“Romania is currently granted subsidies for 8.7 million hectares, while the country’s total area of farmland stands at 14.7 million hectares. We demanded that subsidies be granted for at least 10.2 million hectares,” said Matei, who participated in a meeting with the audit mission of the European Court of Auditors, which took place at the headquarters of the Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture (APIA).
Matei pointed out that farmers will be affected if the European Commission decides to grant subsidies for an area of at most 1,000 hectares per farm, as Romanian farms vary in size from 50 hectares to 10,000 hectares.
FNPAR also asked for new policies regarding financial allocations for untilled farmland. The federation said funds should be allotted only for farmland under a soil rehabilitation process, and the difference should be granted to farmers who cultivate their land.
FNPAR was set up in 2007 and is the most significant local federation of employers in the agriculture sector.