The subsidization conditions this year and the priorities in the field require new rules for selecting the recipients of agricultural subsidies, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Valeriu Cosarciuc said in a news conference on March 9. “This does not mean that the subsidiary granting procedure will be bureaucratized. We only intend to bring things in order as there were cases when economic entities received subsidies two-three times a year and it was not known how exactly the money was used,” the minister said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. Valeriu Cosarciuc said the Agriculture Ministry aims to encourage the producers that achieve results and the regulations concerning the use of the agriculture subsidization fund define a number of criteria for selecting the recipients. According to him, one of the criteria is competitiveness. The applicants will have to present business plans. The best of them will be selected by contest. The Ministry plans to offers subsidies to a larger number of producers, even if this means lower sums for one applicant. “Another criteria is the membership in products associations. We do not want to infringe on the producers' independence, but the association is one of the few methods for solving such problems as the lack of farmers markets and the prices of the agricultural products. The third criteria is professionalism. Some say the applicants can receive training by signing contracts with consultancy companies. We consider we will not be able to develop the agricultural sector without knowledge,” Valeriu Cosarciuc said. The agriculture subsidization fund this year includes 300 million lei for 10 subsidization areas. The money will be managed by the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, which will sign a contract with the recipient and will monitor how the subsidies are used. Besides, a sum of 30 million lei was earmarked in the state budget for paying compensations in order to offset the effect of the higher excise duties on diesel fuel. About 95 lei will be paid in compensation for one hectare.