Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) in the course of commitments to Agriculture Census, today on the 10th day of the Census visited Peja region, namely Loxha and Qyshk villages, to monitor closely the work on the ground.

Together with KAS officials, headed by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Isa Krasniqi, on the ground  was also the Municipal Census Commission of Peja municipality, headed by the Mayor. Gazmend Muhaxhiri.

The CEO of KAS, Isa Krasniqi assessed the Agriculture Census as very important, adding that the process is going without any problem.

He said that only four municipalities in north of the country are still not participating, but in case they respond to the Census, KAS is ready to include them in the process.

The CEO of KAS said that "Agriculture Census process now is fairly well stabilized.

The process is going exceptionally well, initially there were some minor problems that we had mentioned in previous conferences on Agriculture Census, and currently the entire data collection project is stabilized. There are much less rejections, and lesser problems.

While, regarding the four northern municipalities of Kosovo, we have said during the conference, and we are saying again today that, whenever Municipal Census Commissions, led by the mayors in those four northern municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo, are ready, until near the end of Agriculture Census process, we will be ready to include  and  enumerate  them." 

Krasniqi added that they have sent messages and tried through various forms to urge these municipalities to become part of the project.

Mr. Krasniqi also announced that if four northern municipalities do not participate in Agriculture Census, important data will be missed and this, he said, is detrimental for the citizens of that part. Furthermore, according to him, another deficiency is lacking of the data on those four municipalities, at a country level.

The Mayor of Peja, Gazmend Muhaxhiri said that he is also satisfied with the Agriculture Census process. He added that  "It is an important process, since agriculture development is one of priorities of Peja municipality. We will obtain accurate data which will enable us to make plans on the subsidies in fields requested by the farmers. But we will provide better conditions for development of agriculture in Peja municipality. "

Farmers of this region seem to be satisfied as well with Agriculture Census. And yet, they say that more support from relevant institutions will be even more helpful.

Thus, Salman Shala  from Qyshk village of  Peja, who hosted today the KAS  team of Agriculture Census, highly praised the Agriculture Census project, saying  that this census will provide data on exact  area of arable land in Kosovo, the number of farmers and what kind of crop do they cultivate in general.

Furthermore, Shala owns a greenhouse of 60 ares, where he cultivates potatoes, onions, cabbage and other vegetables. He also owns an orchard.

While, Hysen Salimorina from Loxha village, which deals with livestock, tells that the land is being worked quite well. He said that " The land is being worked very well, but diesel is a little bit expensive, we are having difficulties with the plant seeds, as well. However, thanks to them we are producing enough, and the profit is good, it is not bad.

Agriculture Census project will greatly facilitate the work of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Clear reflection of agriculture households will emerge from this project.

Ekrem Gjokaj from the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the ministry is interested this project to be developed and completed in the best way.

“For the Ministry of Agriculture, this is one of the most important projects. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture is interested and committed for best  and fair development of this process , in order to have accurate data on what is cultivated in Kosovo, which crops, categories of livestock raised in Kosovo, total area of arable land, in order to be able to prepare adequate programs and items for certain campaigns. "

Agriculture Census started on 1 November this year and it will be completed on 20th of this month. 

Additionally, Agriculture Census project is funded by the Government of Kosovo and various donors, such as: the European Union Office in Kosovo, Development Union - Embassy of Sweden - SIDA, the Government of the United Kingdom - DFID, the Swiss Cooperation Office, the Government of Denmark and the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

This fund is called the Trust Fund and it is managed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS.)

The total cost of the project is around 4.7 million Euros. 2.2 million Euros have left over from the Population Census.  While the rest 2.5 million Euros is funded by the Government of Kosovo and the donors. This cost covers the period 2012-2015.