The Farmers’ Force Association is giving the Government five days to come up with a plan for supporting the agricultural sector, which is now facing a concurrence of crises, its members told a press conference Wednesday.

Ion Plămădeală, a farmer from Leova and one of the Association’s leaders, says that talks will be the farmers’ first course of action if the deadline is not met. “We really wouldn’t want to hold protests now when there is so much work to do in the field”.

Plămădeală said that the serious problems in the agri-food sector have been recognized by the Government. In early March, the prime minister spoke of the need to draw up a special plan to provide targeted aid to farmers. On March 11, the issue was discussed at the Supreme Security Council. Almost a month has passed, but no action has been taken, complains Plămădeală.

According to him, the agricultural sector is decapitalized and suffocated by loans. Farmers buy diesel fuel at a price twice higher than last spring, and fertilizers are five times more expensive. Fruit growers cannot sell tens of thousands of tons of apples stored in refrigerators.

“The crisis has mainly affected small and medium farmers in rural areas, who account for the vast majority of jobs in villages. At the same time, the agro-holding companies, which destroy the rural localities through their policy, continue their expansion”, the Association said in a statement.

The members of the Association met several times with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, with the chairman of the relevant parliamentary commission, at which they presented their proposals for overcoming the crisis, such as excise exemptions for diesel fuel, subsidies for purchasing fertilizers, or compensations for apples.