Moldova's Farmers Hope to Sell Produce in World Market
FrontLines - March 2010
By Erin Concors
Farmers in Moldova—a
Maryland-sized former Soviet
region whose 4.4 million people
are Europe’s poorest—will get
help growing and selling produce
for domestic and lucrative
European markets under a new
USAID project funded in part by
the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC).
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Emilia Bazii, a small farmer in central Moldova, introduced drip
irrigation and new, higher-yielding tomato varieties in her greenhouse
production with USAID support.
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The project, to be
administered by USAID, will
improve the competitiveness
of Moldovan fresh fruits and
vegetables. The Agricultural
Competitiveness and Enterprise
Development Project (ACED) is
part of a $262 million MCC
grant that also funds road
construction, irrigation, and
financing. This is the first time
that USAID and MCC will be
co-funding a joint technical
assistance program under an
MCC compact grant.
Moldova—which borders
Romania—has a climate favorable
to growing fruits and vegetables,
and its economy has historically
relied heavily on agriculture.
“Moldova’s rich agricultural
soil is a valuable natural
resource,” said Susan Kutor,
USAID’s acting country program
officer for Moldova.
But the crops from small and
medium farms did not meet the
standards of European markets.
Growers needed not only access
to these new markets, but also
training on how to sell their
goods there.
In response, a previous USAID
program helped small farmers
increase profits 200 to 500 percent
by using modern technology, high
quality seeds, and sound agricultural
practices in growing fresh
fruits and vegetables. The project’s
100 demonstration test plots
showed tangible results.
The new program will help
Moldovan farmers continue to
shift to high-value agriculture at
a critical time: USAID and MCC
research has demonstrated that
there are gaps in regional and
world markets that producers
can fill, given the right education
and training.
“The market has changed,
and Moldovan producers need
to better understand what
today’s market is, and how they
can compete in that market,”
Kutor said.
New leaders in Moldova’s
Ministry of Agriculture support
the development of high value
agriculture.
The MCC compact will
improve irrigation, which will
help overcome setbacks from
recent droughts. Additionally,
MCC will fund improvements to
a major road in northeast Moldova,
easing transport of goods
and services.
“This partnership represents
an evolutionary milestone in the
USAID-MCC relationship that
leverages the strengths of both
organizations and capitalizes on
USAID’s long-term presence in
Moldova,” said Janina Jaruzelski,
the director of USAID’s
regional mission for Ukraine,
Belarus, and Moldova.
Kutor added: “USAID brings
long-standing experience in agriculture
sector reform, and private
sector and policy development
in Moldova to the table.”
USAID and MCC collaboration
in Moldova extends beyond
this project. Moldova achieved eligibility for its MCC compact
by improving its performance on
the control of corruption indicator
with support from a threshold
program financed by MCC and
carried out by USAID. Although
that program ended with the new
compact, USAID continues to
mainstream anti-corruption measures
into its programs to support
Moldova’s continued eligibility
for MCC assistance.
This complementary programming
by USAID and MCC
to support democratic governance
and sustainable agriculture in Moldova is an
example of a “whole-of-government”
approach for better
development results.
★
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