Agropikat
Information and application centres for national and foreign support schemes
Description
Agropikat or Farmer’s Window is agricultural information centre managed by the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development (ARDA) in Albania. The initiative assists farmers by providing access to finance from national and foreign donor support schemes, extension support and other information sharing services. Farmers can also receive advice on what crops to grow, identify possible products, markets and demand.
Technology
Agropikat acts as an application room where applicants fill in their demands, and request access to information relevant to support schemes. All applications are done online without the need to present supporting documents. In 2019, the agency issued a call for National Schemes application where all entries are filed online through e-Albania platform, an online application support tool that provides farmers with quality, timely, and cost-effective services.
Target
The information centre is particularly useful for farmers who wish to invest in agriculture and rural development as well as those who want to be informed about the latest trends in the sector.
Business model
The services provided by Agropikat are free of charge. Applicants who wish to receive financial support through the assistance of Agropikat can either apply for the program Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) offers or the donors offered by ARDA.
Impact
In 2018, five Agropikat centres were opened which was followed by 15 more a year after. The Agropikat station in Tirana alone is expected to assist 36 000 farmers.
Partners
Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development
Four Betters
Better life
