---
title: "Moldova cuts agriculture staff while shielding EU farm agency "
url: https://moldova1.md/p/86964/moldova-cuts-agriculture-staff-while-shielding-eu-farm-agency
published: 2026-10-06T05:20:00Z
language: en
author: "Liubomir Guțu"
section: "Political"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Moldova cuts agriculture staff while shielding EU farm agency 

> Moldova's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry will cut staff across subordinate agencies while preserving its subsidy body to protect European Union accession criteria, Agriculture Minister Eugeniu Osmochescu said on Monday.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/70b789ba-9d96-4474-9ec8-966520358fcf.jpg)

Moldova's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry will cut staff across subordinate agencies while preserving its subsidy body to protect European Union accession criteria, Agriculture Minister Eugeniu Osmochescu said on Monday.

The restructuring responds to a broader government spending review ordered by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan on Sept. 22. The directive requires public institutions to reduce overhead costs and generate savings to help finance household energy compensation during the upcoming winter season.

**Protecting EU payment accreditation**

Osmochescu said the institutional footprint of the ministry will remain intact, with cuts focused strictly on headcounts rather than dissolving operational agencies. However, the country's farm subsidy distributor will be entirely exempt from downsizing.

*“Efficiency measures will apply across all subordinate institutions except the Agriculture Intervention and Payments Agency (AIPA), which remains untouched to secure European integration and upcoming accreditation so it can continue disbursing payments to farmers,”* Osmochescu said during a broadcast on Radio Moldova.

The ministry plans to achieve its sharpest personnel reduction by automating the national anti-hail service. Officials expect modernised operations will shrink the unit from nearly 1,000 workers to approximately 100.

**Broader civil service retrenchment**

The ministry is also reviewing state enterprises and four international project implementation units, having already merged one research institute from five predecessor bodies. Total savings remain uncalculated while bureaucratic reorganisations are finalized, Osmochescu noted.

The initiative mirrors an administrative review across 161 public bodies employing roughly 52,000 people. Prime Minister Tofan asked agency chiefs to reduce staffing levels by 10% to 30% and accept voluntary cuts to executive salaries.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**

***
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