
Representatives of Forta Fermierilor (Farmers' Power) Association will hold a protest action outside the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday.
According to the Association, the protest action is due to the actions of the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA), which "with the tacit consent of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry through improper and illegal interference has extremely complicated the process of applying for compensation for grain of the first group and diesel fuel for farmers affected by drought". As noted, on August 25, AIPA sent out a circular to its territorial units, according to which all those wishing to receive compensation and diesel fuel, must additionally attach to the documents extracts from the registers of lease agreements with cadastral numbers, names and surnames of persons from whom agricultural land is leased, and the duration of the lease. It is noted that this action was not discussed with Forta Fermierilor. At the same time, the Association noted that both regulations on the allocation of this assistance do not provide for the submission of such documents. The confirmations that the applicants manage the land are certificates issued by local authorities, which also contain cadastral numbers. This form of confirmation has been used many times before in the granting of subsidies. But now AIPA unreasonably requires each farmer to bring an extract from the register of the mayor's office with hundreds or even thousands of plots of agricultural land, indicating the owner of each leased plot. Farmers are extremely indignant at this excessive bureaucratization of the application procedure. In addition to the fact that "this aid is tiny, delayed and allocated to only a fraction of farmers, it seems that the authorities are doing everything possible to sabotage the process of granting this aid." Forta Fermierilor Association strongly condemns the recent actions of AIPA and the Ministry of Agriculture and calls for the urgent revocation of this illegal circular. The Association also calls on the National Farmers Federation, which mainly represents the interests of micro and small farmers, to join the protest. // 28.08.2023 – InfoMarket