Moldovan government to earmark money to restore irrigation systems

Chisinau, 13 August /MOLDPRES/- Today Prime Minister Ion Chicu paid a working visit to Ștefan Vodă district, at the invitation of farmers. The discussion focused on the current situation in the agricultural sector, following the severe drought and hail this year, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.
For the second consecutive year, the agricultural sector in Ștefan Vodă district suffers losses due to natural disasters. In 2020 alone, over 23 thousand hectares of agricultural land were affected, and the amount of losses exceeds 185 million lei. Wheat, barley and rapeseed crops suffered the most. The state approved the allocation of compensation for 141 producers in the district, in a total value of over 25 million lei.
Restoring irrigation systems is one of the most pressing needs of farmers. Chicu assured that next year the government will invest significantly in the projects: “Next year we will allocate money from the budget for the restoration of irrigation systems in Ștefan Vodă and Căușeni districts. Otherwise, we will have to allocate tens of millions of lei to compensate for the losses every year ”.
The government technical assessment shows that about 135 million euros are needed to revitalize the irrigation systems in Moldova.
The premier discussed with the farmers about the support measures taken by the government at the stage. To compensate the losses for group I cereal crops, the government has allocated 200 million lei, through AIPA, which will allow the subsidy on average 1,050 lei / 1 ha.
"Allocating this money, under the conditions of 2020, means reducing the planned investments for other important sectors. To compensate the losses for group I crops, the government will not allocate more funds, given that we have a budget deficit of 18 billion lei this year. We will soon come up with another package of support measures for farmers ", he said.
Chicu urged the farmers to apply quickly to benefit from grants and address constructive cooperation in dialogue with the authorities. He said that the protests organized in the last days and the "blocking roads" are not a solution.
He asked that the loss assessment for group II crops be carried out as soon as possible. Next week, the MADRM representative will be in Ștefan Vodă district, where working meetings will be organized with APL and farmers in order to identify solutions to reduce risks and losses of farmers.
From 2019 until now, in Ștefan Vodă district, AIPA has invested over 240 million lei in various fields of agriculture. The most was invested in the endowment with agricultural equipment and machinery - 96 producers benefited from subsidies amounting to 13.2 million lei.