Agricultural development and enhancing food security of the Republic of Moldova with the EU assistance

From June to August 2022, the experts of the Twinning Project “Further support to Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Safety in the Republic of Moldova” have provided continuous support to beneficiary institutions of the Republic of Moldova. Among the implemented activities are the adjustment of the “Programme and interventions for implementation of the NARDS 2023-2027”, being aligned in compliance to EU requirements.  Also, the project team provided assistance towards enhancing the performance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) stuff and many others.

Additionally, to ensure an effective transfer of skills and knowledge to MAFI staff, training sessions were held on the topics: Programming, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting. In addition, in the context of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities, which were also completed in July, the main deliverables were: the M&E manual, the indicator plan, the performance monitoring table and the financial monitoring table. Beneficiaries were trained in use of such materials, thus introducing EU standards into the policy-making processes of the Republic of Moldova and their implementation.

In order to prepare the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA) for the implementation of the future Interventions within the National Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy (NARDS) 2022-2027, the project experts developed a detailed task plan. In addition, AIPA staff received support in the process of implementing the financial support instruments included in NARDS 2023-2027, in line with the EU rules, especially for the implementation of LEADER approach. The team of experts from Poland and Austria continued the accreditation audit in AIPA. The developed audit action plan is the main guide for the beneficiaries which is constantly monitored to record the progress of recommendations implementation. In addition, twinning experts analyse AIPA procedures and policies (e.g. data protection) and provide recommendations on how to improve them so that they are in line with EU standards.

The Twinning project organised a training course entitled Key steps to the EU market for animal products on 16 June 2022. Experts from the State Food and Veterinary Service of Lithuania presented the key elements for competent authorities, farms and processing establishments regarding approval to export products to the EU.

At the same time, the Twinning team together with ANSA developed two awareness building materials: Export requirements for eggs and egg products intended for human consumption in the European Union and Export requirements for fresh meat and poultry meat products for human consumption in the European Union in Romanian, Russian and English languages.

Initiatives for capacity building of ANSA continued. The Twinning project organised a training course on the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) audit in establishments for processing of animal products, including slaughterhouses, for about 90 participants from the ANSA headquarter and territorial offices. The experts of the State Food and Veterinary Service of Lithuania shared their experience on how to organise the HACCP audit in establishments and how to carry it out on site to support the efficiency of the official control of HACCP in enterprises of the food sector of the Republic of Moldova.

In order to increase the capacities of ANSA, the project’s team of experts also addressed the effectiveness of official control and the evaluation of inspectors. Thus, the experience of Lithuania regarding systems for official control verification and inspector evaluation was presented in detail, along with the experience on development of the procedure for verification of animal origin food, veterinary control and permanent official veterinary surveillance. Also, the evaluation procedure of inspectors in the field of animal health, products of animal and non-animal origin was developed.

Upon provision of technical assistance related to enhancing efficiency of collaboration between the competent authority, the control body and operators in the food sector, including farms and associations of producers in the Republic of Moldova, the Twinning Project team completed its activity in the field of food safety.