Productivity

Farmers face numerous difficulties when it comes to use of mechanics in agriculture. In the last twenty years, a considerable number of tractors and other faming machines have been imported. However, the farmers are not yet in possession of the latest machines. They are forced to pay very high lease for various machines needed to do different processes in farming such as plowing, sowing, harvesting, transporting, etc. According to locally collected data, there is one tractor for 50 ha of land. These obstacles combine with other negative issues such as flooding, land occupation, unstable land market, fodder sowing, etc., the result of which is that 60 % of the land is left barren. As the area is used for animal breeding, farmers have little or no interest in procuring more and better machines for cultivating the land. At the commune level, 80 % of the farmers purchase seeds and chemical fertilizers. Among the inputs used in faming, the greatest cost goes to chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, given the poor quality of imported fertilizers in Albania, effectiveness suffers still more. In the case of fully irrigated fields sown with corn, the complete range of fertilizers from nitrates to super-phosphates is used. The amounts used vary from 8-10 kv/ha, whereas in the case of wheat the amount is lower at 4-6 ha kv/ha. The same situation is with regard to fodder plants.

Water reserves

The territory of the commune of Bushat is in possession of these water reserves: -a- The Drin River as it runs from Spathari to Beltojë, over 3 km in length and width ranging from 300- 800 ml. This segment of the river also marks the northern border of the commune. The south end of the commune is marked by the villages of Stajkë, Kosmac and Ashtë. Water flow in this river is subject to the water regime in the lake of the HEC in Vau I Dejes. -b- The branch of the Bushati Drin from Stajka to Kukel, is about 18 km long and passes through the villages of Stajkë Plezhë, Bushat, Shkjezë, Barbullush and Kukel. It mostly feeds on the River Drin streaks and less on rainfall precipitations. -c- The system of drainage canals in the area, represented by canals/collectors of the first, second and third tier.

Areas at flood risk and system of protection from floods

Drainage of agricultural land in the commune of Bushat relies on the free flow of waters. This means that the safeguards from floods are represented by the three level canals into which water flows freely first into the third (and highest) level, second and first level canals which carry water into Vilun (the lagoon) and subsequently into the sea, without the use of pumping stations. The area covered by canals is about 4.500 ha. An additional area of 1.550 ha is drained into the Bushat Drin as it traverses Lezha to run into the sea. The Drainage Board supplies the following information with regard to the length of canals in the Commune. There are 28 km first level canals, 70 km second level canals, 260 km third level canals. The highest damn in the area was built 40 years ago. It is 3 km long and 4 meters high and stretches from the village of Stajkë to Beltojë. During the transition years, damage was caused to the damn and other related systems as well. The damn in particular suffered damages as the local population tried to make short cuts to various points of destination. Even houses were built in the area of the damn. Further damage was caused by extraction of primary materials from the river bed and even by efforts to deviate the river’s natural flow. Illegal tree felling, including on the river banks contributed to erosion. Above everything else, the uncontrollable release of water from the HEC in Vau Dejës has increased the threat of the river to the local population especially in Ashtë. Numerous floods have been recorded over these 18 years of transition in which the river washed off houses, animals, food reserves and people’s possessions. Studies and analyses of the area in high risk of flooding indicate that the following parts of the commune should receive priority attention:

a) The area along the damn running from Stajkë to Ashtë, in particular the village of Ashtë (urban part);
b) The southern part of the Commune territory with about 1.100 ha land including the villages of Rranxa, Mali i Jushit, Fshati i Ri, Hoten, Barbullush and Kukel. The main cause of the floods is heavy rainfall over relatively short periods of time. The drainage canals in levels I, II and III fail to take in the intense streaks of water due to accumulation of alluvium, waste, wild vegetation and debris that have not been cleaned for the last 10-25 years. Another factor is the low height of these lands from the sea level (2-3m)4; c) The other area at risk by floods is represented by the villages of Plezhë, and Shkjezë, the waters of which are supposed to run into the Bushat Drin which has been cleaned up only as far as Gjadër. The Commune plans to clean it up from Gjadër to Stajkë in the near future.

In flood times, emergency groups have been established to estimate damages caused at individual, village and commune level. Another function of these groups has been to identify causes and prevent the recurrence of these natural calamities. However, despite efforts at the local level the Government has in no case provided economic support to afflicted families. Even measures to prevent future floods have not been sufficient and adequate, including as regards the rehabilitation of drainage canals. The recurrence of floods almost every year in the recent years has caused more of the land surface to be washed off. The fact that the land remains underwater for longer periods causes serious damages to the physical structure and degradation of the land. This situation forces farmers to leave the land uncultivated and give up the cultivation of valuable crops.

Use of agricultural land, productivity and economic benefits

There is no specific structure at the Commune level to attend to problems related to crop cultivation or stock breeding. For this reason, there are no data available at the local level. Data supplied in this document, were taken from the Agriculture Statistical Annual for 2006-2007. In addition, surveys were conducted with farmers throughout the villages of the commune.

