A World Bank project described by the Food and Agriculture Organization proposes micro food hubs on the outskirts of five major Albanian cities, giving small-scale farmers places to prepare and sell produce directly to business buyers. The plan offers evidence of efforts to strengthen local food distribution, but does not establish that supermarkets are replacing traditional markets. According to the FAO Investment Centre, which helped design these elements, the hubs form part of a wider USD 70 million project intended to make priority agrifood value chains more competitive and resilient to climate change. Farmers would be able to sort, grade, package and sell fruit and vegetables to local distributors and wholesale customers, including restaurants, convenience stores and specialty shops. The proposed locations are near major cities in the regions of Tirana, Shkodra/Lezha, Vlora and Gjrokastra. Temporary cold storage and other services are intended to help producers improve quality, food safety and marketability, including their ability to meet the requirements of high-end buyers. The account envisages roughly 500 participating farmers, nearly a third of them women. Farmers and buyers would jointly manage the hubs, with the aim of improving transparency and communication about the quantities and qualities customers require. Participating producers would operate without intermediaries, with better prices for their products presented as an expected benefit rather than a demonstrated result. Mirgen Dobruna, identified in the account as a general director at Albania’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the pandemic had highlighted the importance of shorter supply chains for fresh, perishable food. He described the hubs as a way to reduce transaction costs through a single purchasing point and strengthen cooperation between producers and buyers. A related part of the project would develop two food-product clusters in Berat and Dibra, covering olive oil and processed fruit and vegetables. These would bring together businesses, researchers, trainers and other partners to improve product quality and access to local and international markets, including opportunities associated with rural tourism. The distinction between plans and outcomes matters. FAO’s account describes proposed infrastructure and anticipated benefits; it does not provide evidence that the hubs have opened or delivered higher farmer incomes. Nor does it compare supermarket and traditional-market prices, closures, employment or shopping habits. What it does show is an approach to connecting local producers with several kinds of food businesses. Whether that approach preserves traditional trading relationships, changes them or improves household access to affordable produce remains unanswered by the evidence provided.