A record number of volunteers of the FtF Program will assist Moldovan companies in August

Six American experts will visit Moldova this year in August in order to assist local companies on matters of improving technical and financial performance. The number of experts that have been selected for this month only is a record for this year. The assistance is provided on a voluntary basis within the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FtF), implemented in our country by the USAID-funded organization CNFA.

Between August 3 and August 19, Mr. Kenneth Hart, agricultural extension service professor at the University of Idaho, will consult Capital Consulting Company (CCC) LTD from Tiraspol on strategic and business planning. Kenneth Hart will train the company employees and will work together with the management in order to identify the existing opportunities for the company’s continuous development.

Between August 9 and August 21, Mr. David Ziegler, researcher at the University of Minnesota, will assist Total-Gnatiuc LTD from the village of Fundurii Vechi, Glodeni, on matters of cow health and nutrition in order to increase their milk production. During his assignment in Moldova, the expert will work together with the company employees in order to develop an optimum cow nutrition program, as well as a feed crop production structure. Other matters to be addressed are livestock health, disease prevention, calf care, etc.

Professor Kyung Yoo, specializing in soil and water engineering, will train Agrodor Succes LTD employees and management on matters of effective, water and energy-saving irrigation systems, between August 16 and August 28. The estimations and the measurements of the company will be used to develop an efficient irrigation system project.

Mr. Daniel Miller, doctor of veterinary science from Nuevo Leone, Mexico, will assist both Vita-Lact cooperative from Ignăţei, Rezina, and the local veterinarians between August 30 and September 14. The provided support will be mostly focused on basic procedures of cow care, including disease prevention, treatment of mastitis, blood tests and animal feeding. Daniel Miller will also train veterinarians in artificial insemination.

Mr. James Worstell from Almyra, Arkansas, will assist MoldCoop Consumer Cooperative from Chişinău in performing a general evaluation of the company in order to identify at an earlier stage the activities that hinder the company development. The expert will assist the cooperative in identifying the optimum ways to expand and improve the cooperative activities. Later on, the management will receive assistance in cooperative development strategy.

Mr. Michael Brugger, manager of an engineering project and professor at the State University of Ohio, specializing in cowshed design, has visited our country between July 19 and August 3. Michael Brugger has assisted Goloseevo LTD from Ghiliceni, Teleneşti, in modernizing its cowshed and finishing the construction plans for milk production expanding. The expert has also evaluated the blueprints and the display schematics of the new cowshed, and has provided consultancy on construction materials and equipment selection. Furthermore, the expert has assisted Goloseevo LTD management in developing a schedule for the construction activities and the milk production expanding process.

The FtF program provides 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. The consultancy is provided during a period of up to three weeks for two strategic agricultural sub-sectors (production of fruit and vegetables and dairy products). The estimated consultancy value for the year 2010 is of almost $1 million.

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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 24-03-11, 069 260-005, nmocanu@moldova.cnfa.org, www.cnfa.md)