Members of the Association “Force of Farmers”, in a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean, formulated their concerns about the dangers to which the agro-industrial sector is exposed. They reiterated that agriculture is one of the strategic areas of the national economy, which ensures almost half of the country’s exports, generating more than 1/3 of the workplaces, primarily in rural areas, and contributing about 2% to the formation of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, IPN reports.
“From the import of diesel fuel, fertilizers, phytosanitary products, spare parts and other resources needed for agricultural production alone, the state budget annually collects at least 5 billion lei,” the Association “Force of Farmers” said a statement.
The Association noted with concern the large-scale crisis in the agricultural sector. “The drought substantially affected the corn, sugar beet, soybean and sunflower harvests. The political ban on the export of Moldovan vegetal production to the Russian Federation seriously affected the most intensive subsectors of agriculture, such as fruit growing and winegrowing. The excess of agricultural production in Ukraine and Russia influenced down the domestic prices of wheat, barley, corn, rape, sunflower oil. At the moment, many famers have to sell their production at derisory prices,” runs the statement.
The over twofold rise in interest on bank loans is another problem mentioned by the famers. The agricultural producers are pressed by multiple debts to banks, input suppliers and creditors, but their proposal to put off the payments to creditors and to exclude penalties weren’t accepted.
The Association “Force of Farmers” asked that the new Government should take measures to remedy the situation as most of the farmers do not have financial resources for spring farming works and proposed a list of demands.
They asked to accelerate the talks with the EU so as to access European funds intended for the agricultural sector, to subsidize in 2023 the losses sustained by the farmers as a result of the import of cheap products from Ukraine, to have talks with Romania to get technical assistance in the form of diesel oil intended for small producers, to increase the National Agriculture Development Fund to at least 3 billion lei, to reach an agreement with commercial banks and the central banks so as to ensure conditions for the farmers to be able to perform spring works, to impose a clear ban for foreign private individuals and legal entities to be unable to possess or purchase farmland in Moldova.
To hasten the process, the Association asks to organize a meeting with the Prime Minister and other decision makers by March 5, 2023 so as to discuss the existing obstacles and identify solutions to each problem apart.
