European Union to provide 9 million euros for rural development in Moldova

Chisinau, 20 February /MOLDPRES/- The Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment (MADRM) together with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECC) signed yesterday a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Austrian Agency for Development (ADA) and its partners in order to implement a rural development project, funded by the European Union. The program has a total value of about nine million euros.

The aim of the project is to increase the competitiveness of the domestic agri-food sector by integrating soybean culture into the national and global value chain, as well as strengthening the water and sanitation infrastructure in rural areas by safely disposing of wastewater in Cantemir.

Thus, by 2021, farmers, agricultural producers, processors, certification bodies, public institutions will benefit from training to improve innovation and education capacities in the field of agriculture in the country, increasing access to the internal and external market, use of accreditation and certification, adjusting policy documents and aligning the legal framework to EU quality standards.

"The first basic concern is to manage as much as possible the grant awarded by the European Union, very appropriate in the current difficult agricultural environment in the Republic of Moldova. We will be responsible for implementing the project, especially for activities related to increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector by integrating soybean culture into national and global value chains. We want to see a final quality product manufactured in Moldova for the internal and external market, including the European one, " Alexander Karner, head of the Austrian Development Agency's Cooperation Office in Chisinau, said.

In the context of the memorandum, Iurie Uşurelu, State Secretary of MADRM, said that "the ministry will ensure cooperation on the overall coordination of the EU funded project". "We are committed to ensuring the development of occupational standards, professional qualifications, curricula of technical vocational education in agri-food sector. These will be included as actions in the annual plans of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research for 2019, 2020 and 2021, "Igor Sharov, state secretary general of the institution, said.

By signing the document, MADRM, MECC and ADA agreed to jointly support mutually beneficial projects, as well as to promote new directions of cooperation and rural development in our country. The Memorandum highlights the basic principles, responsibilities and framework for the activities due to be carried out by the signatory parties.