The will of Romanian farmers is that the Common Agricultural Policy remain separate from cohesion funds, because we do not want food to be conditioned by milestones and targets, as happened in the program that Romania had on resilience, the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, conveyed on Thursday to the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, present at the National Conference AGRI4FUTURE Romania - Objective 2035.
"First of all, I want to assure you that the Ministry of Agriculture and I, as Minister, have remained a loyal dialogue partner, you know this. It has always happened at the Ministry of Agriculture and, Commissioner, always when I participated in the AgriFish Council, I have conveyed the voice of Romanian farmers to the Council of Ministers. The will of Romanian farmers is one: that the Common Agricultural Policy remain separate from the cohesion funds. Why do I say this? We do not want food, like everything we produce in Romania, to be conditioned by milestones and targets, as happened in the program that Romania had on resilience. We want everything that Pillar 1 means, direct payments, subsidies, but also Pillar 2, the development part, to remain in the Common Agricultural Policy. "I want everything that means decisions on direct payments, but also on the development side, to be taken by us, the ministers, and by you in the Agrifish Council. I do not want - and no one does - and no farmer in this room wants to enter into competition with other areas. I have had this experience before, because when the resilience program was launched in Romania, agriculture received zero funds. (...) Commissioner (...), I want you to support us, because in the Agrifish Council the majority of states did not agree with this document put forward by the European Commission," said Barbu.
He pointed out that the budget allocated to Romania for agriculture is very small, 16.5 billion euros, compared to 21.8 billion euros, as it had in the 2014-2020 Strategic Program.
"You should know that the years 2023 and 2024 were extremely difficult, when the Romanian state came with forms of support, with compensation for the climate changes that we had, because Romania had over 2 million hectares of disaster, and this year in Romania we have around 700,000 hectares of disaster. We want to have clearly established funds and percentages in the new Agricultural Policy, through which we can promptly intervene with Romanian farmers on these compensations. We want investments in irrigation in Romania to continue, because they are no longer included in this document, we want to continue to develop all sectors, and we are talking about the vineyard sector, investments in reconversion are not found in this document, we want continued funding for this program, because it was a successful program," the minister said.
The head of Agriculture claimed that farmers do not want to sit with their hands outstretched to the governments or the European Commission, but want financial support to access loans.
"You should know that farmers in Romania do not want to sit with their hands outstretched to the governments or the European Commission. Romanians want us to create a financial part for them, a credit part, as happened in 2024, when we managed to grant loans with fixed interest rates within the framework of Ukraine, and the ROBOR and guarantees to be paid by the Romanian state. We want this mechanism included in the Common Agricultural Policy 2028-2034. You should know that Romania has currently made great efforts. A lot has been invested in processing, in livestock farms in Romania. Over 3 billion euros in contracts have been signed and we still want these projects to be completed," he stressed.
Florin Barbu also asked the European Commissioner not to cap support for farms.
"Romanian farmers have one more request for you: Do not cap the support on farms, because all farmers in Romania, but also in the European Union, relied on loans! When these loans were granted by the Romanian banking system, the income from the payment of subsidies was taken into account. A cap would lead to a disaster regarding the credit contracts that Romanian farmers have to pay in the next 5-10 years. Therefore, we must have a responsibility. I tell you that, together with you, we can re-establish this document, which will be a flexible document, a document that will not be cumbersome for Romanian farmers in accessing European funds starting with 2028. I am sure that, as I know you, and we had a discussion last night on certain aspects to support the agricultural sector in Romania, but also in the European Union, that together we will create those financial mechanisms for Romanian farmers," he explained.
The food security of both Romania and the EU is ensured by farmers, but financial frameworks and predictability are needed for the next 10 years.
"I want to assure you that everything we discussed, everything I said in the AgriFish Council regarding the 2028-2034 Agricultural Policy was following the discussions I had with farmers in the regions of Romania, but also with the associative forms. Know that without these investments - and I believe that you and I, as responsible people, as statesmen, want food security - know that food security is not done by a single person or a group of people. The food security of Romania and the European Union is done by farmers. Farmers can ensure food security if we create financial frameworks for them, and Romanian farmers have predictability in the next 10 years", added the head of the MADR.
Florin Barbu emphasized that Romania's greatest wealth remained agriculture, which is currently the only viable economic engine.
"I want to tell you, Commissioner, that Romania's greatest wealth remains agriculture. At the moment, the only viable economic engine that still works in Romania is agriculture. This was done with the help of Romanian farmers. I still want and insist, and it is the voice of Romanian farmers, that the Common Agricultural Policy remain separate from the cohesion funds," Barbu reiterated.
The Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, and the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, participated on Thursday at the National Conference AGRI4FUTURE Romania - Objective 2035, organized by the Romanian Farmers Club.
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