The method of distributing subsidies in agriculture is discriminatory, because it favors large farms, concluded experts of the Expert-Grup center after monitoring the execution of the Accounts Chamber recommendations after the 2013 audit of the Agricultural Subsidy Fund.

 

Tatiana Sava, author of the research called “How to lose money”, said during Friday’s news conference at Infotag that in 2013, as well as in 2012, it was identified that 80% of subsidies went to less than 20% of the beneficiaries.

 

“The process of providing subsidies is unfair, given the fact that the regulation provides that at paying 70% of the Fund, further payment stops. Despite this, the receiving of applications is not blocked, and by the end of the year, the 30% that remains in the Fund, is distributed between all the candidates”, said the author of the research.

 

According to Tatiana Sava, in these conditions farmers are not sure they will be treated fairly in comparison to other market players.

 

“Lack of clear procedures at allocating subsidies leads to corruption, nepotism and abuse of power. Noncompliance with the regulation, limited competence of employees and beneficiaries lead to expenditures of at least 50 million lei. The Accounts Chamber established that the 2013 calculation of subsidies in the amount of 150 million lei causes questions at auditors”, said the expert.

 

Only 0.3% of farmland owners are receiving agricultural subsidies, as the problem of informing state subsidies beneficiaries has not been solved so far.

 

Expert-Grup Program Director Dumitru Budeanschi said that there are two groups of beneficiaries: the first group is submitting applications up to October 31, while the second is doing this after the mentioned date.

 

“Those, who come until October 31, are receiving 70-84% of the subsidy fund, while the rest get only 10%, which is unfair”, said Budeanschi.

 

According to him, the current situation leads to the fact that each year the sum of state subsidies increases from year to year.

 

“The subsidy fund makes more than 500 million lei, while in 2015 it will be of 600 million lei, thought in fact 1 billion is necessary. The desire to get more subsidies is justified only when we understand what the country wants to achieve in the agricultural policy. The development of business in agriculture is not all the time equivalent to the development of agriculture. If we are developing business, where only 1% of population works, I do not think we will be able to sent the rest of people abroad”, said the expert.

 

According to Budeanschi, subsidies which is taxpayers’ money, should contribute to creation of new working places in agriculture, to growth of productivity and stability in this field.