Vasile Bumacov: We must do what we can do; what we can do is agriculture

{Info-Prim Neo Interview with Vasile Bumacov, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry. Interview 11 of 12 in the “Year 2012 in the life of Moldova and its people” series. [Originally published on December 27]} [- On a certain occasion, you mentioned that, in a few years, Moldovans will not remember 2012 as one of the driest years, but as the year that gave the best wine. Was this just an expression, or the two characteristics are indeed definitive traits of 2012?] - The two are traits indeed. It was one of the harshest droughts in our country's history, we lost corn and cereals from the first group as we have never before. We have registered losses of 3 billion lei only from corn. Evidently, the farmers have had it rough. In such situations, when people face difficulties, I try to find the positive aspect, which is this year's good wine. However, good wine is not only one year's topic of discussion, but spans over 5-6 years, till the wine has matured. If you go to France, or other countries, there are calendars for years with good wines. We also have wines from 2007 - also a dry year - that are some of the best. In order to sooth the pain of agricultural producers, we said that there is a good side to it. [ - The phenomena we talked about are part of the category of referred to as: “you can't fight nature”. Is the aforementioned as valid for the 2012 drought? What did the authorities want to do, and did, to diminish its effects?] - We shouldn't fight nature. We should befriend nature. We are part of nature; it created us. We are a product of nature. It is very important to adapt to nature. Civilized countries have already done it. The thoroughly examined how adapt. And we, if speaking about cereals, did not implement any technologies in the last 60 years. We have ignored, in the last 60 years, our greatest treasure – our soils, and failed to switch to technologies that would grant us gould yields even during drought years. We are currently abusing our soils, whereas they have to feed the future generations as well. Soils must feed people in the CIS, and the EU. We must think about Moldova. If we are saying that we want nature to help us, we must preserve it. Speaking of high-quality agriculture, a field in which we are very competitive, meaning fruit, vegetables, requires using savings-friendly irrigation systems, through dripping, through the most modern technologies invented to save water. Having been traumatized by the Soviet system, we stand on the banks of the Nistru river, which has consumption and irrigation-friendly waters, and whine about not having water; yet we do nothing about it. We have grown lazy, we are not ingenious, and therefore, policy-wise, irrigation will be one of the top priorities. Friendship with nature, or adapting to nature, can lead us to great gains. Being a southern people, thus temperamental, we everything to happen overnight. Look at the civilized countries, which adopt one budget for 10 years, and have programs spanning over years, since nothing is possible to be done in one year. It is important to launch well-determined programs, so that the next Minister does not get to say that what was done was nonsense, and something new must be done. The fact that, for 20 years, we have had no clarity and have not focused on strategies and programs that would last in time, and yield results, is a great mistake. Last year we have established 11 clear strategical directions for the Ministry of Agriculture, both short term and long term. These strategic directions, regardless of who the next Minister is, cannot be changed dramatically, since they are not politicized; they deal with agriculture and countries that have succeeded in this field. If we follow the examples of Korea, or Cuba, we will live like Korea, or Cuba. If we follow the experiences of Germany, or France, we will live like Germany, or France. [ - How was 2012 in terms of agricultural business? Policies in the field were more stimulant towards producers, than before, or vice versa?] - Business is always made up of quantity and price. We have experienced great troubles in terms of quantity. If in the field of animal husbandry the decrease was not sizeable, in the vegetation sector we experienced huge losses, more than 1/3 of the wheat yield, half of the sunflower, 2/3 of the corn. Quantitatively, even on irrigated lots, such as strawberries or orchards, 1/3 of the yield was destroyed by heat. Product prices, for a change, were good. Since 2009, when we lifted export restrictions, prices for agricultural products normalized. That is, the farmer managed to charge more than the production cost. Those who had technologies, who made an effort to irrigate, had a better year. Although the yield was 1/3 smaller, the price made up for it. On the other hand, the global consumption of agro-alimentary products rises, prices rise. I don't want to disappoint Moldovan consumers, but it is a good thing for us that our country is export-oriented. We have nothing else to export. But, in order to produce, we need feed, fuel, technology, chemicals, all of which are imported with foreign currency, and foreign currency can only come from exports. Thus, we need the exports. Sometimes, 90% of what is produced in the country is exported. This fact should be a well-thought State policy. All those setting up barriers to exports are criminals. Ministry of Agriculture employees who were caught involved in such actions were fired. We will continue to punish everyone who tries to somehow obstruct exports, since this is a thing related to State security. Referring to policies we are well determined as to what is to be done. We have a team at the Ministry of Agriculture with vast international experience. We have foreign collaborators and consultants. You will see a new 2014-2020 strategy, which will be adopted by the Government next year. We know very well what we have to do. We are currently in search of financial resources. The country's Budget can offer 400 million lei for subsidy funds, plus all of the support in agriculture, consultancy, anti-hailstorms. The sum is over 700 million lei annually. This is all that the state can offer. Many people ask themselves why the state does not help them more. But the state must decide to take money from