The Republic of Moldova faces a void in the development of rural economy. Such a state of affairs creates a series of economic and social problems, said the coordinator of the Functional Market Economy Department of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Viorel Chivriga. The expert, together with the executive director of the Foreign Policy Association (APE) Victor Chirila, staged a press club meeting entitled “Implementation of the EU’s LEADER program must become an essential condition for promoting rural development in the Republic of Moldova” at IPN News Agency.
According to Viorel Chivriga, the European view on rural development was analyzed and it was established that there is a void in this regard in Moldova. “We discuss many problems, but do not witness concrete accomplishments and solutions that would eliminate negativism. These problems are related to the rather frail economic activity in villages, massive exodus of the population that will continue until there are no decent conditions for those who live in rural areas, lack of specialization, disappearance of non-agricultural traditions and activities,” said the analyst.
He also said that the local public administration, business community, some of the central institutions that can suggest solutions and all those who consider that they should contribute to the development of rural areas must represent the driving force of rural development.
Viorel Chivriga formulated several proposals for achieving these goals. “First of all, there should be initiative. The joining of efforts, capacities and resources we have to generate changes in each region is a safe method of bringing about changes,” he stated.
“The EU’s LEADER program is designed to develop the rural environment and to fill these gaps in the Republic of Moldova. The local action groups that could be created as a result of the implementation of this program will start small businesses, will renovate the local infrastructure, will organize small festivals to promote the community and will create attractions for local and foreign tourists,” said the APE executive director Victor Chirila.
A group of Moldovan experts and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry paid a fact-finding visit to Estonia within which they established contacts with representatives of the LEADER network. As a result of the visit, seminars to inform public opinion about the essence of this European program and the opportunities opened up by it will be staged in Moldova.
In this connection, the organizers of the press club meeting said they will make effort to inform the people in all the regions of Moldova and the local public administration and will discuss with members of the business community which should be engaged in modernization and rural development. They will also cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry in this regard.
The press club meeting was held within the project “Strengthening the institutional capacities of local authorities in the area of rural development” that is implemented by the APE with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.
