Farmers must prove they can absorb European funds, Minister

Beginning in 2014, Moldovan farmers could obtain funding through the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). The announcement was made by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov who returned from his visit in Brussels. According to him, Moldova has a great agricultural potential with 1.8 million hectares (58% of territory) of good farming lands. He stressed that before the EU announces the amount of funding, in 2014, the Moldovan farmers must prove their willingness to practice more efficient agriculture, to offer competitive products on the market and to absorb the funds, Info-Prim Neo reports. In Brussels, the Minister attended a meeting at which the program, designed for countries in the Eastern Partnership and the so-called “Arabian Spring”, was presented. Vasile Bumacov thinks that harnessing European funds is an issue that must be solved. Among the sectors that could be financed through the ENPARD, Vasile Bumacov highlighted the stock raising. “It is a field for which we increased subventions, but we need more funds to revive it. This is necessary not only for increasing the milk and meat production, but also that of biomass energy and to provide enough organic fertilizers for fields. It will help diversify cultures and practice efficient crop rotation”, he explained at a press conference. Bumacov considers animal husbandry a key sector and estimates that up to 50% of the structural funds could go to it. Other areas that could benefit from ENPARD funds include agriculture with high added value, growing vegetables in greenhouses, plating intensive orchards, building refrigerators and packing houses, etc. “We suggested the EU specialized authorities that we host an ENPARD conference in autumn. The farmers will then find more about it and prepare better to propose interesting projects and absorb ENPARD funds”, said the Minister. ENPARD will be implemented between 2014 and 2020. Until then, several pilot projects will be ran in Moldova to test the way funds are used and their impact on agriculture and rural development. The conditions for Moldova’s eligibility for EU funding are continuing reforms in agriculture and strengthening the capacity of the Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture, which will manage ENPARD funds in Moldova.