Some members of the Moldovan parliament also joined the action. Nicolae Gerasim, an entrepreneur and farmer from Neguren, reported about the protest in social networks. He urged the agrarians from Telenesti district to gather in the morning of January 6 to voice the problems they face. His appeal was actively disseminated in social networks.
Farmers mainly complain about serious difficulties in selling their products, growing debts, delays in paying subsidies, high prices for diesel fuel, as well as the dominance of imported products on the domestic market.
Vasile Costiuc, a deputy of the Democrația Acasă party, joined the protest.
“There are many vegetable growers here who grow carrots, onions, potatoes and other crops. People came out to protest because they cannot sell their products at home: the market is filled with imports, warehouses are full, and bailiffs come to them to take away equipment and property because of debts, while it is impossible to sell the goods. We proposed changes to the law on procurement – the PAS party, with a parliamentary majority, refused to vote. This would have been a life-saving measure for many farmers – an opportunity to sell products to kindergartens, schools and other state institutions, at least in this volume,” Kostyuk said.
Amid the protest on the national highway within the village of Negureni, police warned citizens about possible traffic difficulties on this section of the road and urged drivers to plan trips in advance and choose alternative routes. The law enforcement agencies emphasized that they respect the right to peaceful protest, but reminded of the need not to violate the right of other citizens to free movement.
Experts note that the problems of agrarians are also related to the lack of clear rules in relations with retail chains and insufficient state support.
“When imports become the benchmark price, and the state looks the other way, the result is predictable: low price for the producer, still high price for the consumer, and the difference is taken by the trade chain, but not by the farmer. Villages are left without their only source of income. There are already enough public signals that the idea of “quota of local products on the shelves” was considered formally, contradictory or declared “inappropriate”, while local producers continue to face closed doors and imposed conditions,” commentator Andrei Ionitsa said.
As previously wrote Logos Press, at the end of last year the PSRM initiative to oblige retail chains to provide at least 50% of domestic products on store shelves was discussed in Parliament. The bill caused controversy and was rejected by the majority of PAS in the Commission for Economy, Budget and Finance. The authorities said that instead of quotas, they are preparing an alternative solution – a law on short supply chains, which should stimulate the consumption of local products without import restrictions.
It should be noted that in France, amid mass protests of farmers, the government announced the suspension of imports of a number of agricultural products from South American countries to protect the domestic market and reduce pressure on national producers.
