Moldovan agency pays subsidies worth 420 million lei to agricultural producers in 2017

Chisinau, 18 December /MOLDPRES/ - The Agency of Interventions and Payments for Agriculture (AIPA) in 2017 paid 420 million lei to agricultural producers from the national account for agricultural development and rural environment. At the same time, another 100 million lei is to be sent to farmers’ accounts till the end of this year, AIPA director general Nicolae Ciubuc told a today’s news conference.    

As many as 7,800 applications on subsidization worth 800 million lei in all have been submitted. A number of 2,700 of these applications for subsidies amounting to 270 million lei, which did not fit in the sums available for this year, will be financed in early 2018, Ciubuc noted. He also said that, in 2017, an unprecedented sum had been scheduled for backing farmers, respectively 900 million lei, up by 200 million lei against 2016.

As much as 340 million lei out of the 900 million lei was used to pay off the debts for 2016, 31 million lei – for supporting the Vine and Wine Account and 11 million lei – for administrative expenses. “Anyway, the available sum of 520 million lei for subsidizing agricultural producers, after the payment of debts and other bills, is more than double than last year, when it stood at 231 million lei,” the AIPA head said.  

Ciubuc specified that the enhancing of the competitiveness, management of natural resources and developing infrastructure in the rural environment were the main priorities financially backed by the national account of agricultural development and rural environment. The overall investments in agricultural activities and rural environment amounted to 4.3 billion lei.

Nicolae Ciubuc also said that, in 2017, by 40 per cent more applications on subsidization had been submitted against 2016. This is explained by the diversification of measures backed by the state, size of the account, as well as the clear-cut provision concerning the rules and conditions for subsidization. As much as 82 per cent of the applications came from small- and medium-sized enterprises, which accessed 65 per cent of the account’s means. As much as 40 per cent of the beneficiaries are young people and business people.

State Secretary General of the Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Ministry Ion Usurelu described the results achieved this year in the subsidization of farmers as good and very good. “It is for the first time ever that we get such results,” Usurelu said. He also said this was due to more factors, including the adoption by the parliament of the law on subsidization of agricultural producers, which gave certainty to the process.  

Another important moment was that, in early 2017, a regulation was approved for a five-year period, which gives producers possibility to make investments for a longer period.  

The Agency of Interventions and Payments for Agriculture informed that it would launch a campaign of receiving applications on subsidization for 2018 in next early February, against June this year. Till the campaign starts, decision-makers are to finance the applications on subsidization submitted in 2017 and which had no financial coverage. Under the state budget law for 2018, the national account of agricultural development and rural environment is of 900 million lei.

The state backs through subsidies the construction of greenhouses, formation of multiannual plantations, purchasing of agricultural machinery, animal husbandry sector, ecological agriculture. A novelty is the subsidization of promotion of products on sales markets, as well as development of rural agro-tourism pensions and creation or extension of handicraft units. Business of women and women entrepreneurs is stimulated.      

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Raileanu)