After protesting for a period in the central square of Chisinau with their tractors, the farmers decided to interrupt the protests until August 1. The decision was taken as a result of a meeting with Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea on Tuesday evening, IPN reports.
“Dear farmers, our protest was suspended. We are categorically not satisfied with the result. For the current state of affairs, 200 million lei and 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel are not enough. But this is yet a result for those who contributed to it by their sacrifice during two weeks. You cannot work like the Government does and cannot delay the harvest. The farmers went home,” said the public association “Force of Farmers”.
The association noted that they presented the authorities with an ultimatum. More exactly, they demanded by August 1 to identify funds – 3,000 lei per hectare of grain crops of the first group, to bring and distribute diesel fuel from Romania, to impose a moratorium on the payment of interest and penalties to creditors until December 31, 2023, by a decision by the Commission for Exceptional Situations.
If these demands are not satisfied, the farmers will resume the protest after they harvest the grain crops of the first group. They will also demand to stop grain imports from Ukraine if the inflows grow. On Thursday, farmers will have a meeting with exporters, except for Trans Oil, to consider the situation at the Giurgiulesti port, said the association’s leader Alexandru Slusari.
After the meeting with farmers, Vladimir Bolea said that regulations will be soon worked out to distribute the 200 million lei. The money will primarily go to subsidize the micro and small farmers. Also, the diesel fuel provided by Romania will be distributed based on force majeure certificates that were issued in 2022 following the damage caused by drought.
The famers brought their tractors to the Great National Assembly Square at the beginning of last week. They asked for discussions with senior state officials, seeking support to avoid insolvency.
