Farmers repeatedly demand that the authorities should pay the overdue subsidies or they will mount protests. Executive director of the Association “Force of Farmers” Alexandru Slusari said the atmosphere in districts is tense and the farmers can protest by the model of Romania and Poland and demand to pay subsidies and to increase the subsidization fund, IPN reports.
Alexandru Slusari noted that the farmers do not want to stage protests to destabilize the situation in Moldova. However, if the representatives of the Government do not hasten the payment of the overdue subsidies, the farmers can take to the streets.
“We are responsible people. Our goal is not to mount protests. We realize the situation in the Republic of Moldova. Most of the members of the “Force of Farmers” are persons with pro-European, pro-national views. But the farmers see the atmosphere in districts. I daily talk to farmers. Seeing how they act in the neighboring states, how promptly the European Union acts after farmers’ protests, the farmers insist on measures similar to those taken by counterparts from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria. If the authorities are incapable and the promises remain unfulfilled, the protests are the only solution. We transmitted a message of dissatisfaction and informed about the atmosphere persisting among the farmers,” Alexandru Slusari stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.
According to him, slightly over 30% of the total overdue subsidies of over 1.4 billion lei were paid during the first four months of this year. The process is allegedly blocked due to the absence of personnel at the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA). Even if the authorities promised to substantially raise the subsidization fund when the state budget is amended, it seems that this will not happen.
“If I say that the debts are cleared slowly, I will say the least. In September 2021, the AIPA reform was announced. A year has passed and the minister was replaced. It is May 2023 and we still hear that 75 more persons are needed at AIPA, that there are 22 vacancies and AIPA cannot cope. Are the farmers to blame for this? The farmers say it clearly that they need these subsidies after they experienced drought and a dramatic decline in prices, when the banks do not release loans to us. Subsidization and VAT refund are two efficient methods. The promise at the last meeting with the Premier was that the budget would be amended in April and the subsidization fund would be then raised by 60 million lei. April passed and we learned that the budget will be amended in May, but the changes will be insignificant and the subsidization fund will be increased by 100 million lei,” noted the executive director of the Association “Force of Farmers”.
The 2023 state budget law provides that the National Agriculture and Rural Development Fund this year will be of 1.5 billion lei.
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