As of June 27, agricultural producers can submit applications to get subsidies for 2017, IPN reports. Nicolae Ciubuc, director of the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture, told a news conference that the subsidization fund is of 900 million lei. Given that a debt of 335 million lei had to be paid off, only the remaining 565 million lei will be used to pay subsidies this year.

“The debts for 2016 were repaid by the end of March. So, from now on we will focus on the processing of applications and payment of subsidies this year,” stated Nicolae Ciubuc.

The state will subsidize the investments made in building hothouses, developing multiannual plantations, including clearing those that can no longer be cultivated, renewing the machines as well as investments in the animal breeding sector, interest rates on loans raised by agricultural producers, investments in post-harvesting, agricultural production processing and in developing ecological agriculture.

“Assistance will be offered in promoting local production on export markets. There will be compensated 50% of the costs incurred by agricultural producers when taking part in exhibitions and fairs and when conducting promotion campaigns. For the first time we will support agritourism by compensating investments made in building pensions and in handicrafts promotion,” stated Nicolae Ciubuc.

The highest subsidy per producer will be 3 million lei.

“The producers that benefitted from subsidies of 9 million lei during the last few years (15 producers) will not be able to obtain subsidies this year. This is done in a move to avoid the reported situations when the same producers get subsidies,” said the Agency’s director.

Subsidies are paid based on the Law on Agriculture Subsidization. The regulations for implementing the law, which are valid for a five-year period, were published in the June 23 number of the Official Gazette.