Farmers in the south of the country are asking for a meeting with President Maia Sandu and Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu over the next 10 days to examine the need to implement an action plan to save the agricultural sector. A relevant petition signed by about 60 farmers was submitted to the President’s Office, IPN reports.

The farmers propose declaring a state of emergency in the southern districts of the country, namely Cahul, Vulcănești, Cantemir, in the agricultural sector, with the application of a moratorium on the calculation of penalties and forced execution by banks and input suppliers and the request for foreign aid from development partners.

Another request is for the NBM to initiate a dialogue with commercial banks and introduce a farm loan with a fixed rate of maximum 5% for final beneficiaries for a period of 10 years, with a one-year vacation and the possibility of extending the loan in case of natural disaster.

The farmers also demand the adoption of a clear, long-term mechanism for granting compensation to agricultural producers in case of natural disasters in agriculture, but also the approval of the investment loan for the renovation of agricultural farms, similar to the investment loans in other states.

The petition notes that the farmers in Cahul district sustained enormous losses in the past three years. In 2024 alone, the affected area of the first group crops totals 19,400 hectares, and the value of the damage is over 134 million lei. For the second group of grains, the figures are not available. According to farmers, the situation has practically paralyzed the commercial activity of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and high production prices and low prices for agricultural products have brought farmers to the brink of bankruptcy.