The Council of the Power of Farmers Association announced the convening of a congress and the resumption of protest actions after the completion of the harvesting of grains of the second group.
The association said on Friday that it no longer believes in the good intentions of the competent authorities and they bear most of the blame for the deep crisis that plunged the agricultural sector in 2022-2023. Since last summer, the agricultural sector has suffered from multiple crises, including a drought, a war in Ukraine, exorbitant prices for inputs needed for agricultural production, and a collapse in commodity prices. Farmers of all European countries located in the Black Sea basin faced similar problems. The governments of these countries promptly turned to the European Union for support. Today, farmers in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary receive from 300 to 674 euros per hectare of grain. It is noted that in Moldova “the government has practically left farmers face to face with enormous difficulties”: all the proposals of the “Power of Farmers” about the need to introduce a state of emergency in agriculture, restructure debts, seek help from external partners, protect the internal market, etc. were either ignored or the reaction to them was very belated. “We show constructivism and flexibility in our demands, taking into account the socio-political and financial situation in the country. Very often we proposed to implement measures that do not require budget expenditures, including the idea of imposing a short-term moratorium on the payment of farmers' debts to creditors,” the statement says. “However, the demonstrative negligence of the Prime Minister and the resistance of the Minister of Agriculture to the idea of a moratorium were the last straw for our organization. The overwhelming majority of 'Power of Farmers" members believe that the government, through its inaction, is supporting the process of destroying micro, small and medium-sized farmers in the interests of a small group of transnational magnates who seek to turn Moldova into their estate and already, according to journalistic investigations, control more than 40% of all agricultural land of the country." It is emphasized that this week the Prime Minister did not find time to meet with farmers. “In this regard, taking into account the fact that agricultural work is in full swing, and after consultations with a number of farmers, the organization decided: to convene, immediately after the completion of the harvest of the second group of crops, a farmers' congress, which will analyze the situation in the agricultural sector in the context of major crises in 2022-2023 and formulated the civic position of farmers in relation to the government or its representatives. It was also decided to resume protests immediately after the completion of the harvesting of the second group of grain crops by moving farmers with agricultural equipment to the capital,” the Power of Farmers said in a statement. //25.08.2023 – InfoMarket.
