00:00As the spring sun slowly begins to warm the soil, the familiar sound of farm machinery has returned to Moldova's
00:07fields.
00:08Here in Criolen, about 40 kilometres northeast of the capital Kisinau,
00:13farmers are racing to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions and to begin work for the new season.
00:19We are going to plant the plants, the plants, the plants, the plants.
00:27Sunflowers are just one of many crops grown in Moldova.
00:30Others include cereals, industrial crops, fruit and vegetables.
00:35Indeed, about 75% of the country's territory is used for agriculture.
00:39Farmers say that the past winter was favourable and that soil moisture levels are sufficient,
00:45which would normally make them confident of a good harvest.
00:48But this year, there's another factor that could jeopardise the season, the rising cost of diesel.
00:54The price has already gone up by over 40% as a result of shortages caused by hostilities in the
00:59Middle East.
01:00There are hard jobs, there are hard jobs.
01:02If it's hard to do, it depends.
01:05But if it's hard to do, it's consumption.
01:09It's about 200 pounds, it's about 200 pounds per liter per liter.
01:14The price has been paid for it, and the price has been paid for it.
01:19And many farmers don't have the motorists.
01:26And when it's done, it's hard to get paid for it.
01:32Eugen Sprunchan's family manages over a thousand hectares of farmland.
01:37He fears that he may not make a profit this season,
01:40and won't be able to repay loans taken out for equipment.
01:44It's not all for the motorists.
01:46We don't have to adapt the motorists.
01:47We have to adapt the motorists, to adapt the transport.
01:49We're now to get rid of pesticides, seeds, and we're going to adapt the whole plant.
01:59I don't know why we have a feeling, that it's going to be big, but our product will remain at
02:04the same price or it will be fixed.
02:07Vasile Pleșca is using a small excavator to install an irrigation pipeline for his orchard.
02:13He's also concerned about rising fuel prices.
02:17The price of the combustible is very big. It's small. It doesn't come out. You work, but you work. We
02:27don't think we can do it. We need to help. It's bad.
02:34The Moldovan authorities have promised farmers support.
02:37This help includes compensation and the reimbursement of excise duties on diesel purchased between March 1st and May 31st.
02:45However, farmers say these measures are quite simply too little, too late.
02:50Economist Marin Gospodarenko believes that the state should act faster as farmers urgently need financial resources to continue their work.
02:58When we talk about the future of the crisis, the crisis will continue.
03:07When it's short, the impact of the crop will reduce.
03:13When it's short, the impact of the crop will reduce.
03:15When it's short, the impact of the crop will be consistent.
03:19It will reflect on the crops, vegetables, fruits and vegetables.
03:25The harvest not only feeds the population of Moldova.
03:27It also accounts for 45% of the country's exports, with walnuts, plums and wine, among the most valued products.
03:35The agricultural sector also provides thousands of jobs in rural areas.
03:40We are a country that moves towards the European Union.
03:43In many states of the European Union, the motorway will return to the motorway or not.
03:51We receive the motorway without the motorway.
03:53We receive the motorway without the motorway.
03:58No one knows how hostilities in the Middle East will develop and how long fuel prices will remain high.
04:04But for now, Moldovan farmers hope that the state will intervene and support them through the crisis,
04:10allowing them to bring home a good harvest later in the year.
04:15Moldovan farmers hope that the sector will increase.
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