The situation of grain crops of the second group that were affected by drought is much more serious than of grain crops of the first group. In such conditions, the farmers who postponed the planned protest ask for subsidies of at least 3,000 lei per ha from the state in support. A group of farmers developed the issue in a news conference at IPN.

Farmer Ion Plămădeală said that farmers’ protests were to be resumed on October 5. But they decided to put off the protest as it rained and they need to do field works until the soil is wet. Meanwhile, they had discussions with the minister of agriculture.

The farmer said that he and his colleagues feel bad when the authorities say they do not have money for this sector and they cannot take the money from pensioners, teachers, doctors, etc.  But a social section should not be contraposed with another one. “The farmers are the roots of a tree that yields fruit. They are the basis of the economy of this state. If we do not take care of the agricultural sector, we will not have a processing industry, trade and many other things. That’s why agriculture is the main pillar and we must treat it as a key segment of the economy. There are not poor or rich states, but well managed and badly managed states,” said Ion Plămădeală.

Farmer Andrei Dînga said they work in a hurry so as to sow the farmland swiftly, until the soil is wet after the recent rain. They planned to mount a protest so as to tell the rulers about the critical situation of farmers. Those regulations concerning the grain crops of the first group were approved, but 70% of the grain crops are of the second group and the impact on them was much more severe than in the case of wheat, for example. As to the demands formulated in August, less than 30% of them were accepted.

The small and medium-sized farmers face problems with suppliers and are sued. The legislation on force majeure situations is not properly applied.

Besides subsidies of 3,000 lei per hectare, the farmers ask for the refund of excise duties on diesel fuel as this is a normal practice in the EU and should be applied in Moldova too, according to them.

Sergiu Ștefanco noted the created situation is due to drought, but also to the incompetence of those who ruled during the last few years. Even if a part of the farmers got subsidies for the grain crops of the first group, the additional lists remain a problem as the damages were assessed incorrectly. The files were returned or they didn’t include peas and rye. The VAT refund mechanism is complex and the accountants and those from the State Tax Service experience difficulties.