Moldovan farmers blocked the Leuseni highway and blocked customs on the border with Romania, demanding that the authorities pay attention to their problems, Realitatea reports on its Telegram channel.
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“The customs office in Leuseni is completely paralyzed. We are waiting for representatives of the government, parliament – all those who have the power to make decisions here on the spot,” one of the protesters said.
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Protests by farmers began on February 8 in the south of Moldova, and then in other areas. Last weekend, more than 30 tractors blocked the road at the Leuseni border post. As the Power of Farmers association stated, farmers demand that the government immediately begin a dialogue with them and allocate $22 million as compensation to enterprises affected by the crisis.
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In January, Moldovan agricultural producers demanded to ban road transport of grain and oilseeds from Ukraine and leave only rail transport. Farmers complain about huge queues of trucks at the border with Romania, most of which are in transit from Ukraine. As a result, the delay costs farmers a lot of money.
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Last year, farmers protested from July to August, in November they came to Chisinau again on tractors and stayed there until mid-December. They asked the authorities to introduce a moratorium on debt fines for grain producers and increase financial assistance to the sector affected by drought and falling prices. In addition, they want access to European sectoral funds and demand an increase in the national agricultural development fund. These requirements must be met by the end of March.