For the second year in a row, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched today the campaign for the protection of chestnuts from the black wasp, in the area of Reçi, Shkodër.

The maintenance and preservation of the chestnut was made possible through an insect created under laboratory conditions in certified European laboratories, which excludes the use of pesticides or other forms that have not very sensitive effects. This is one of the most efficient ways to preserve and maintain the chestnut, which every country of the European Union applies today. At the start of this process, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milva Ekonomi was also present.

In the meeting with plant specialists and families who cultivate the chestnut, Ekonomi hailed their work over the years to preserve the heritage. She said that after the alarm of the specialists and the communication with the Agricultural University, the Ministry was committed to finding a biological protector, in order to preserve the quality of the chestnut.

“Biological protection is not very widespread, it is produced in America and Japan and distributed in Europe. The battle to secure the biological protector is not very easy and Albania was prepared in time for this intervention. You all work together, you have become a community that deals with the chestnut and you need it to provide the family’s income, but on the other hand it is also a natural heritage. I have personally committed to take this process to the end, I also had the support of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism”, said the Minister of Economy. Based on the studies that show that the biological protector should remain in circulation for 5-7 years, Ekonomi promised the farmers that the Ministry of Agriculture will plan a fund for the purchase of the biological protector for the following years.

While the expert Arjona Pecaj, said that in the Reçi area there are 300-year-old chestnut crops inherited from generation to generation by the families involved in chestnut cultivation. She appreciated the role of the Ministry of Agriculture and the government in this process, which requires not only financial support, but also increased human resources such as specialists in the field who will deal directly with throwing the insect that fights the wasp in the chestnut plantations. According to scientific studies, the chestnut wasp is considered one of the most damaging insects in chestnut plantations.

While the EPPO (European Plant Protection Organization) data show that the chestnut bumblebee affects almost all chestnut species from China, Japan, America and Europe. This wasp is considered the number one pest in chestnut plantations. The protection of the chestnut from the gall-forming wasp is a directive of the European Committee that obliges every country to take protective measures against the chestnut wasp.

The chestnuts of our country and the honey produced from them are known for their rare curative values, and the high demands for the market inside and outside the country have increased the income of families in the northernmost areas of the country. Exports of “Made in Albania” chestnuts increase every year, generating millions of euros in income for the country’s economy. Most of the production is exported to Italy, where it is processed.