Today I was in the Kavadarci settlement of Marena for a meeting with vine growers. The situation is catastrophic, vine growers are unhappy because they feel cheated and deceived by the government. The promised subsidies are too low and never reach the end-users. The promised incentive for vine growers promised before the election has not yet been paid. The situation on the ground in the Macedonian fields is quite different from what the government suggests from the air-conditioned and comfortable offices, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski wrote on Facebook after Friday’s visit of the vine growers in the Tikves region.

Additionally, the government threatens every dissatisfied vine grower, they exert pressures and threats that only prove their powerlessness. The government needs to be engaged and help vine growers with urgent additional measures. VMRO-DPMNE stays with the farmers, we support their demands and understand their troubles, he adds.

We hear the same thing we heard from rice producers in Kocani, that if the trend continues, the vineyards will easily be abandoned, Mickoski said after his visit.