The government notes a tendency to politicize grain producers’ protests and remains committed to providing targeted support. “It is obvious that in this context, the people are trying to politicize the subject and the government’s objective is to help the grain producers in need and we will help them in a targeted way,” Prime Minister Dorin Recean stated in the program “In Depth” on ProTV Chisinau channel, IPN reports.
According to the official, the blocking of roads and customs posts will not bring subsidies. “It’s true that agriculture in general is more vulnerable and is exposed to more environmental risks, especially now amidst the climate change. But this also puts a greater responsibility on us, the Government, to allocate these subsidies where necessary and direct them where we can produce added value and where we can have irrigation systems,” noted Dorin Recean.
He reiterated that the agricultural sector benefits from significant subsidies, comparable to the total budget allocated to road infrastructure, to stimulate industrialization and value-added production.
The Prime Minister said that over 2,000 economic agents, grain producers, in 2023 received 200 million in compensation and then another 3,000 grain producers were refunded about 140 million lei in excise duty. This is in addition to the subsidies of 1.6 billion lei that went to support investments made by different categories of farmers. There is no other sector in Moldova’s economy that benefits from such a large amount of subsidies.
“The government understands the need to help, in a targeted way, those who really need to be helped. And that’s what we’re going to insist on. The situations are very different. At the very beginning of this year, through the Commission for Emergency Situations, we additionally allocated, beyond what was budgeted at the beginning of 2024, 50 million lei to compensate grain producers affected by drought for the losses. About 400 grain producers will receive of 2,500 lei in compensation on average per hectare,” stated Premier Recean.
