The farmers give the authorities one more week for satisfying their demands. Otherwise, they will stage harsher protests. On March 27, more than 3,500 farmers took their agricultural machinery to the roadside and stretched banners reading “If you have money for banks, find some for farmers too” and “Agriculture is the source of people’s welfare”.

Contacted by IPN, chairman of the National Union of Agricultural Producers Associations “UniAgroProtect” Alexandru Slusari said the protest was mostly calm, but he had to intervene in Causeni and Stefan Voda so as to convince the farmers not to block the roads. “The people lost confidence. We tell the authorities that the time of promises has passed and we want actions,” he stated.

At the beginning of next week, “UniAgroProtect” will hold a meeting to decide the further actions. Alexandru Slusari said the farmers propose blocking the national roads, staging a march to Chisinau and taking agricultural machinery to the Great National Assembly Square.

The farmers demand increasing the subsidization fund up to 1.2 billion lei, keeping the VAT of 8% in agriculture, unblocking lending to farmers and reducing the interest rates on loans, demonopolizing the oil products market and diminishing the interest rate on the loans provided from Poland’s loan of €100 million to 1%.