VOA: The impact of emigration on the labor force in Malësia e Madhe

In Malësia e Madhe, the phenomenon of family emigration is affecting the decline of the workforce and the economy of the area. As reported by Voice of America correspondent Pëllumb Sulo, the difficulties of economic conditions, but also of living conditions, continue to encourage families to leave this area. According to population census data, from 2011 to the end of 2023, about half of the families from the 5 administrative units of Malësia e Madhe have left.

On the side of the national road that runs through the municipality of Malësi e Madhe, travelers come across a sign indicating that farmers in this area are in need of labor. Vlash Linadi, who works for the organization “Vis Albania,” says that the emigration of families from Malësi e Madhe has influenced the economic and social development of this area.

"The main problem is that our Malësia is disintegrating, it is disintegrating in the sense of people leaving the country. And the extent is alarming, it is perhaps in the figures that we are concerned because it is approaching 50 percent."

From the 2011 population and housing census to the last census of 2023, 15,360 residents have left Malësia e Madhe, mainly through emigration, approximately half of the population registered in this municipality in 2011. Mr. Vlashi says that families from Malësia e Madhe mainly emigrate to England and America and that government policies have also influenced this situation.

"If we take the Cem River, it has a large number of distributed hydroelectric power plants, but this region suffers from electricity. Perhaps it would be better if these hydroelectric power plants were not connected to the central energy system, but functioned as local administration. Perhaps this is why residents continue to emigrate, because energy is one of the main elements for living," says Mr. Vlashi.

Malësia e Madhe, with its 5 administrative units, is a municipality with rich historical and cultural traditions, with sufficient natural and tourist resources such as Vermoshi, Lëpusha, Razma or Boga, as well as three border crossings with Montenegro. But emigration is slowly depleting the area's workforce. Entrepreneur Paulin Doda, from the village of Pjetërshan in Malësia e Madhe, says that over the past two years the significant decline of the euro and the lack of workers have greatly damaged his business. After ten years of working abroad, he has set up his own businesses in his homeland, processing wood and aggregates for export.

"The problem is the lack of workers. An extreme problem. I have thought about making a request to the Ministry of Labor to have 15-20 workers coming from abroad. Qualified workers, because we need qualified workers. And, day by day I am thinking about making this request to have workers, creating the conditions according to the law," says Mr. Doda.

In the villages of Malësia e Madhe, more than 3,000 hectares of land are cultivated with medicinal plants, mainly sage. Almost all families in Malësia are involved in the cultivation of these plants that are exported to the USA. According to agricultural specialist Ramadan Mema, about 85 percent of Albania's medicinal plant exports come from Malësia e Madhe. But in recent years, farmers have been facing a lack of sales markets.

"The main problem is the blockage of the medicinal plant market. The selling price offered today is half a dollar or 70 cents per kilogram, while the cost of producing sage is approximately 80 cents per kilogram," says Mr. Mema.

In an effort to secure a better living, many mountain families, says specialist Mema, continue to leave Malësia e Madhe.

"This is a continuation of depopulation. As the depopulation of the Highlands continues, there has also been a shortage of labor and a decline in the number of livestock. This is an extremely big problem," he says.

Experts say that the flow of families leaving Malësia e Madhe can be curbed with better governance policies in the field of development and exploitation of the area's numerous natural resources./VOA