President Iohannis: It was imperative for Romania to manage to prevent swine flu. I hope it’s a learnt lesson which will lead to responsible actions and decisions

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said in the opening of the 23rd edition of the INDAGRA International Fair, that it was imperative for Romania to manage to prevent the African swine flu, while voicing hope that this would be a learned lesson, which will lead to responsible actions and decisions, so that the damages be avoided and the budget resources not be allocated for compensations, but for investments. “We all want to see an increase in performance in agriculture, zootechnical, in the food industry. Farmers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector invest continuously in increasing competitiveness and adjusting to the exigencies on the market. Which is precisely why they expect the state to manage responsibly the emergency situations the national authorities are supposed to deal with. In this respect, it was imperative for Romania to manage to prevent the African swine flu, which was a phenomenon that spread aggressively and uncontrollably. Despite the previous incidents and warnings, we were once again taken by surprise by the most serious pandemic the Romanian zootechnics had to deal with in the past years. I hope that, in the future, this will be a learnt lesson, which will lead to responsible actions and decisions, so that the damages be avoided and the budget resources not be allocated for compensations, but for investments,” reads the message of President Klaus Iohannis conveyed by Presidential Advisor Cosmin Marinescu. In this message, the head of state said that the force of some events such as INDAGRA prove that the trust in the capacity of entrepreneurs to capitalize on the huge potential that Romania has in agriculture is fully justified. He brought to mind that Romania will have the responsibility in the next interval to coordinate the establishment of the new Common Agricultural Policy. He underscores the importance of external competitiveness of the Romanian agri-food sector. “In the past years, the commercial deficit deepened more and more, with the most significant influence being, the same as last year, that of the trade with meat and meat products, and the one with vegetables and fruits. Moreover, in what concerns the foodstuffs, imports exceeded exports in all categories. (…) It is not enough to produce, to have good crops. It is essential we also to create, generate high added value. (…) Which is why we need to further promote, intelligently, the certified traditional products, in order to make them an authentic business card for the potential of our agriculture,” said Iohannis. The head of the state believes that support policies for the agriculture and the development of the Romanian village must be based, more and more, on the contribution of the younger generation. President Iohannis encourages debates in which farmers, specialists seek to identify concrete solutions to the existing challenges and opportunities. “I encourage the making of alternative policies to be proposed to the authorities. A truly healthy change comes from within the agriculture sector, from the people who are devoted to agriculture, and not necessarily from outside. Farmers are reliable people, people who are determined and hard-working, who put their heart in their work. I congratulate you for your consistency and determination of your efforts!,” he concluded.