The farmers that have brought their tractors to Chisinau in protest will return to the Great National Assembly Square on Thursday to hear what the authorities’ decision will be on solutions discussed today, including a moratorium on penalties and forfeitures for farmers struggling to repay their loans.
After today’s meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, Alexandru Slusari, executive director of the Farmers’ Force Association, told reporters that representatives of commercial banks were involved in the discussion. But representatives of microfinance organizations were not in attendance.
“We were shown a draft resolution of the Commission for Extraordinary Situations. It is already something, but the document is still raw. We discussed our claims, which we insist on and which are the reason why our people brought their tractors to Great National Assembly Square. We see some dilatory tactics being tried on us as well. We will work tonight on this project, and tomorrow morning we will come up with proposals for improvement and present them to the Ministry of Agriculture”, said Slusari.
The authorities have promised that there will be an answer on farmer bailouts on Thursday. “On Thursday, at 11:00, all farmers participating in the protest are expected in the Great National Assembly Square, where we will wait for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture with information about compensations and about when the Commission for Extraordinary Situations is going to approve the moratorium. Once this is approved, the very next day farmers will be able to request the suspension of penalties, foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. If this does not happen or the answer is negative, on Thursday the farmers will crank up their tractors”, added Slusari.
Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Bolea declared that a governmental task force is being created to address the farmers’ problems in a targeted manner.
