We must do something to make farmers adhere to good agricultural practices, such as crop rotation, said Vasile Șarban, state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, during the debate “The dilemma of Moldovan fruit exports: to the East and/or to the West?”, organized by IPN.
One issue addressed during the debate was the significant amounts of fresh apples that stay idle in refrigerators. “Processing them would be a way out, but not a (long-term) solution”, said Șarban, adding that apple growers had a similar problem in 2021, too. Arguing with fellow panelist Viorel Chivriga, the official said that last year nobody complained about it, because everybody was aware that taking responsibility in business is a constant.
“Beginning with 2020, every type of business has been affected - by the pandemic, the energy crisis, and so on. I’m always on the farmers’ side, but we have to understand one thing very clearly: we do business in agriculture. Not farming as a hobby. And this requires us to anticipate a lot of situations, the risks that arise”.
Until now, the government has subsidized “classic” orchards that produce an assortment whose popularity has waned over time. At the same time, the ministry cannot make farmers work with certain varieties. “We cannot counter the free choice of the farmer to cultivate what he sees fit. But we aim to diversify the range of crops that can be produced in Moldova. There is demand, there is will”.
Speaking about the diversification of agricultural products, Vasile Șarban mentioned the Jerusalem artichoke or snails, among other examples. “We need to diversify our activities, to put them in a legal framework, to intervene at the level of policies so that the products can be marketed at a convenient price for farmers. Because they are an important source for the state budget”.
The debate was the 234th installment of the “Developing Political Culture” Series, run by IPN with the supprt of the “Hanns Seidel” Foundation.
