State paid only 40% of subsidies for autumn ploughing

The agricultural producers received only 40% of the 84 mln lei subsidies promised by the Government at the start of August, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatolie Gorodenco said at the last meeting of the Commission for Emergencies. Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev expressed his dissatisfaction with such a situation, saying that the producers need this money now, not in winter. He said that he will not tolerate the postponement of this process anymore, demanding that all subsidies be paid by the end of September. The state pledged to allocate an average of 200 lei to each farmer for ploughing the land and sowing the winter crops, depending on the losses caused by the drought. In the appeal to the international donors to support the Government of Moldova in its efforts to overcome the drought consequences, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatolie Gorodenco said that the aid of 200 lei (about 16 USD) promised by the Government to the agricultural producers for preparing a hectare of arable land for sowing is too small, because the real costs now amount to about 160 USD. The state committed itself to partly compensate the farmers for the damage caused by the drought, by earmarking 200 mln lei overall. A sum of 40 mln lei will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to cover the value added tax on sales of agrifood products on the domestic market and 56 mln to cover the VAT compensations for phytosanitary products and fertilisers. Some 10 mln lei will be used to pay for the electric power and fuel used during the irrigation process and 10 mln lei to support the anti-hail service. The agricultural producers who were affected by hail will receive 100 lei subsidies per hectare. According to official statistics, the drought caused damage to Moldova’s agriculture estimated at about 12 bln lei.