Reports
FRUIT GROWERS FROM NORTHERN RAIONS INTEND TO COME OUT TO PROTEST
16
january,
2017
Horticulturists from the north of Moldova will come out for protests if at the next sitting the Government does not approve the Regulations on distributing financial assistance to households that suffered from the April 2016 frosts, said Alexandru Slusari, former Chairman of the National Union of Agricultural Producers' Associations UniAgroProtect.
He reminded that back in May 2016 the Ministry organized a meeting with representatives of the association for resolving the problem. After that, a working group on assessing the damage has been created, though with a great delay. In October, the Agriculture Ministry developed a regulation, according to which 45 million lei will be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund for supporting farmers.
“After nine months of promises, horticulturists have not received financial assistance. Over this time, a child can be grown, while the Government failed to elaborate a three-page regulation”, said Slusari, who is one of DA Party leaders.
According to head of the Moldova Fruct Association Iurie Fala, the preparing of orchards for the new season will start soon, but farmers do not have money for employing workers; besides, many of them took credits for preparing orchards last year.
“It seems that the Government is deliberately protracting the approval of this document, hoping that we will forget about the promises the authorities gave”, he said.
Head of the National Farmers’ Federation Vasile Mirzenco said that the Government has to approve the regulation, while then to gather representatives of profile associations and to clearly say when the payments will be conducted, even if there is no money at the present moment.
Two representatives of Briceni raion farmers said that they are ready to wait several more months if they receive guarantees that assistance will arrive, otherwise many horticulturists will abandon their lands, while the youth will go abroad.
Infotag’s dossier: The April 26-27 frosts in the north of Moldova affected raions of Briceni, Ocnita, Donduseni, Edinet, Drochia, Glodeni and partially Soroca raion, as a result of which more than 6.5 ha of lands suffered, while the damage is estimated at 207 million lei. Besides orchards, sugar beet and soybean plantations suffered.
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