Priorities of new USAID investments set at Ministry of Agriculture

Chisinau, Nov. 30 /MOLDPRES/- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will make over the next five years new investments in our country worth about 50 million dollars to support value-added agriculture, which includes the horticulture, beekeeping, ecological agriculture sectors, the wine industry and the tourism sector. The priorities and objectives of the program were considered at yesterday's meeting with a team of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA).

According to MAIA, to set out goals and priorities, the ministerial team had a working meeting with coordinators of the Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity in Moldova. During the discussions, Minister Vladimir Bolea mentioned the positive impact of previous projects implemented by USAID in the agricultural sector, appreciated the involvement and support offered by the American people in the development process of the agricultural sector in the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, the official said that the ministry will strengthen capacities to increase cooperation and communication between the institutions that manage fields related to agriculture.

"Increasing productivity in agriculture is a priority on the ministry's agenda. We want to have a competitive entrepreneurial environment able to provide agricultural products and services with high added value. For this reason, we believe that an increased emphasis must also be set on improving the level of training, including the dimensions associated with research and innovation", said Bolea.

The parties pointed out that the primary beneficiaries of the project will be agricultural producers, small wine producers, wineries in transition, businesses in the tourism sector, rural enterprises providing tourist services, sectoral associations and enterprises involved in the provision of agricultural inputs, processing, service provision, marketing, export storage. In the workforce development, the beneficiaries of the project will be educational and research institutions in the agriculture, viticulture and tourism and organizations that offer rural extension services. At the same time, the project includes the component of improving the legal and regulatory framework.

The project was meant to improve the sustainability of the country's agricultural sector by reducing the negative impact of climate change and aims to boost the sustainable and complex recovery of the Republic of Moldova, affected by the regional crisis.

Photo: MAIA