Ungheni district is joining a three-year pilot project, funded by Italy, that prepares small and medium-sized farmers for the agricultural rules of the European Union. The District Council announces that Ungheni is one of the two districts selected nationwide for the programme. The post does not name the other district.
The first meeting took place on 21 October. The district president, Dionisie Ternovschi, and representatives of the District Council met Vladimiro Buso, the project’s international coordinator on behalf of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. According to the District Council, the short-term priority actions and the first steps for work on the ground were set.
What the project is
The official name is “Support to the Government of the Republic of Moldova for alignment with the EU acquis in agriculture and rural development”. It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and the experts come from CIHEAM Bari.
In the AICS public registry, the project is listed as in implementation, with 4 million euros committed for 2026, of which 949,130 euros had been disbursed as of 21 October. The ministry had announced the same amount of 4 million, according to the Moldpres agency. The amount covers the whole project, not just the two pilot districts.
The AICS record describes four lines of work:
- association of small farmers into cooperatives and associations;
- production: more of it and of better quality, through the distribution of inputs, mechanisation and irrigation systems;
- processing: food safety, quality and commercial standards, the sale of cooperatives’ products and the link with the associative system in Italy;
- administration: support for authorities to propose rules and services compliant with EU legislation.
What farmers in the district get
The District Council writes that, in Ungheni, the project will help farmers learn the legal framework related to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and adapt their products to European quality and food safety standards. Trainings, courses and experience exchanges with experts from Italy and other EU states have been announced.
As of 21 October, the selection criteria, the way farmers can sign up, the number of beneficiaries and the share of the budget going to Ungheni district had not been made public. The District Council says it will provide further information as the project progresses.