Romania's neglected agriculture

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu wants to make Romania Europe's second-largest producer of agricultural products after France. During a visit to Romania's poorest region, Moldavia, he urged farmers to make more applications for European subsidies. Florian Bichir comments: "The hope that Europe's Eldorado will solve the problems is a cheap political promise. Do you know any normal farmers who know how to gain access to European funding schemes? How many of them have Internet access? So much money has been taken back simply because people didn't apply for it. ... Romania's agriculture is in a state of ruin. The property reform has split the yields into tiny pieces; the destruction of the irrigation systems has created new deserts. While dry countries like Greece and Turkey are reaping good harvests, our crops are failing. There are no subsidies and no Romanian products in the supermarkets. Can one still talk of an agricultural sector under such conditions?"

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