President Maia Sandu will discuss with the Parliament and the Government in order to establish a new dialogue with farmers so as to identify solutions by common agreement, taking into account the requests of the grain sector, input suppliers and the budgetary capacities of the state. The decision was taken after discussions with representatives of several associations of cereal producers from different regions of the country and with representatives of some suppliers of inputs for the agricultural sector, IPN reports.

According to the President’s Office, the Government and the Parliament designed at an accelerated pace a law that was adopted unanimously by Parliament so as to allow farmers to reschedule repayments on loans, with the possibility of stopping the execution process for six months.

“The opinions presented today by farmers and input suppliers about this law are divided – some ask for its suspension and the individual analysis of each case, others ask for the modification of the provisions of the law. We listened to farmers’ explanations and tried to find solutions together, starting from the existing reality. There are no miraculous and easy solutions to a long-standing problem existing in the agricultural sector,” said the head of state.

The President’s Office noted that some input suppliers are ready to extend the period of payment of debts by farmers. “It is necessary to identify a clear instrument through which farmers will be protected from exaggerated and forced penalties,” reads a press release of the President’s Office

Maia Sandu urged to ensure transparency in the process of granting subsidies, saying that the full list of payment beneficiaries should be published.

For his part, Alexandru Bădărău, executive director of the Farmers’ Force Association, said that, during the discussions with President Sandu, the farmers asked for the law to be returned to Parliament because it had not been discussed with the farmers. They formulated a set of proposals for amending the law.

The farmers also asked that Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Bolea should resign, that propaganda and falsehoods against farmers, disseminated on social media, should be stopped and that all the documents regarding the support for the agricultural sector should be adopted transparently.

Alexandru Bădărău announced that farmers’ protests were suspended until October 10 and until then they are waiting for actions from the authorities.