s a huge loss, around 7–8 million lek in total. Wheat and barley. We still cannot plant corn because the water has not drained from the fields. The minister came, but nothing was given to us. We completed all the documentation,” Fraholli said.

The same is confirmed by the Director of Agriculture in the Municipality of Maliq, Aurel Zenullari, who says that farmers are right to demand compensation, which has not yet been paid.

“Farmers are right. In December and January we had several damages from these floods. We have flooded wheat, unharvested corn, and plots that cannot be planted because water is still present in these areas. The municipality has taken measures, reports have been drafted, no one has been excluded from registration. Documents have been forwarded and we are waiting for a response, which has not yet arrived for the farmers,” Zenullari said.

The Municipality of Maliq has exempted farmers whose land is still underwater from local taxes, while the economic damage for them remains very high.

“KORÇA BOOM”