The political parties Dignity and Truth Platform (PPDA), the League of Cities and Communes (LOC) and the Party of Change call on the senior authorities to urgently deal with the systemic problems faced in agriculture. “The lack of firm actions and the superficial interventions over the farmers’ problem by the government, the exaggerated delays in allocating the subsidies promised for years and the politicization of the farmers’ subject resulted in massive protests by farmers who, out of despair, began to block access to the Leușeni customs posts several days ago,” reads a joint statement that is quoted by IPN.
The three parties, which recently announced the formation of a common bloc for the next presidential and parliamentary elections, called upon Prime Minister Dorin Recean, President Maia Sandu, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu to accept the farmers’ demand to organize public consultations and deal with the problems experienced in agriculture.
They also requested Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea to urgently ensure the import and distribution of the 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel donated by the Romanian Government back in November 2022, through a public-private partnership, and to identify an economic agent that, following a tender contest, could distribute diesel fuel in the districts of the Republic of Moldova. The parties urged to consider the possibility of allocating compensation per each hectare of corn and sunflower cultivated in 2023, in addition to the compensation mechanism that was recently announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry.
“Regretfully, we see that the agricultural sector is in a deep crisis and the situation has worsened due to the continuous climate change, the post-pandemic crisis and, most importantly, due to the negative impact of the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine on the sector, which led to an upsurge in fertilizer prices, huge increases in the costs of transport services and lower grain prices. Unfortunately, we ascertain the lack of an adequate and serious reaction on the part of the government to adopt a package of measures that would solve or alleviate the problems in the agricultural sector,” says the statement.
Farmers began to protest last week. They say they are on the verge of bankruptcy and demand that Vladimir Bolea should resign from the post of minister of agriculture and food industry.
Today, starting at 1 p.m., a meeting with farmers will be held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry to discuss the current challenges experienced in the agricultural sector. The meeting will involve Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea and Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
