Government distributes fodder provided by Russia in aid

The 4,000 tonnes of cereal fodder offered by Russia in humanitarian aid will be distributed to cattle farms that have at least 10 cows and heifers older than one year as well as to pig farms that have at least five sows, farms of brood mares and bird breeding centers for maintaining the national genetic avian fund. The Government has approved provisional regulations for the purpose, Info-Prim Neo reports. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatol Gorodenco said that Moldova has 197 cattle firms with 9,500 breeding cows, 748 pork farms with 13,900 breeding sows, two horse farms with 54 brood mares and three animal breeding centers with 2,807 mature birds. The 26,300 breeding animals and birds will get by 152 kg of fodder each. This fodder will help the breeders feed the animals and birds until the new harvest. In this connection, Gorodenco said that the last summer’s drought had a negative impact on the animal breeding sector of the country. The collected fodder made up only 10-30% of the necessities. The forage got very expensive. The barley in 2006 cost 1.2 lei per kg, while in 2007 – 3.5 lei per kg. The price of corn rose from 1.6 lei per kg in 2006 to 4.5 lei per kg in 2007. As the breeders could not feed the animals, they had to considerably reduce their number. According to preliminary data, the number of cows and bulls fell by about 20 – 27%, of pigs by 24% and of birds by 20%. The situation in the pork and bird breeding sectors has improved, while the consequences of the drought have a less stagnant character. The economic entities optimized the breeding stock, earmarking gradually the other groups of animals for meat. The purchase price of meat, by 30-31 lei per kg of living animal, and the price of eggs of 15-17 lei per 10 eggs can cover the production costs, allowing to buy fodder. The situation of cattle farms is more difficult. The lack of forage has led to a sudden decrease in productivity. The income from selling cows is minimal. The purchase price of milk of 4 – 4.5lei per liter does not cover the production expenses. There are no available means to acquire fodder. Some types of fodder cannot be found in the country and must be imported and the cattle breeders sustain huge losses. On the other hand, it takes a longer time to restore the necessary number of breeding cows.