It was bureaucracy that slowed down the process of receiving the diesel fuel granted as humanitarian aid by the Government of Romania, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry of Moldova Vladimir Bolea. According to him, the Material Reserves Agency staged four tender contests for receiving, transporting and storing the diesel fuel, but no economic agent participated in these. The minister assured that the bureaucratic obstacles were overcome and the farmers started to receive the promised fuel, IPN reports.

The official noted that out of the 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel offered by the Romanian Government, a large part reached Moldova and, based on the compiled lists, the fuel is being distributed to farmers.

“The first batch, of about 1,200 tonnes of fuel, has been already unloaded. The second batch, of around 1,300 tonnes, which was in Costesti last week is about to arrive. It goes to about 3,000 tonnes. In total, I think there will be three batches that will be unloaded. The apportionment process has begun. The Material Reserves Agency has the full support of the Ministry of Agriculture and agriculture divisions. We communicate with farmers, the lists were drawn up and the process is in full swing,” Minister Vladimir Bolea stated in the talk show “At 360 Degrees” on Radio Moldova station.

As early as April 2023, the Government in Bucharest announced a consignment of 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel in humanitarian for the Moldovan farmers who suffered due to the drought of the summer of 2022. Vladimir Bolea said the support from Bucharest arrived a year later because of bureaucracy.

“The period of tender contests in the Republic of Moldova was long. The legislation provides for the holding of tender contests for procuring services. The Material Reserves Agency staged three tender contests, but no one filed to take part. Subsequently, direct negotiations were started and the economic agent from Causeni was contracted. Then the year ended and the money from the Romanian side for transporting diesel fuel was earmarked in the budget for 2023, not for 2024. Therefore, a Government decision on the part of the Romanian side was also needed. Overall, it dragged on a bit. I believe that bureaucracy is the factor that slowed down the process, but it matters a lot to have fairness and everything to be perfectly legal,” explained the minister.

According to him, micro and small farmers benefit from the Romanian support first of all. On average, the aid for eligible farmers is 40 liters of diesel fuel per hectare.

“The files were analyzed and it was decided to come up with support for the farmers who suffered from drought in the summer of 2022. We made the decision to help the micro and small farmers who have up to 1,500 hectares. We are talking about micro and small farmers who have a total turnover of at most 15-18 million lei,” said the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry.