The Dignity and Truth Platform (PDA) party wants a National Program, to be implemented starting 2021, which would focus on the effective use of water resources for irrigation purposes. The program would provide for the construction of several water storage basins, to which a maximum number of farmers would be connected.
PDA president Andrei Năstase said during a press conference mentioned that his party also proposes subsidizing the procurement of irrigation systems, consolidating and financially stimulating water users' associations, continuously simplifying the procedure for obtaining permits for farmers to access water, and inventorying all the unused artesian wells.
To implement this Program, Andrei Năstase says it is necessary that Moldova declares irrigation as a national priority and ask foreign partners for financial and technical assistance in this field.
Another urgent issue that needs to be addressed is, according to Andrei Năstase, insurance in agriculture, which would protect producers' goods and financial investments in case of natural disasters. The PDA president says that there is a need for a law on natural hazards, which provides for state participation in compensating insured farmers in cases such as severe drought or spring frosts. PDA also proposes the creation of mutual funds for natural disasters with the joint participation of the government, insurance companies and farmers.
According to Andrei Năstase, in order to increase natural disaster resilience, it is important to step up afforestation efforts across Moldova. In his opinion, massive deforestation in recent decades, both legal and illegal, has significantly contributed to the reduction of rainfall in Moldova and aggravated climate change. In this context, it is necessary to strictly limit deforestation and launch a National Afforestation Program, which would provide for the annual planting of 15-30 hectares of forest.