The above table shows productivity of plants sown in the area. The productivity rate is low as the cost of production is high. Consequently, profits so far have not been satisfactory. Thus, it can be said that production of melon in 2006 yielded good income for the farmers who cultivated it. However, in 2007, there was super production of melon which was sold in the area of the commune and beyond but at prices much lower than in the previous year and therefore the income made was not satisfactory to melon producers. Given the good work for the maintenance of level II canals in the farming-intensive area of the commune (accounting for 3.000 ha), starting from the good income made by the sale of corn in 2007, it can be said that future prospects for corn producers are promising, which may lead to a growth, both in terms of the cultivated area and yielded product. As seen from the above table, fodder plants represent almost half of the farms’ land. This is a sign that many of the farms have a combined agricultural and livestock orientation. The greatest amount of fodder plant is consumed by cows which are bred for milk production to cover household needs, but also to sell the surplus on the market. Milk is the only product which has not seen an increase in price. More than half of the rural households survive on income made from selling milk. As regards fruit, vines and olives, cultivated areas have only seen inconsiderable growth despite the pledge of the government to support the farmers who engage in extensive cultivation. The reason relates to lack of access to markets and underdeveloped agribusiness sector, which does not provide guarantee that the farmers’ investment will be paid back and their efforts rewarded.

Employment in Agriculture

According to data from the Civil Register Office, the Commune of Bushat has 22.762 inhabitants with 5.827 households. The ratio between males and females is almost equal. Each household has averagely 4 members. About 60% of the population is able- bodied and capable of work. Although there are no accurate data on the number of self-employed people in agriculture, it can be said that manual labor has been reduced. Rural households use agricultural machines to do the hard part of the work. A small fraction is done manually and the workload per day does not qualify for a full working day. Starting from the limited area of land possessed by households, the number of animals is also limited. A good fraction of the land is sown with fodder for animals. Consequently only a limited number of people are actually involved in genuine farming work. This situation prompts people to seek employment in other sectors, such as construction, public administration even in emigration. In the conditions of small scale farming economies, income made is limited. To boost the sector, the government needs to make available subsidies for certain agricultural crops and activities. Other policies that may be enforced relate to encouraging farmers to work together to avoid the small and unproductive farms and build market chains to take the products to the markets.

Drainage system

About 1.200 ha land in the territory of the commune is under constant drainage. In the recent years these lands have been very productive because the third tire canals have been maintained. First and second tire canals are also being cleaned and rehabilitated. The lands benefiting from drainage are 4-7 meters above sea level. With democratic changes and the transfer of ownership to the farmers, a plot of land of 10 ha may be owned by 10-25 farmers. In these 17 years, the third level canals were never cleaned collecting alluviums, wild vegetation, solid waste; This has decreased their depth from 1.1 -1.3 m to 50-70 cm. In the case of drainage embedded to 80 cm depth, they have almost disappeared completely which makes them an investment lost. Under these circumstances farmers got together to open up canals using mechanic tools. The effort proved successful and the drainage system became efficient. An efficient drainage system requires: 1. Setting time schedules for cleaning first and second level canals by the Drainage Boards at least every four years. 2. Enforce the legal obligation for farmers to clean third level canals every year. 3. If the cleaning is not adequately handled by the Drainage Board, then the option should be considered according to which farmers may purchase an excavator and leave it to the commune to administer.

Irrigation

Since the first and second level canals were almost totally destroyed, the World Bank offered to provide loan resources to rehabilitate them under the Irrigation Management Project. Some of the requirements under the project were: • Establishment and regular functioning of the Association of Water Users; • Membership of farmers in the association; • Cost sharing by community at the rate of 3.000 lek /ha. Whereas the first two requirements were met, since 1999 community contributions were not collected for a long time. A rethinking of the whole scheme with the participation of actors and stakeholders in the process in 2007 led to a 100 % collection of contributions for an area of 2.000 ha land. The collected resources will be invested in the second level canals. Thanks to cooperation with the Project Management Unit, a number of 13 irrigation projects have been implemented, totaling about 2 million USD. Given the ample water reserves of the area and the rehabilitation of first level canals (28 km), and second level canals (64 km), to a scale of 100 per cent, there is ground for optimism that complete irrigation will be possible for the 3.000 ha, in all 14 villages of the commune of Bushat in 2008 and the coming years.

Types of fishing and aquaculture initiatives in the area

Despite the ample water reserves and the rivers and canals which pass through the area, the available water resources have not been utilized for fish cultivation with the exception of 2-3 households primarily motivated to meet their fish demands. However, waters in the territory of the commune are known for fish species like carp, eel, jack fish, etc. In the conditions of running water as is the case of the Bushat Drin, there are opportunities for the cultivation of fish. However, such undertakings are in need of support, both financial and technical.