Of the over 900,000 agricultural farmsteads existing in Moldova, 848,600 are active, which means that crops are grown or animals and fowl are kept there, IPN reports, quoting the data of the first agricultural census presented by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The farms cover 2.24 million hectares. According to the head of the Bureau’s Census Division Vasile Pentelei, the average agricultural area per person is 0.54 hectares. “These data speak about the portioning of the farmland, which does not enable to implement modern technology in the agricultural sector. Significant areas are not cultivated because the land is situated far away or the owners are old and do not have power or simply do not want to cultivate it because the incomes are low,” said Vasile Pentelei.

Mihai Suvac, division head at the Agriculture Ministry, said the privatization of land should have been followed by the consolidation of land. In order to stimulate the farmers in this respect, the state provides subsidies that cover the costs of notarial services and registration of land at the Cadastre Office.

National Bureau of Statistics deputy director general Vitalie Valcov said the data collected within the census will be useful not only for formulating state policies in agriculture, but also for creating the Register of Agricultural Units so as to carry out new statistical researches in agriculture.

The first agricultural census taken in Moldova between March 15 and April 15 met the Eurostat standards and the recommendations of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The results were made public on May 30.