Prime Minister Vlad Filat instructed relevant agencies to develop amendments to the fiscal legislation that would allow farmers to pay the income tax until December 31, replacing the current deadline of September 30, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The picture of damages caused by the drought in agriculture is gloomier than we initially thought”, said the Prime Minister while opening the Government's meeting on Wednesday. The Ministry of Agriculture together with FAO and UNDP experts assessed the damages at 2.5 billion lei. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry were instructed to identify as soon as possible 12 million lei for the purchase of feed for the livestock, in particular for the southern districts. Another instruction is to identify funds to grant subsidies to farmers, and namely 200 lei per hectare of land sown with wheat. Subventions of the same amount are expected to be offered in spring, too, for land sown with corn. Another measure planned by the Prime Minister is to augment the Farmers Subvention Fund for the next year. Further, Vlad Filat said it is necessary to review issues related to the provision of social aid for pensioned farmers and for households engaged in subsistence agriculture.