The APPR Forum will organize a large protest in Bucharest and in various representative areas of the country. List of main claims.

May 10, 2024 – Considering that all the efforts of our association to solve the urgent problems of the agricultural sector through dialogue have resulted in an impressive apathy at the level of the decision-making authorities, the APPR Forum will organize, on May 27, 2024, a large protest in Bucharest and in various representative areas of the country.

The challenges faced by farmers in Romania during this period are extremely numerous, therefore the members of the APPR Forum consider it essential to resolve, with speed, at least the following aspects:

1. The undertaking of all steps to amend, in the Civil Code, the provisions regarding the minimum duration of the lease contract and the regulation of a minimum duration of it at least 7 years until the end of June 2024.

The APPR FORUM, together with other relevant organizations, contributed with explanations and made available to the legislator the necessary information for a better understanding of the urgency represented by the amendment of the regulation regarding the duration and conditions of the lease contract. However, the proposal was rejected because two (!!!) votes were missing.

I participated in countless meetings with the competent authorities, I debated this topic that I considered exhausted and of course, fully understood by the decision-makers; we have allocated time and resources to ensure that farmers’ perspectives and problems caused by lease instability and land stock inconsistencies are properly understood and dealt with accordingly. I also explained how important this amendment to the Civil Code is to encourage medium and long-term investments. The Romanian village needs investments, they are made only in conditions of predictability and stability and for this reason an updated legislative framework is needed.

WE, the farmers, will continue to suffer, in the absence of this regulation, the consequences of the immature decision to reject the amendment: we will not be able to apply the eco-schemes (because it is not possible to switch to conservative agriculture from one year to another), it is not possible to develop, seriously, the ecological agriculture sector, investments in modern machinery cannot be amortized (for example, those that allow us to apply and expand the minimum works in order to protect the soils), a crop plan cannot be made, funds cannot be accessed European due to the period of monitoring and preservation of the surfaces and exploitation, the irrigation infrastructure cannot be developed;

2. Payment, as soon as possible, to farmers of the amount of 100 euros/ha for autumn crops established in 2022 and the extension of the measure for spring crops from 2023, given that the EU has just announced that it is extending the temporary framework “Ukraine” which it allows countries to more easily provide aid to farmers.

Since 2020, Romanian farmers have been facing a series of financial problems that we have tried, by all means, to make known to MADR and beyond. However, the decision-makers behave irresponsibly and delay, unjustifiably, the payment of these aids in vital places.

3. The immediate suspension of the national anti-hail protection system, until its efficiency and impact on agriculture will be presented CLEARLY in a detailed and objective scientific study, through which to follow the highlighting of the amount of precipitation, the monitoring of the trajectory of the missiles and the place of deflagration, as well as the shooting procedure as a whole.

The APPR Forum, in the effort to solve this situation, requests the identification of an impartial entity, with internationally recognized expertise, to carry out such research, aimed at evaluating the efficiency and usefulness of this system, which we can always recommend to the competent authorities. It is imperative that MADR act promptly and without fail to protect the interests of farmers and ensure the development of the agricultural sector in Romania.

In the current context of climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme phenomena, especially drought, it is obvious that Romanian agriculture faces multiple challenges and risks. In this sense, we need to evaluate, with speed, not only the effectiveness of the anti-hail system, but also how it interacts with other procedures related to risk management in agriculture, such as combating drought. A first step in improving the current situation is the adoption of a ministerial order to limit and strictly regulate the activity of the anti-hail system, at least in the counties of Prahova, Vrancea, Iași, Vaslui and Buzău.

4. Initiating in the shortest possible time (i.e. no later than the middle of the calendar year) the long-delayed consultations with the associative environment on the topic of implementing a systemic solution to manage the catastrophic risks faced by agriculture (of the safety net type), using the interventions and opportunities offered within the PAC National Strategic Plan, with the possibility of attracting contributions from both pillars (direct payments and rural development). We request support at the national and European level for innovative, cutting-edge solutions (including in the field of genetics research), capable of mitigating the effects of climate change in agriculture.

5. The priority identification and transparent allocation and on the principle of equal opportunities of national and European funds for the implementation of the National Program for the Rehabilitation of the Main Irrigation Infrastructure must represent the main objective of the national authorities. Creating a constant dialogue framework with the associative environment, to optimize the allocation of resources according to needs. We request, in the same context, the URGENT conclusion of the steps that make possible the transfer to the Water User Organizations of the irrigation systems that have not been completed and/or received, especially in areas with extreme drought (Dobrogea, the northern part of Moldova, Siret -Baragan) where they physically exist and could be irrigated.

6. Effective border protection mechanisms to ensure that Romanian farmers are not further penalized in relation to their international competitors. Regarding the renewal of autonomous trade measures in favor of Ukraine, we need solutions capable of addressing the major disruptions in agricultural markets over the past two years, while ensuring the necessary support for Ukrainian farmers.

The European Union has become a major outlet for goods of Ukrainian origin – and the efforts of the authorities must be channeled towards promoting solutions that maintain the production capacity of local farmers and ensure fair conditions of competition in terms of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures.

We call for the strengthening of inter-agency coordination and official controls on compliance with EU quality and production standards and the elimination of loopholes in the monitoring system of goods flows that could allow the illegal entry of agricultural goods of non-EU origin.

Source: FAPPR