CHISINAU, June 22 Moldovan farmers will not to take «tough» actions on the protests until the morning of June 27, so that the authorities have time to fulfill their promises, said Alexander Slusar, chairman of the Power of Farmers association.
On Thursday, representatives of a number of agricultural enterprises continued their protests in the center of Chisinau. Disappointed in negotiations with Prime Minister Dorin Recean, Agriculture Minister Vladimir Boley and President Maia Sandu, the farmers sent their vehicles to the parliament building and the presidential administration building, where they subsequently held a rally. The agrarians demand that the authorities suspend or limit the import of grain from Ukraine, allocate compensation for Moldovan grain producers — about 3,000 lei per hectare (about $170), and also ask to pay back subsidy debts for the past year and refund VAT for fuel. By evening, they again met with the prime minister and the head of the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss further actions.
«The prime minister asked for a little time. We agreed to wait until Tuesday morning. But if we see that we are just playing for time and there is no concrete answer by Tuesday morning, then the farmers' reaction may be even tougher. We'll see which one,» Slusari told reporters.
He stressed that farmers want to hear from the authorities the specific amount of compensation, as well as the timing of their payment.
Earlier, Moldovan Prime Minister Recean, following the results of negotiations with farmers, said that the government had already proposed emergency solutions. The endowment fund for 2023 is 1.5 billion lei ($83.4 million) and will be supplemented with another 800 million ($44.5 million). He expressed hope that Brussels will agree to provide additional financial assistance, which will be aimed at supporting farmers.
In 2022, Moldovan farmers also held protests, took tractors to the roads to draw attention to their problems: drought, rising fuel prices, higher prices for fertilizers and pesticides, problems with crop export routes. The country's authorities promised to help, the Minister of Agriculture even spoke about the possible introduction of a state of emergency due to problems in his area, but this issue was not officially discussed.