EU offers €8.5 million to strengthen the resilience of farmers in Moldova
The European Union is providing €8.5 million to modernize and strengthen the resilience of Moldova’s agriculture. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed on Friday, September 5, in Chișinău.
The memorandum establishes cooperation between the EU, the Czech Republic, and Poland, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA), to implement a four-year project. Of the total budget, the EU contributes €7.5 million, while the Czech Republic contributes €1 million.
Implementation will be managed by the Czech Development Agency and the Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova, with support from the Latvian Center for Rural Advisory and Training.
The project aims to promote the use of drought- and flood-resistant seed varieties, introduce new laboratory tests for soil quality assessment, support precision and eco-friendly farming practices, and create a digital Organic Agricultural Registry.
It also seeks to strengthen the AKIS system to enhance innovation and knowledge transfer in agriculture and implement the AMIS system to enable more efficient monitoring of agricultural markets and risk management in the sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the agricultural sector faces major challenges affecting farmers’ development and competitiveness, requiring solutions to overcome them.
“The launched project focuses on two main directions: supporting farmers in applying sustainable agricultural practices and strengthening their resilience to shocks, including climate-related ones, as well as digitalizing and modernizing sector processes. The project also contributes to developing the knowledge and innovation system, along with mechanisms for market and risk monitoring,” MAIA noted.
“We hope that by the end of this project, the agri-food sector will be more resilient, able to integrate innovation, technology transfer, and investments, while contributing to food security and Moldova’s European integration,” said Adam Grodzicki, Deputy Head of the Cooperation Section of the European Union Delegation to Moldova.
“Moldovan farmers are pragmatic and results-oriented, so solutions must be tested and adapted to local realities. The project goes beyond technology transfer by providing financial support so farmers can immediately apply the knowledge gained. This is the only way to succeed,” said Michal Mincev, Director of the Czech Development Agency.
Justyna Janiszewska, representing Poland, added that Moldova remains a priority country in Poland’s development cooperation programs. “We aim to support rural entrepreneurs and contribute to Moldova’s better integration into the European space. European solidarity and unity have brought prosperity, and now we want to share this experience here as well.”
