On 21 February 2023, CNVP Albania held an annual meeting with Sida and LED project partners in Malesia e Madhe. This meeting was organised in the framework of the Sida funded LED project which has started its implementation in 2019 and aims at “increasing the incomes of households in rural Albania by promoting improvements in the efficiency and inclusiveness of the MAPs market system”.

The aim of the annual meeting was to present the progress of LED project to the Sida team which was represented by Ms. Petra Burcher, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Tirana, Ms. Ermelinda Xhaja Programme Officer and other staff from the Embassy. In addition, LED project partners from Malesia e Madhe were present in the meeting.

Several interventions have been designed and are being implemented in 6 regions in Albania. Each project intervention progress was presented by CNVP Albania Advisors who shared the annual updates and among others highlighted that:

• Introduction of innovative drying and storage facilities for MAPs in 6 regions in Albania, which have been implemented in partnership with MAP companies, and have brought significant improvements in the MAPs quality and incomes for over 1600 MAP producers. Improved access to drying facilities has enabled farmers to sell all their fresh production to MAP companies by reducing the time and costs for drying and getting better and quicker incomes.
• Improved access to a broader range of high-quality MAPs seedlings and good agriculture practices for MAPs cultivation by supporting the establishment of three green houses for producing high quality MAPs seedlings in Berat, Diber and Gramshi as well as the establishment of a MAPs genetic garden in Malesia e Madhe.
• Improved coordination and cooperation between 5 MAPs byers and over 200 producers through Contract Farming Agreements, planting an area of about 40 hectars with the most market demanded MAP varieties and providing business driven extension service to over 5000 farmers.
• Better incomes for 400 households as a result of market standards, quality and certification services of organic MAPs.
• Preparation of information packages for 5 municipalities (Skrapar, Berat, Malesi e Madhe, Diber and Gramsh) which provide rich information on the situation of wild MAPs and potentials for investments in the cultivation. Procedure for renting abandoned lands established and promoted.
• Gender mainstreaming and women economic empowerment integrated in all project intervention involving about 1900 women who have benefited form the implementation of the interventions.

Ms Petra Burcher, congratulated CNVP Albania team for the progress done in all the project interventions and was happy to hear from LED project partners that the support provided through the Sida-funded project is having a significant positive impact on their lives and bringing sustainable changes in the MAPs market system.

A field visit was organised at the premises of LNL Herbs in Koplik, a MAPs company that the project is partnering with, where innovative drying facilities for MAPs have been supported. This investment has expanded the capacities of the company to collect more production and securing the desired quantity and quality of MAPs. Farmers on the other hand have been able for the first time to harvest sage during winter season and sell it fresh to the company. Post-harvest practices have been one of the major bottlenecks in the MAPs system and caused up to 40 % loss in the quality of MAPs.