Prime Minister Iurie Leanca called on the associations that represent the agricultural producers to directly discuss with the government, not through the mass media, and to propose solutions how the situation in agriculture can be remedied. The call was made after associations of agricultural producers announced they will stage protests on November 23, IPN reports.
“I know the demands of the associations representing the farmers. I don’t know if they represent all the farmers or only a part of them. First of all, those who head these associations earlier held state posts, as for example Mister Valeriu Cosarciuc, who was minister of agriculture. These persons know very well how the institutions function, how the budget is planned and how the budget revenues are distributed,” the head of Government said in a TV program.
Iurie Leanca said he wants the agriculture subsidization fund to be larger and the country to have sufficient resources to increase the pensions and salaries of public functionaries, but the budget is limited. “How should we increase the agriculture subsidization fund? By taking money from education, medicine or infrastructure? I want to note that besides subsidies, the farmers also have access to other resources. European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos paid a visit to Moldova. We decided to hold a large conference centering on the attraction of considerable funds for agriculture,” stated the Premier.
Moldova cooperates with the European Investment Bank and asked that this bank provides cheaper loans to the Moldovan farmers. According to Iurie Leanca, one of the three priorities that the Government will formulate in the relations with the EU is the rural development and agriculture. “I and my colleagues from the Government showed maximum openness. We had a good discussion and proposed continuing this dialogue with the agricultural producers. I perceive the way chosen now – of communicating with us through the media – as blackmail. We area waiting for them to a dialogue, if they have definite proposals,” said the Premier.
Representatives of the agricultural producers demanded that the agriculture subsidization fund be raised to 600 million lei, up from 400 million lei. They also asked building an agroindustrial center in Chisinau and reducing the VAT from 20% to 8%.
