A new dairy brand to be launched soon on the Moldovan market July 8, 2011
Assisted by a U.S. expert, the Vita-Lact cooperative from the village of Ignăţei, Rezina district, will soon develop a new dairy brand for its products. Paul Schmidt is an expert who will visit our country from July 5 till July 15 in order to voluntarily assist Moldovan agribusinesses, with the support of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, implemented in our country by the USAID-funded organization CNFA.
Paul Schmidt is a consultant on product packaging with an extensive experience in the field of more than 40 years. During his stay in Moldova, the expert will assist Vita-Lact cooperative in developing more attractive packages, logos, and dairy labels. Moreover, the expert will provide consultancy on packaging volume and categories. With further support from the U.S. expert, Vita-Lact will also develop a marketing campaign plan in order to promote the new cooperative dairy brand.
In the month of July, other three U.S. volunteers will pay visits to our country in order to provide free consultancy to local businesses. Thus, between July 8 and July 29, Joel Koonce, expert in business strategy development, will assist the fodder production cooperative Agro-Valion from the city of Cimişlia in financial data collection and yearly budget development. Joel Koonce will meet cooperative management in order to develop a coordinating mechanism for the financial data collection activity. The expert will review the yearly budgeting steps and provide support on developing writing standards for the monthly and quarterly reports, as well as for the company’s long-term financial plans.
The same cooperative will benefit from consultancy provided by Merle Anderson, U.S. expert in cooperative management and marketing, between July 11 and July 29. The volunteer will focus on developing a strategy and a business plan for the Agro-Valion cooperative.
Another U.S. expert, Elena Garcia, Ph.D., professor and extension agent for small scale fruit production from the University of Arkansas, will pay a visit to Moldova between July 13 and July 29.
Elena Garcia will consult Rotor Ltd from the village of Pârliţa, Făleşti district, on blackberry growing. Rotor Ltd will benefit from training on blackberry growing methods for future activity improvement and expansion. Elena Garcia will provide recommendations on blackberry varieties, planting schemes and optimum fields for blackberry growing. The volunteer will also provide consultancy on pest management and disease control, as well as on water and weed management.
The FtF program provides the farmers’ groups, cooperatives, and agribusinesses with the opportunity to benefit from free American consultancy in order to improve their performances, through a professional approach of technical and financial issues. The FtF assistance is focused on dairy, fruit, and vegetable production and processing. Besides helping their host organization, the U.S. experts provide free short-term consultancy to other farmers which apply for assistance during their stay in Moldova.
CNFA is an organization for international development from USA, established in 1985, which is dedicated to increasing rural incomes by empowering farmers and rural entrepreneurs. CNFA activity is focused on agricultural development based on initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and finance for businesses. CNFA has a successful track record of performance in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and has managed over $200 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs over the past decade. In the Republic of Moldova, CNFA is currently implementing the five-year Farmer-to-Farmer Program, worth $2.5 million, and has recently concluded the $12 million-worth Agribusiness Development Program.
For details please contact Nadejda MOCANU, Farmer-to-Farmer Program Coordinator (tel.: 022 240-311, 069 260-005), nmocanu@moldova.cnfa.org, www.cnfa.md) | 
