In the 21st century, Ndue Fuga, a resident of the village of Fishtë in Lezha, finds it impossible to work his land without these primitive tools. He owns 1.5 acres of land and uses a donkey with a plug to work the land.
It would be much easier if he used a tractor, but he says fuel is very expensive. Oil in Albania costs about 180 leks per liter.
"We put the donkey to work because we can not afford the price of oil. We are very poor, we have 30 years of democracy and we still have not found ourselves in good conditions", says Mr. Fuga
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| Ndue Fuga working his land with his donkey in Lezha |
Agriculture does not provide him with an income, as he uses all the products for family consumption. Poverty is a problem faced by many farmers in Albania.
About 280 thousand out of about 350 thousand farmers in total are classified as small and independent farmers. They do not qualify for government subsidies or European Union grants.
Registered farmers can even get a 50 percent discount on the price of oil, but that does not apply to small owners like Mr. Fuga. In this way many farmers work the land by hand, with animals or other primitive tools.
Albania had about 700 thousand hectares of agricultural land in 1991, but only 400 thousand hectares are used now. Many young people, including Mr. Fuga's five children, have emigrated to Europe and have never considered returning to work on their land.