This fragmentation limits the potential of the economy of scale, reduces the productivity of this sector, and turns it less attractive to the banking industry. In figures, referring to the data of the European Commission, a typical Albanian farm owns averagely 1.2 ha land, compared to the average of around 14 ha in Europe. At the same time, according to INSTAT data, around 99.6% of agricultural businesses hire one to four employees. This ratio is notably higher than the average of other economy sectors. In this context, detaching from the negative emotions that may stem from the memory of the inefficient cooperatives during the communism period, I think that there is a need for higher awareness of the Albanian farmer about building on partnerships and collective-risk sharing scheme, based on the free initiative and common interests. These partnerships improve access of farmers to funds and loans, and in turn their possibilities to succeed. The third reason for the low lending rate to agriculture is related to the lack of sound collateral. In many cases, the title of ownership is absent, or its value is low against the needs for funding. The sovereign guarantee schemes provide an adequate solution – in both short and medium term – to mitigating this problem. Nevertheless, local authorities should increase their attention on this issue in the long run. Dear banking system executives, The Bank of Albania deems that it is time for banking sector to pay a higher attention to agriculture sector.

I also welcome the IMF’s continuous engagement and responsiveness to the experiences of countries in this region, that have been using these policy tools for many decades. And I hope the IMF will continue to fine-tune the Institutional View on Capital Flows and its interaction with macroprudential policy. To my mind, this will provide the 3/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  impetus to a deeper partnership between members and the IMF as a trusted policy advisor. The second area relates to our policy approaches. They must be clear, coherent and complementary to ensure a more human-centered approach. Experience shows that for globalisation to make sense to the man on the street, they must ‘feel’ and be ‘touched’ by its benefits, and be satisfied that their lives are better than before. Public engagement is important to address specific concerns. Domestic policy programs and implementation must be coherent, comprehensively explained and easily understood, and complemented by policy measures consistent with the intended outcomes of international arrangements. Robust communication and transparent assessments can contribute to deeper levels of public understanding and acceptance. With information now easily accessible to all and sundry, authorities are no longer the sole arbiter of knowledge. Authorities, therefore, cannot maintain a one-dimensional communication strategy to explain the multi-dimensional policies and the consequent impact of those policies that we implemented. Finally, we must fully embrace the explosion of technology to keep pace with the altered global economic landscape. Come 2020, more than 24 billion internet-connected devices will be installed.