The number of companies that received subsidies from the National Agriculture and Rural Development Fund in 2017 is almost twice higher compared with 2016, secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Iurie Usurelu stated in a news conference, IPN reports.

According to Usurelu, owing to the approval of the agriculture subsidization regulations for five years, not for a year as earlier, the subsidization policies became more predictable and more favorable to agricultural businesses. The interaction between agricultural producers, associations and the Ministry and the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA), whose management in 2017 was consociated, was optimized.

AIPA director general Nicolae Ciubuc reminded that the 2017 National Agriculture and Rural Development Fund totaled 900 million lei, including over 231 million lei ENPARD funds. This is by 200 million lei more than in 2016. Of this sum, 340 million lei was used to pay the overdue subsidies for the previous years, while 31 million lei is the state share in the National Vine and Wine Fund. “Thus, the real sum used to subsidize agricultural producers this year was of 520 million lei, which is two times higher than in 2016 (231m lei lei),” he stated.

Nicolae Ciubuc noted that following the subsidization, the investments attracted by beneficiaries to the agricultural sector in 2017 came to 4.3 billion lei. There were created 3,900 new jobs. The largest subsidies were provided for purchasing agricultural equipment. These totaled about 240 million lei. The applications for subsidization submitted in 2017 numbered 7,800, an increase of 40% on 2016. The National Agriculture and Rural Development Fund in 2018 will total 900 million lei.