Farmer from Dubasari district: Assistance of the Government is welcome, but often delayed
The owners of agricultural land located along the Râbnița-Tiraspol road will receive additional compensation of 2.6 million lei. The money will cover the expenses incurred by farmers as a result of illegal payments imposed by Tiraspol when transporting the harvest and seed material through unauthorized checkpoints in the Security Zone. The funds will reach the farmers' accounts by the end of the year, the chairman of the Dubasari District Council, Sergiu Grigoriev, told Teleradio-Moldova.
In all, the Government has allocated 4.6 million lei this year to support affected farmers. The first tranche, worth 2 million lei, benefited 26 farmers. The second, approved today by the Government, worth 2.6 million lei, would benefit 34 farmers, the chairman of the Dubasari District Council told Teleradio-Moldova.
The compensation will cover the costs borne by farmers, including the 0.3% customs duty imposed by the alleged Transnistrian authorities, the services of the Transnistrian broker and the road tax applied by the Tiraspol regime, the head of the Dubasari District Directorate, Sergiu Guvir, told Teleradio-Moldova. "These expenses will be compensated 100% to economic agents by the end of the year."
Farmer: Government aid welcome, but often delayed
"The government does a lot for the agricultural sector, but with delays," a farmer who owns and processes agricultural land along the Râbnița-Tiraspol road told the Public Broadcaster "Teleradio-Moldova".
"We participated in numerous discussions, both in Tiraspol and in Chisinau, including at the ministry, with Mr. Serebrian and the working group. We understand the complexity of the transnistrian issue and the fact that the Republic of Moldova must remain a unitary state. We are in favour of not giving in to positions unfavourable to the government of the Republic of Moldova, but we see delays in decisions.
(…) We are satisfied with the aid that the Government allocates for agriculture, but there are delays in some responses and from this point of view we have delays and we have losses."
Promo-LEX: Farmers in Dubasari district need systemic help
Farmers in Dubasari district need systemic help, given their vulnerability, Promo-LEX lawyer Vadim Vieru told Teleradio-Moldova. According to him, the subsidies granted by the Government “do not solve” the problems of farmers and the profit they could have had if they had operated freely.
“The aid should have been provided much earlier, in the spring, at least, and it should not have been requested aid, but systematic aid. (…) Farmers who have land along the Tiraspol-Dubăsari road are more vulnerable because they cannot make a budget plan, or purchase equipment, they always risk being left without property, whether it is machinery, seed material, or storage problems.
All this is caused by the actions of the Tiraspol administration, which uses this farmers’ file as a blackmail file with the Government of the Republic of Moldova and this has been happening for many years. Therefore, since the state cannot solve, to impose in dialogue with Tiraspol the solution of this problem, it is obliged to help farmers with subsidies and aid to alleviate the situation”.
The so-called authorities in the Transnistrian region imposed taxes on Moldovan farmers for access to their lands located beyond the Râbnița – Tiraspol road after the new Customs Code of the Republic of Moldova, which places economic agents on both banks of the Nistru on equal terms, entered into force.
We recall that, in July 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned the Russian Federation in the case of disputed agricultural lands on the left bank of the Nistru.
The High Court found a violation of the right of ownership or use over land quotas and ordered the collection of damages suffered by the claimants from the Russian Federation in a total amount of 2,499,300 million euros. The case was filed at the request of 1646 plaintiffs and three agricultural companies from Dubasari district, who were represented at the ECtHR by lawyers from the Promo-LEX Association.
The judgment has not been executed by the Russian Federation to this day.
