Smallholders and Family Farms in the Republic of Moldova
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Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Moldova Country study report 2019 Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Moldova Country study report 2019 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2020 Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Moldova Country study report 2019 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2020 Required citation: FAO. 2020. Smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Moldova. Country study report 2019. Budapest. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9836en The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-132976-4 © FAO, 2020 Some rights reserved. 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The original [Language] edition shall be the authoritative edition.” Disputes arising under the licence that cannot be settled amicably will be resolved by mediation and arbitration as described in Article 8 of the licence except as otherwise provided herein. The applicable mediation rules will be the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules and any arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Third-party materials. Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user. Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations and acronyms ix Executive summary xi Background xiii Objectives xiii Methodology xiii Key Findings xiv Recommendations xvii Rezumat xix Scurt istoric xxi Obiective xxi Metodologie xxi Constatări Principale xxii Recomandări xxv 1. Introduction to smallholders and family farms and their role in Europe and Central Asia 1 1.1 Background for the Regional Initiative supporting smallholders and family farms 3 1.2 Background and objectives of the present country study 4 2. Methodology 7 2.1 The overall methodological principles of the country study on smallholders and family farms 9 2.2 Approach – Description of the specific approach taken in Republic of Moldova 11 3. Development trends and the current state of smallholders and family farms in Republic of Moldova 13 3.1 Definition of smallholders and family farms in Republic of Moldova 15 3.2 Structural analysis and a qualitative description of the sector 17 3.2.1 Development of role/importance of smallholders and family farms in the economy in the period 2005–2016 17 3.2.2 Agricultural land market and property rights 35 3.2.3 Value chain organization, standards and access to markets 41 3.2.4 Access to finance 45 3.2.5 Access to services and inputs 49 3.2.6 Education, research and development, and innovation in the agriculture sector, specifically related to smallholders 53 3.3 Environmental and nature development/climate change 54 3.4 Rural areas: Population and rural economy 56 3.4.1 Population 56 3.4.2 Employment and education 58 3.4.3 Income, consumption and poverty 61 3.4.4 Food security 65 3.4.5 Social Protection 66 3.4.6 Infrastructure 68 3.4.7 Gender aspects 70 3.4.8 Forestry and Aquaculture 71 iii 4. Current political priorities and policies affecting smallholders and family farms 75 4.1 Sector- and focus area-specific political priorities for agriculture and rural development 77 4.1.1 National regulations supporting and encouraging smallholders and family farms 77 4.1.2 Tax benefits and preferences for smallholders and family farms 81 4.1.3 State support through subsidies 82 4.1.4 Priorities related to agricultural producers, including smallholders 84 4.1.5 Donor-funded policies 86 4.1.6 Donor-funded programmes 86 4.1.7 FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF) 87 4.2 Preconditions for comprehensive policy-making for smallholders and family farms 88 5. Conclusions and recommendations 91 5.1 Conclusions 93 5.1.1 Role and weight in the economy of smallholders and family farms 93 5.1.2 Needs, challenges and constraints for smallholders and family farms in Republic of Moldova 94 5.1.3 Smallholder and family farm policies in Republic of Moldova 96 5.2 Recommendations 96 References 101 6. Annex 107 6.1 Annex 1 109 6.2 Annex 2. Case studies 110 6.2.1 Case study: Introduction of savings and credit associations in Republic of Moldova 110 6.2.2 Case study: Rural advisory and extension services 112 6.2.3 Case study: Water users associations in Moldova increase productivity in agriculture 114 6.2.4 Case study: Creation and operation of a dairy cooperative in Northern Moldova 116 6.3 Annex 3 118 6.3.1 Interviewee registration 118 6.3.2 Interview matrix 118 Tables 1. Agricultural hodlings by size, 2011 18 2. Number of peasant farms and other owners 19 3. Agricultural land on types/categories of ownership/owners 19 4. Share of global agricultural production in GDP 21 5. Structure of income obtained from agricultural activities 23 6. Global harvest of agricultural produce in farms with land of up to 10 ha 25 7. Livestock, distributed by agricultural holdings, as of 1 January 2018 26 8. Livestock grown by rural households, thousands of head 27 9. Animal products from smallholders and family farms 27 10. Investment in long-term tangible assets for agricultural development, by forms of ownership, million MDL, current prices 29 11. Market transaction with agricultural land in the Republic of Moldova 37 12. Employment rates in Republic of Moldova by age group and level of education, 2000–2016 (percent) 60 13. Selected indicators for infrastructure by area (2009–2015) 69 14. Fish production facilities in Republic of Moldova, 2010 73 iv Figures 1. Indices of global agricultural produce volume, 2009–2017 (previous year=100) 20 2. Distribution of gross domestic product across economic sectors, 2007–2017 21 3. Structure of agricultural production, by categories of producers (% of total production volume) 22 4. Share of small farms (with land of up to 10 ha) in main agricultural crops in 2017, % 25 5. Share of main animal produce per type of producer in 2016, % 28 6. Number of agricultural producers certified as organic, 2003–2017 31 7. The land area under organic agriculture, both certified and in conversion, 2003–2017, ha 31 8. Distribution of agricultural land by main categories 36 9. Share of land cultivated by peasant farms smaller than 10 ha in the total agricultural area of peasant farms 38 10. Population of the Republic of Moldova in total and urban/rural distribution, 2010–2016 (millions of people and percent) 57 11. Percentage of population in Republic of Moldova living in rural areas, compared to other countries in Eastern Europe, 1992–2012 58 12. Activity and employment rates in Republic of Moldova by area, 2012–2016 (percent) 59 13. Subsistence level by area in 2013–2016 (MDL nominal values) 63 14. Monthly average total disposable income and remittances per capita in 2010–2016 (MDL) 64 15. Structure of income in percentage obtained from agricultural activities in farms, 2016 64 16. Structure of consumption expenditures, 2016 65 17. Household equipment by dwelling facilities and area, 2016 70 18. Data from 2017 Annual Report of the National Commission for Financial Markets 111 Boxes 1. Marketing the surplus of agricultural produce 30 2. Illustration of Land Plot Size for Grape Cultivation 33 3.