Olive Sapling Support to Farmer Families of Orphans in Albania

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided olive sapling support to 50 families of orphans who engage in agriculture in 8 different cities of Albania.

TİKA continues to provide sustainable development support in the Balkans and the Eastern European countries in order to alleviate the financial problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4,000 olive saplings and 4 tonnes of fertilizer have been provided by TİKA for 50 families of orphans who live in the villages of the cities of Prrenjas, Cërrik, Elbasan, Gramsh, Belsh, Patos, Shijak and Rrogozhinë in Albania and have been financially struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each family was handed out 80 olive saplings of two different types and 75 kilograms of fertilizer to be used to grow olives. Ali Kurt, an engineer and TİKA's Agricultural Expert, provided applied training for the families who attended the program. As part of the training, the families were taught important tips about planting and growing olive saplings through an applied olive sapling planting demonstration.

Dorina Kushi, the mother of two orphans who benefited from the olive sapling and fertilizer aid, stated that TİKA's support could be a legacy that she would leave her children, saying: “Olive is life. It is richness. It is the future.” Aurora Suloti, who lives with her orphaned daughter, said that she used to work low-wage jobs and stated that TİKA's support came when she had been thinking about buying olive saplings for extra income, expressing her gratitude for this support that touched her life.

Thanks to the olive sapling aid project, which took place in 8 different cities of Albania, it's aimed to help rural families obtain a source of income for their livelihood and contribute to improving their life standards.

As part of the Agricultural Development Program which is run by TİKA in Albania, agricultural packages consisting of 200 kilograms of fertilizer and corn, bean and clover seeds had been provided in April for 50 families of orphans who could not find jobs outside the agricultural industry, living in villages in the cities of Tirana, Elbasan, Durrës and Kavajë. TİKA aims to continue their agricultural development projects in order to alleviate the difficulties caused by the pandemic and to help socioeconomically disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, the disabled and the orphans living in the rural areas of Albania.