The state will allocate US$7.4 million from the World Bank’s US$10 million loan for compensating the corn producers that sustained losses. Compensations will be paid to all the producers, regardless of the legal-organizational form, including domestic households, except for those from the districts of Briceni, Edinet, and Drochia, where last year’s drought didn’t affect the corn harvest. To benefit from compensations, the farmers must have corn fields of minimum 0.5 hectares. The announcement was made by the director of the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture Petru Maleru, IPN reports.

“The compensations will depend on the average losses sustained by every district and the total areas sowed with corn, calculated according to the list compiled by commissions of mayor’s offices. In some of the southern districts, which were seriously affected by the drought, the compensations will rise to 300 lei per hectare. In other districts, they will be 200 lei per hectare on average,” said Petru Maleru.

A sum of US$1.6 million of this loan will be allocated for compensating the corn producers from 15 districts that were seriously-hit by the drought of 2012. This money is provided additionally to the 38 million lei distributed under a Government decision of October 15, 2012 from the funds received from the European Commission.

“The compensations are surely small compared with the sustained losses, but any assistance is good in our situation,” said Tudor Gore, producer from Rezina district.

The compensations will be transferred to producers’ bank accounts by October 31. If they do not have a bank account, the compensations will be sent home by post offices.