Moldovan farmers demand real support
Several hundred farmers from across Moldova gathered outside the government building in Chișinău, blocking nearby streets and chanting slogans.
They arrived with tractors, flags and placards. The rally had been approved in advance by the authorities. Still, the message from the crowd was unlikely to please the ruling party.
For months, farmers have been waiting for answers from the government. They say none have come. Judging by the mood outside the cabinet building, their patience has run out.
The farmers are asking for state support so they can continue working the land. Their main demands include cancelling VAT on fuel or introducing compensation, raising purchase prices for crops, protecting Moldovan products on the EU market, and defending local producers from cheap imports, including from Ukraine.
Alexandru Ciobanu: promises are not enough
Speaking outside the government building, Alexandru Ciobanu, head of the Forța Fermierilor association, explained why farmers had come to Chișinău.
“Today, May 27, 2026, we are in front of the government building,” Ciobanu said. “We have gathered to demand an answer from the authorities to the demands we have been raising for several months. So far, we have received no concrete result.”
According to him, real financial support from the state is almost absent.
“There is effectively no financial support from the authorities,” he said. “Nothing real has been proposed only empty promises that have not been fixed in law and are not backed by real measures for farmers.”
At the centre of the dispute is a proposed 20% rate. Farmers say it does not solve their problems. Instead, it only raises more questions.
“The initiative under discussion on the 20% rate does not solve the accumulated problems,” Ciobanu said. “At the moment, there are no concrete actions and no positive response from the authorities for agricultural producers. In these conditions, farmers insist on the need for a general and fair solution.”
Farmers warn protests could grow
The list of demands is not new. However, farmers have now added more specific requests.
According to discussions behind the scenes, they are no longer asking only for subsidies. They want a clear payment schedule. Many fear they will not survive another sowing season. If that happens, fields may simply remain empty.
Among the slogans heard outside the government were:
“Write off debts – save the land!”
“Enough promises, give us the money!”
The head of Forța Fermierilor has already warned that if the authorities do not listen today, protests will continue. The next one, he said, could be twice as large.
For the government, this is no longer just an agricultural dispute. It is a test of whether PAS can still hear the countryside before the countryside stops waiting for answers.
