The Government of Moldova continues to ignore the needs of farmers, said Valeriu Cosarciuc, chairman of the National Farmers Federation of Moldova. In a news conference at IPN, Cosarciuc said the agriculture subsidization regulations for 2014 disadvantage the small farmers as their access to financing and subsidies is limited.

“We proposed that 50% of the subsidies should be allocated to small farmers that represent 70% of those running agribusinesses. But the authorities didn’t approve this initiative,” said Valeriu Cosarciuc.

He added that the National Farmers Federation of Moldova has been actively involved in the process of improving the regulations, the main goal being to eliminate discrimination against peasant farmsteads. Regretfully, only a small part of their proposals were included in the regulations.

The Federation suggested including the savings and loan associations in the list of those that can benefit from subsidies in the name of small farmers as this would facilitate access to financing. It also proposed increasing the age limit for young farmers up to 40. The Federation considers that the subsidies per one recipient should not exceed 1 million lei, while the compensations of up to 350,000 lei should be paid fully.

Valeriu Cosarciuc said the new regulations haven’t yet come into force and may be amended after the meeting with Prime Minister Iurie Leanca scheduled for February 20.