In the Republic of Moldova, there are five-six landowners possessing 40,000 to 60,000 hectares of arable land and these business entities are also agricultural exporters and the small farmers are therefore in competition with these, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea. According to him, the owners of agricultural holdings are exclusively legal entities of Moldova.
“They are all legal entities. Exports are made to offshore areas, customs posts in offshore areas. If you noticed, we export a lot of grain to the destination country Switzerland. But there is only an offshore company. These exporters have offshore companies in that area and export. In accordance with the international legislation and the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, such actions are legal,” the minister told RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service in an interview.
Earlier, representatives of farmers associations said that the Moldovan authorities should decide if they need thousands of fanners or only three-four holdings. Vladimir Bolea said the state does not help the owners with larger areas of farmland. These only work and that’s all. To be able to cope with competition from big agricultural holdings, the small producers should unite and form cooperatives.
The minister noted that about 25% of the arable land in Moldova is not cultivated owing to drought, to the absence of irrigation systems, and most of such land is situated in the southern districts.
In another development, the minister said the state will subsidize programs that are extremely important for Moldova’s food security: processing, development of the animal-breeding sector.
The official also referred to the surplus of grain in Moldova. “This year, for example, we produced about 1.5 million tonnes of wheat, but we domestically consume 330,000 tonnes and another 200,000 tones go to feed animals. The rest is exported as raw material,” stated Vladimir Bolea.
According to him, the Republic of Moldova requested the European partners to provide X-ray scanners that would reduce the inspection time on border for grain. “Regrettably, the grain, bran and other types of agricultural products exported in large amounts are the preferred goods of smugglers as they can hide everything in these,” noted the minister.
