SHKODRA, MARCH 17, 2010     Today, USAID donated over 80,000 tomato, pepper and cucumber seedlings to 52 greenhouse farmers who lost their crops during the floods that occurred in December and January in northern Albania.   The seedlings will supply an important source of income for farmers during the spring months.

Farmers from the communes of Bushat, Guri Zi, Ana Mali and Berdic, met with the U.S. Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Deborah Jones, who helped deliver the seedlings to famers.

“Seeking to transform these floods into an opportunity to improve the livelihoods of farmers in Shkodra, today USAID is donating 80,000 seedlings to help you not only rebuild your livelihoods, but build them better,” said Jones. 

The Shkodra region experienced severe flooding this winter because of torrential rains and the overflow of the Fierza and Vau i Dejes hydro electric plants.  The floods covered over 10,300 hectares and forced the evacuation of some 4,000 households.  In the days immediately following the flooding, the U.S. Government provided $50,000 in emergency humanitarian relief supplies to flood victims.  Through the Albanian Red Cross, USAID distributed blankets, food, hygiene kits, and other emergency relief supplies to 5,000 people in Shkodra. 

USAID’s Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness (AAC) program surveyed damages and confirmed that 6 hectares of greenhouses were damaged, seriously affecting the livelihoods of 52 rural households.  Through the project, AAC will help farmers transition to commercially grown seedlings of crops with greater market potential and varieties with higher yields and market-sought attributes.

For more information about USAID activities to support the Albanian agriculture sector, please visit http://albania.usaid.gov .