The pandemic lockdown has created difficulties for mankind worldwide but it is the poor who are more severely affected as in any crisis. MAP farmers in Petrela administrative Unit, Tirana have planted their lavender and laurel MAPs during October –December 2019. Their product is intended for essential oil production and farmers need to adhere rigorously to cultivation production practices to get the desired product quality.
Spring is the proper time to hoe and remove weeds and allow optimal growth for the plants. However, due to lockdown restrictions imposed in Albania, farmers were not able to travel to the city and buy the necessary equipment for working in their fields. “A stitch in time saves nine” say the MAP farmers in Petrela, emphasizing the fact that they cannot postpone their work in the field as this would compromise the product quality.
CNVP Albania, in the framework of Sida funded project LED, assessed the needs of the farmers and on 27 April 2020 supported 30 households in Petrela with the basic working equipment such as hoes, spades, as well as safety equipment such as gloves and masks to enable them to carry out their work in the field in the proper time.