The state will pay compensations to the agricultural producers to reduce the effect of the drought and will allocate 200 million lei from the State Budget for this purpose. According to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatolie Gorodenco, 10 mln lei will be used to compensate for the electric power and fuel consumed during irrigation, 10 mln lei will go to support the anti-hail service, and 180 mln lei will be earmarked for the agriculture subsidisation fund for 2007. The agricultural producers whose fields were affected by hail will receive subsidies of 100 lei per hectare, Gorodenco said. A sum of 40 mln lei of the 180 mln lei from the agriculture subsidisation fund will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to cover the value added tax on sales of agrifood products in the domestic market and 56 mln lei will be used to cover the VAT on phytosanitary products and fertilisers. Some 84 mln lei will be allocated to farmers to carry out agricultural works for preparing the land and sowing the autumn crops. The money will be distributed to agricultural producers - by 200 lei on average per one hectare ploughed and sowed, depending on the size of the damage caused by the drought. According to the Minster of Agriculture, the economic agents that will provide incorrect data about the damage risk not receiving subsidies from the state anymore. The money will be allotted in two stages. Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev promised that the first part of subsidies will be paid within 10-15 days. The drought caused damage to Moldova’s agriculture estimated at about 12 bln lei.