New round of discussions for backing farmers held at Moldovan government

Chisinau, 19 June /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Dorin Recean and representatives of the Farmers’ Force Association, at a new round of discussions at the government’s headquarters, have tackled the current challenges in the agricultural sector, against the background of the regional crisis and a protest announced by the Association. Attending the discussions was also Deputy Prime Minister, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Vladimir Bolea, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.    
The PM said the cabinet had additionally allocated 533 million lei to support the farmers hit by the regional economic crisis and was also involved in the identification of solutions for the replacement of exports and compensation of the losses borne by the farmers.  
„After the unleashing Russia’s war against Ukraine, the logistic chains and the economic circuits established were disturbed. Now, it is necessary that we reorganize the exports, identify new sales markets and certainly, identify additional financial sources for backing the agricultural sector. The authorities fulfilled their commitment taken to increase the speed of processing the applications on subsidization. We also consider other solutions for farmers’ benefit,’’ Prime Minister Dorin Recean said.     
Deputy PM Vladimir Bolea said that, in the last two weeks, all operational and management measures had been taken, and so the Agency of Intervention and Payments for Agriculture (AIPA) processed over 1,100 applications on subsidization and more than 162 million lei was distributed. Another 3,500 files are to be considered till late next July and over 550 million lei is to be allocated to beneficiaries.  
The representatives of the Farmers’ Force Association reiterated the claims as to the possibility to extend the programme on the reimbursement of the value added tax (VAT) and increase the spectrum of beneficiaries. They also asked to compensate the production costs for the small- and medium-sized farmers worth at least 3,000 lei per one hectare for the first-group agricultural crops.   
Photo: Government