Ion Rață, director of the International Consortium “Implementation of Innovative Projects”, said that the Republic of Moldova has the potential to develop and this can be found in practically all the areas. According to him, agriculture is one of the main directions of modernization of the country. In a news conference hosted by IPN, Ion Rață said that in order to become a prosperous country, all the citizens must make an effort. The country can no longer go back to the times when obsolete technologies were used, but must focus on innovative technologies in all the fields.

The director of the International Consortium “Implementation of Innovative Projects” noted that today there are no domestic agricultural products in all the stores, especially large ones. These products are mostly imported because the agricultural producers in the country are unable to cope with the competition. They do not have processing, packaging, labeling, advertising technologies and thus lag behind. All this happens at a time that the quality of domestic products is clearly superior to the imported ones.

Ion Rață said that efforts need to be made to overcome the created situation. “We have fertile land. Even the irrigation systems that were destroyed in the 1990s are being renovated. Agriculture today is one of the main directions of development of Moldova. I would also like to mention here a very important element – innovation. We have a number of participations in large international competitions with Moldovan products that bring valuable prizes. You all know the story of wine that was recognized as the best. Likewise, you know about the great international cosmetics contest. Our factory brought two highest awards. You should not be surprised, but these cosmetic components are made from hemp oil or butter, which haven’t been legalized in Moldova yet,” stated Ion Rață.
 
Ioan Puiu, of the National Association of Industrial Hemp Producers of Romania, said that all the industrial hemp growers in Romania are organized in an association that aims to promote the cultivation and processing of this plant. In Romania, there are very good weather conditions for the cultivation of industrial hemp and the conditions are similar in the Republic of Moldova. In Romania, hemp is grown on an area of 1,500-3,000 hectares, depending on the orders that come from the processing industry. “I would be very happy if our counterparts could also produce industrial hemp, as they produce wheat and corn, have the same legislation as Romania has or maybe even better, because now you benefit from the European experience. I think it is a right of farmers to produce plants that are more special and that allow farmers to have more consistent incomes,” stated Ioan Puiu.

In another development, doctor of technical sciences, associate professor Tatiana Capcanari from the Technical University of Moldova, said that the valorization of biologically active compounds from local agri-food waste is her main research direction. According to her, Moldova is an agricultural country that annually accumulates thousands of tonnes of agri-food waste following the processing of vegetable raw materials, but these are not fully exploited. “For example, after obtaining vegetable oil, a by-product remains as a result of oil extraction, the so-called oilseed meal or cake. In fact, it has a complex chemical composition and high nutritional value. The purpose of the research is to improve the research potential of existing foods and create new products with increased biological value,” stated Tatiana Capcanari.

Note: The press conference was held within the project “Double integration through cooperation and information. Continuity”, funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova. The content of this conference does not represent the official position of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova.