October 23, 2007

Cattle farmers in Romania call for higher subsidies

 

 

About 150 cattle farmers in Romania on Monday (October 22) have poured milk on the ground and rang bells that are sounded in funerals as a sign of protest in urging the government for higher subsidies.

 

Stefan Nicolae, chairman of one of the country's trade unions attended the Bucharest protest outside the Agriculture Ministry and stressed that Romanian cattle breeders were looking for an additional of US$127 per head of cattle for farmers who have three cows or bulls.

 

He said the subsidy would apply to about 90 percent of farms in the country.

 

The government's offer is US$102.

 

Nicolae said that 600,000 cattle were not officially registered, which could lead to some breeders not receiving subsidies.

 

The country's agriculture minister, meanwhile, travelled to Brussels to try to persuade European Union officials that Romania would strengthen its oversight of EU payments to farmers.

 

Meanwhile, Romania's Agriculture Minister Dacian Ciolos went to Brussels after the EU threatened this month to withhold US$155.5 million in farm handouts to Romania if it did not improve its oversight of the payments to its farmers.

 

EU officials gave Bucharest until November to improve controls and auditing of its EU aid through the adoption of new computer software and other necessary measures. Romania joined the EU on January 1.

 

Almost half of Romania's 22 million citizens live in rural areas, and agriculture generates up to 70 percent of income in rural areas, according to a World Bank study.

 

The ministry has allocated US$178 million next year in subsidies for all animal farmers, according to national news agency Rompres.

 

The farmers said the protest would last for two days and have threatened a larger rally at the end of November if the government does not increase subsidies.