Moldovan agribusinesses are assimilating business modernization practices with the support of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program July 7, 2010
Several businesses from the Republic of Moldova will benefit from free consultancy provided by American experts on matters of product marketing via Internet, modernization of cow farms, and designing of efficient irrigation systems in July. For this purpose, three experts from the United States have been selected on a contest basis in order to voluntarily provide consultancy within the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FtF), implemented in our country by the USAID-funded organization CNFA.
With the support of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, Jasha Levenson, marketing and web page development expert from Maryland, USA, will visit Moldova between July 1 and July 17 in order to provide assistance to the Vita-Lact cooperative from the village of Ignăţei, Rezina. The volunteer will work together with the cooperative management in order to develop the structure and the design of the Vita-Lact website. The expert will also train the cooperative employees on maintaining and updating web pages, and will provide suggestions on e-commerce, product promotion, and website security.
Terence Podmore, doctor of sciences and professor of civil and environment engineering from the State University of Colorado, specializing in irrigation and drainage engineering, will assist Agrodor Succes LTD in developing cost-effective, water and power-saving irrigation systems, between July 19 and August 3. Professor Terence Podmore will train both Agrodor Succes management and employees on automatic irrigation systems and their effectiveness. The expert will also evaluate the irrigation needs of the business, and the needs of the community the business operates in, in order to develop an effective irrigation system based on the performed calculations. Due to the provided assistance, Agrodor Succes LTD intends to increase its own irrigation systems’ effectiveness, and to provide new services of irrigation systems development.
Michael Brugger, PhD, manager of an engineering project and professor of the State University of Ohio, specializing in barn designing, will visit our country between July 19 and August 3. Michael Brugger will provide assistance to Goloseevo LTD from the village of Ghiliceni, Teleneşti, in order to modernize their barn. He will also help them finish their construction plans for expanding milk production. The expert will evaluate the blueprints and the display schematics of the new barn, and will provide consultancy on construction materials and equipment selection. Furthermore, the expert will assist Goloseevo LTD management to develop a schedule for the construction activities and the milk production expanding process.
From the beginning of this year, and with the support of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, 16 American experts specializing in various agricultural issues have visited Republic of Moldova in order to provide the farmers’ groups, cooperatives, and agribusinesses with the opportunity to benefit from free consultancy in order to improve their performances, by ensuring them a professional approach of the technical and financial matters.
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The Farmer-to-Farmer Program is implemented in our country from the year 1999 and has been prolonged in the years 2003 and 2008. In the last 10 years, 20.000 local beneficiaries were provided with assistance in order to increase the competitiveness of the agricultural sector of Moldova, create more employment opportunities, and raise the population income. In our country, 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 24-03-11, 069 260-005, nmocanu@moldova.cnfa.org, www.cnfa.md) | 
