On 11 October, the closing event of the project “Together in the fight against the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Moldova and Burkina Faso” took place in Chisinau!
In the Republic of Moldova, the intervention funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection targeted socially disadvantaged family farms involved in agriculture in rural areas particularly affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main challenges that COVID-19 posed to Moldovan farmers included limited capacity for production change, flooding of the Moldovan market with non-exported products, lower prices due to increased supply, greater financial difficulties for farmers and severely limited export capacity. Therefore, it was necessary to open up additional sales channels for the farmers, to help them run their farms more efficiently through case studies, but also through financial and legal training, and to train them in EU policies so that they could learn more about this market.
Thus, the project supported farmers by forming expert teams to develop training materials, draft regulations for local poultry farming, berry and fruit growing, relevant hygiene regulations, food controls and consumer protection. They were also trained in developing guidelines for quality control, elaborating a marketing and sales strategy, a design concept and communication with the media, elaborating technical specifications for automating the product ordering process, organising information sessions with project participants, the trade press and public institutions, as well as advising and assisting project participants in the above areas and providing working materials.