The Farmers’ Force Association is threatening Prime Minister Dorin Recean with a “harsh reaction” if he refuses to meet its representatives or if the talks turn out unproductive. The Association declared this in a statement issued after a meeting with Vladimir Bolea, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, which it described as “difficult and at times heated”.
At the meeting with Minister Bolea, the Farmers’ Force discussed when exactly affected farmers would receive handouts and diesel fuel. “As we could learn first-hand, this support, which is insufficient anyway, will reach the affected farmers no earlier than October. Moreover, there is still no response from the European Union about any financial support to the Moldovan agricultural sector in connection with the Ukraine war, as requested by the Government with great delay in June 2023. This is despite the fact that our organization insisted that this request be made at the beginning of this year”.
The Farmers’ Force wants a moratorium of at least three months on late payment penalties and interests, and a moratorium on foreclosure and initiation of insolvency proceedings in relation to farmers that grow grains and oilseeds: “We reiterate that this measure does not require spending any state budget funds; it will practically not affect the financial situation of banks, micro-finance organizations and input suppliers at all. Meanwhile, it can be the last lifeline for tens of thousands of micro-, small and medium-sized farmers, giving them respite until the prices of wheat, barley and rapeseed stabilize. The moratorium can be introduced by the Commission for Emergencies. In 2020, Moldova had a legal precedent when such measures were applied to the entire economy”.
After meeting with Minister Bolea, the Farmers’ Force says he “fails to fully grasp the severity of the situation”. “Since 2022, small and medium-sized farmers have been left with virtually no support to overcome the multiple crises that simultaneously affected the agricultural sector. Mr. Bolea is taking his information on first group crops from unverified sources and is using wrong numbers regarding the costs per hectare of wheat, even though there is an international study commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, which estimated average expenses at 18,000 lei per hectare of wheat. Our farmers showed the minister data demonstrating in great detail that despite the above-average wheat harvest this year, at the current ridiculously low prices, they incur significant losses”.
The Farmers’ Force insists on a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean no later than next week. “If next week we don’t meet to discuss with the prime minister or if this discussion doesn’t end with any result, our reaction will be harsh. Then we will tell people when and what slogans we will be using during our protests”, warned the association.
