The Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, speaks in his own language or refuses to see reality. Although his mandate may end with the government rotation, the farmers have been on the streets for several days and are demanding 12th hour solutions.
For Petre Daea, the fact that Romania receives less money from Brussels is sad, but not serious. The truth is that it didn’t even take much effort to convince European officials that we deserve a chance in this time of border war. The farmers are dissatisfied and reproached the Minister of Agriculture for not doing anything for Ukrainian grain to remain in our country to prevent Romanian farmers from selling their goods. And yet, although the kilogram of wheat is traded between 1.3 and 1.5 lei per kilogram, the price of bread rose again and reached 8-10, almost double the pre-war period.
“A solution had to be found to release grain from Ukraine, knowing the large areas of the world where the need for food is at home,” said the Minister of Agriculture.
In fact, the Minister of Agriculture would not have submitted the necessary documentation to obtain the money from the European Commission. While the farmers are struggling with the fact that they have no one to sell their milk, cereals, or fruits and vegetables and are losing money, Romanians are buying these imported products at ever higher prices.
The Farmers’ Force Association proposes the assumption of a National Pact for the Agri-Food Sector by all parties and all representatives of the associative environment. Moreover, the AFF proposes that the signing of the pact “automatically means the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture in white”, a resignation that will take effect when “one of these measures is not implemented on time or according to the agreement”.
“I have seen in the case of Poland that when there is a 100% political commitment to solving farmers’ problems, solutions are found, bilaterally or at the European level, without the total support for Ukraine, in the context of the war with Russia, being affected in any way. That is why AFF members believe that the time has come for such a National Pact for the Agri-Food Sector. The Farmers’ Force Association will propose a set of measures for the next 16-18 months, for the vegetable sector – large crops, horticulture, animal husbandry, as well as for the processing area and food industry. We will urgently send official letters to all party presidents and to all presidents of farmers’ associations, including the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation, inviting them to start, together, this process of negotiating a National Pact for the Sector Agrifood”, said Vlad Macovei, the president of the Farmers’ Force Association.
The farmers say that Minister Daea gives them justice, but does nothing to help them.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer – let alone a satisfactory one. You also saw the reaction of the minister (Petre Daea al Agriculturii, no), he gives us everything right, but forgets that he is actually the one who has the intervention mechanisms and, through him, we can win and do justice to the farmer Romanian”, said farmer Răzvan Filipescu.
Minister Petre Daea holds on to his chair and says he is with the farmers. At last Friday’s protest, there were mobilizations all over the country, and the reaction of the Minister of Agriculture is laughable:
“I also protest and tell them that I am with them, this is how I started and I will always be with the farmers. And I say to them: Dear farmers, I was, am and will remain with you. We respect you for your work and we are making huge efforts on the part of the Government so that we can mitigate the negative effects of the moment”, the minister added.
Last month, the European Commission granted a package of 56.3 million euros for Bulgarian, Polish and Romanian farmers, 10 million of which was returned to our country. A tiny amount, compared to the loss of 200 million euros calculated by Romanian farmers. Poland received almost 30 million euros, Bulgaria almost 16 million euros, and Romania only 10 million euros.
The farmers
