The Moldovan farmers gave up growing ecologically pure products owing to the tougher restrictions on the cultivation of agricultural products. The difficult procedure for obtaining quality certificates is also an obstacle, IPN reports.

Mihai Negrescu, head of the National Food Safety Agency’s Phytosanitary Products and Fertilizers Supervision Division, said the farmers who want to grow ecological products must thoroughly check the soil for all types of pollutants. The used seeds must not be genetically modified, while soil cannot be cultivated with agricultural machinery. In some countries it is allowed cultivation with the help of horses. No mechanical plowing or pest elimination method can be used. The period of ripening for ecologically pure fruit and vegetables is much longer than for those treated with phytosanitary products.

Mihai Negrescu said the Moldovan producers do not like such conditions as they want to sell as much as possible and as quickly as possible even if the ecological products are very expensive. An alternative for the Moldovan farmers is to grow bio fruit and vegetables, but this does not mean that they will obtain harvests without negative effects on health.

According to official data, the quantity of nitrates in plants grown according to the bio technology is higher than in those grown according to traditional methods because the organic fertilizers produce more nitrates in fruit and vegetables than the mineral ones.