Farmers threatening protests unless gov't meets their demands

The Alliance for Agriculture and Co-operation (AAC) will urgently initiate steps to organise an authorised nationwide protest unless the Ministry of Agriculture meets their demands, the organisation announced on Monday.AAC reportedly submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) a list of problems facing its members, farmers and co-operatives."AAC has also included in the list of requests clear deadlines for solution/implementation, which the Ministry of Agriculture, through Minister Florin-Ionut Barbu, should undertake during consultations scheduled to start today, Monday, January 15," AAC says.It adds that all these problems were brought to the attention of MADR and other government departments through numerous infos officially submitted over the past two years and beyond.The list of requests mentions the urgent payment of APIA subsidies to all farmers - direct payments and compensatory payments- with a deadline set for January 31, 2024 for schemes that do not meet other deadlines.The association also mentions derogations from good agricultural and environmental conditions of land (GAEC) standards 7 and 8 - GAEC 7 - crop rotation in arable land, except for crops growing under water - and GAEC 8 - devoting 4% of agricultural area to non-productive areas or feature - requesting clarification of the conditions under which the two GAECs apply or do not apply starting from the year of application 2023 - 2024, the deadline being January 23, 2024.The list also includes compensation of losses incurred on Romanian farmers by imports from Ukraine and the reintroduction of customs duties for goods of Ukrainian origin.AAC also mentions loans on subsidised interest for working capital and investment in farms, of a maximum interest margin of 2%.Also, among the demands is the additional use of the temporary Ukraine framework for the grant to all farmers of emergency support payments of 100 euros/ha to all agricultural crops in the agricultural year 2022-2023 (spring crops and autumn crops). The alliance also requests the promotion of an emergency ordinance to declare a state of force majeure in agriculture nationwide by May 31, 2024.The list also includes: undertaking the revision and adoption of the necessary legislation under the incumbent legislature regarding the minimum duration of land lease contracts, as well as the concession of pastures, granting state aid for subsidising fertilisers for agricultural use.AAC is also demanding subsidies for energy used for irrigation (deadline: January 31, 2024), the reintroduction of tax incentives for agricultural employees (deadline: June 30, 2024), clarification of the legislation for the payment of transitional national aid and coupled support in animal farming starting with the application year 2023 (deadline: January 31, 2024) and support for the dairy cow sector through a de minimis aid for the purchase of heifers (deadline: March 31, 2024).More demands regard subsidies based on evidence of agricultural activity to combat the collection of APIA amounts by people who do not do agriculture.Other relevant issues identified by the AAC member organisations are how to apply the legislation regarding the location of photovoltaics on agriculture land; the law on large carnivore hunting; analysing the way in which the Office of Land Registry and Real Estate Publicity (OCPI) implements legislation and court rulings with an impact on farmers (sale-purchase of land, cadastre, etc.); setting up and implementing an integrated agricultural risk management and control national system.