TIRANA, Sept 23  /ATA/ During the period January-July 2024, second-level banks disbursed over 1.8 billion ALL in loans to the agricultural sector.

The Bank of Albania announces that, compared to a year ago, the specific share of the loan extended to agriculture increased by 708 million ALL, compared to the same period a year ago, which recorded the value of 1.12 million ALL.

Agriculture is a sector with great potential to increase credit.

With a growing contribution to the country’s economy, such as employment and exports, agriculture has been prioritized by government policies, which has led to increased business interest in new enterprises in many fields of agriculture.

Experts anticipate that lending will expand the sector even more for the following period, driven by support schemes such as the Sovereign Guarantee Fund, which the government has made available to farmers and rural enterprises.

The government has recently launched the National Farm Investment Scheme 2024, which addresses financing for farmers up to 50% grant of the investment value in the construction of greenhouses, livestock infrastructure; aquaculture fishing, anti-hail nets, agricultural machinery.