Leadership of Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry discusses measures for managing damages caused by drought in Moldova

Chisinau, 27 July /MOLDPRES/ - The leadership of the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry (MAIA) on 26 July had a discussion with representatives of the Farmers’ Force professional association. The principal items approached referred to the process of collection of data on the damages caused to farmers, access to financing, relations with the commercial banks and other creditors, etc.  

 „The ministry discusses with the district agriculture departments, in order to centralize the information on the damages registered in the wake of the drought. In this respect, next week, a meeting with the heads of the district agriculture departments will be held. We continue to monitor the situation and to have discussions next week with representatives of commercial banks, with the Union of Authorized Administrators of Moldova and the distributors of inputs, in order to efficiently manage the current challenges,’’ Deputy PM, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Vladimir Bolea said.      

At the meeting, the farmers present proposed to declare a state of emergency in the agriculture sector, as measure to negotiate friendly conditions with the creditors. This proposal was analyzed, including at discussions with representatives of the commercial banks and other creditors, in order to assess the economic impact.    

The agricultural researchers assessed more lands in southern Moldova and found out that the maize plantations were compromised at the level of 70-100 per cent and the sunflower ones – 60-80 per cent.

According to the legal procedures, the farmers who had damages triggered by emergency situations with natural character must compile a damage inspection report. Based on this act, farmers should go to the Changer of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and take the Notification on the ascertaining of the impediment on non-fulfillment of the obligations, so that subsequently they go to banks, to creditors and cease the process of payment of penalties and executions.      

"This notification is essential, in order to justify the non-fulfillment of the contractual obligations for reasons of force majeure. The economic agents interested are invited to submit the applications in electronic format or physically, in order to initiate the procedure of getting this notification. The procedure of notifications’ release is to be enforced within the commercial contractual relations, in which at least one side is subject of the entrepreneurial activity and in which the sides of such a contract agreed in written form the ascertaining by CCI,’’ Vladimir Bolea said.    

The July month was characterized by a wave of continuous extending and boosting heat and the air temperature oscillated at about +40 Celsius degrees, against the background of the lack of precipitation. The Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry set up a working group, made up also of researchers, in order to manage the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, as a result of the climate changes.