kindergartens, schools, pensioners. Where could the state take more money from? Evidently there is nowhere to take money from. We sought the help of international structures, since there are is no domestic money. And we succeeded. The EU, USA, Romania, France, Italy, Poland – all came to our support. The sums are much higher than 126 million lei, which will have been paid to agricultural producers by May. But we need more. In order to make these policies more efficient we need money, and are thus in the process of negotiating with the EU for launching the ENPARD program, i.e. The European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development. Therefore, 6 countries of the Eastern Partnership will benefit from financial sources, which will be allocated from EU's 2014-2020 sources for programs in agriculture and rural development. For 2013 we have already obtained €14 million for pilot programs. Of these, almost 50 million lei will land at the Ministry of Agriculture, and we will spend it on programs that foster development. We cannot afford, with the money we have, to pay for everyone and for all kinds of fees. We pay ventures that attract investments, we want to support the farmers' investments, support them in assuming responsibility. We don't want to subsidize, for example, wheat cultivation, a field in which we are not that competitive. We need to ensure alimentary security. Thus, if we need 300,000 sown hectares of wheat, we have enough. If we observe high-grade agriculture: berries, vegetables, fruit, grapes, wines, canned goods, meat – there is added value. We are currently in the search of a method of encouraging the construction of farms. We do not have enough milk in the country, we don't have beef, pork. This is what we want to support. I am really worried in regards to meat imports, because when there is none, we are forced to import. What comes in contains hormones, butter contains vegetable oil. We must make our own products and prove that what we have is of much higher quality. I want Moldova to be the country that produces healthy aliments, not genetically modified ones and full of hormones. Hence, European resources will be used towards promoting strategic policies for the country. [ - How did the 2012 Moldovan agrifood exports differ compared to previous years?] - We would to have a market alternative to the CIS one, in order to be less dependent. This year CIS exports have grown, since we had wine, fruit, vegetables. And what we export to the EU, i.e. cereals, we did not have. Once again, CIS exports were emphasized and the EU ones diminished. I am not saying it is bad, any market matters for us. But we would still like to export more to the EU. It means a more stable, wealthier market. This market also is for us a criterion through which quality and competitiveness are appreciated. If we export to the EU more, it means we are more competitive. These are this year's specifics, but we will see what next year brings. This year was somewhat under the emphasis of an attempt to monopolize exports towards the Russian Federation, again. We had this vice two years ago, we it was attempted that all exports of fruit and vegetables to go through 30 companies founded overnight, made in collaboration with criminal organizations from the Russian Federation. But we went to Russia, we made an agreement with those from Rosselkhoznadzor, made sure that this authority was not involved, came home and fired those who were involved; we negotiated with the Russian Federation, and managed to unblock exports. It was a monopoly of the phito-sanitary inspectors. Thus, on the one hand, we were working hard to unblock exports to the Russian Federation, but the vice erupted domestically again. People who tried to redirect exports appeared. We launched an internal investigation, we notified the state bodies invested with investigation functions. I did my job; those who were involved in this endeavour were fired. As long as we have massive exports of fruit and vegetables, there will always be attempts to get a hold of this field, since it yields a lot of money. [ - Where did Moldovan products sell better: at home or abroad?] - If we speak of cereals, this year, unfortunately, brought more domestic consumption; I have always said that we must produce 15-20% for internal consumption, and the rest should be exported, in order to secure our living. For us, exports are an utter must; the global fight for the market is harsh. We must produce for exports. The wines, fruit, and grapes continued to be massively exported this year. We increased meat and wine exports. [- How did Moldova prepare to face the requirements imposed by the Free Trade Agreement with the EU, of which it is told that it might be signed at the end of next year, and what immediate benefits would the new commerce conditions pose for Moldovan farmers?] - We have been preparing for a long time in this field. We realize that when you enter a market where you have some modernized producers, and some not so modernized, the latter get to suffer a great deal. Therefore, we have the support of the USA and the EU, Israel, Romania, Germany help us modernize. We benefit from financial support for creating agencies for food safety, modernizing labs, strengthening the border food safety. There is much to do. Nobody loves to be in a competition field, but that is the only way a country can modernize, that is the only way to progress. Thus, producers must understand that there is no other way than competition. If the are not competitive, the will be squeezed out of the market. [ - At this crossroad of years, Moldova got to realize that it should be proud, or that it should regret its status of agriculturally-inclined state?] - We must do what we can do, but what we can do is agriculture; it is in our blood, and it is a noble occupation. The progress achieved in agriculture is extraordinary, and if we implement these technologies and continue to increase exports, nuts to France, plums to Germany, meat or wines – we will be very proud of it. We can modernize agriculture, and our product will reach all countries. I am very proud of this fact, and I want all Moldovans to be proud of it. Moldova's strongest brands come from agriculture. We must be proud of the fact that the result of the farmers' work is appreciated and consumed in other countries. [Irina Turcanu, Info-Prim Neo]