Farmers demand to be consulted when authorities make decisions

Over 150 managers of companies operating on the agricultural market attended round tables held in 5 Moldovan districts and decided to send post cards to the authorities expressing their concern about the hardships they cope with in doing their job. This is an advocacy campaign named “Lift up the barriers from the exports' way! Let the economy breath free!” started by an NGO called the Coalition for Rural Economic Development, Info-Prim Neo reports. The farmers say, in their post cards, mainly addressed to the Agriculture Ministry, they “have to leave all things loose and leave the country, and they leave their old agricultural machinery to the ones writing laws and running the agriculture.” They also say “the government is bound, before making decisions about villagers, to consult them and then those decisions will lead to their thriving.” The farmers complain they “have access neither to the internal market, nor to the external market to sell the produce” and that “the price of the fuel is equal to the fuel used by luxurious cars.” Neither are they happy with “the subvention of 15 lei received from the state in 2008”, they consider “a mockery of the peasant.” An expert with IDIS Viitorul think tank, Viorel Chivriga, says that in order to protect the domestic market from massive imports, which annihilate the farmers' efforts, the agriculture-related legislation should be improved, reads a release by this institute. On their other hand, there are enough efficient tools to stimulate the exports, as offering loans for exports, reviewing the VAT return, canceling the non-tariff barriers, especially the ones imposed by administrations.