The number of agricultural producers that protect their crops with antihail nets is very low even if the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry provides subsidies for this type of protection. Nicolae Ciubuc, deputy head of the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, has told IPN that the state has covered 30% of their price since 2011.
No application was filed in the first subsidization year. In the second year, four agricultural producers asked for subsidies for setting up antihail nets, while this year the figure rose to 10. Most often the farmers protect their orchards and vineyards.
“The number is low because the possibilities of this product are not widely known. The antihail nets are a new product on our market and the farmers are not sufficiently informed. Another major problem is the high price of these nets,” said Nicolae Ciubuc.
The placement of an antihail net costs about €15,000 per hectare. The state pays about 5,000 lei of this price. “In general, if we speak about risk prevention, the farmers do not invest in such a protection method,” stated the deputy head of the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture.
The anti-hail systems consist of a range of special nets supported by poles and metallic wire.
