OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2014. A conference of Agriculture Ministers of the Eastern Partnership and the EU is for the first time held outside the EU, in Moldova.
According to Premier of Moldova Iurie Leanca, who took the floor at the conference, the agricultural sector is of great importance for our country, bringing 12% to GDP and offering people one fourths of all jobs here in Moldova. 45% of commodities exported from Moldova are agricultural exports.

The government allots about MDL 500 million to support the agricultural sector, Minister of Agriculture of Moldova Vasile Bumacov said. For Moldova, it is rather a big amount, although other countries may consider it tiny, Premier Iurie Leanca noted. In addition to government subventions, the European Investment Bank has supported the winemaking sector with a loan of EUR 75 million. As EIB President Wilhelm Molterer said, the loan aims to strengthen sustainability of the agriculture of Moldova and to smoothen negative factors that influence its development.

The government of Moldova sees it as its goal to ensure technological development of the agricultural sector and preserve jobs there, Iurie Leanca noted. He whished Moldovan agriculture would adopt best European practices on the one hand and keep its own traditions on the other one. As it was reported earlier, participants of the press conference are going to discuss implementation of the European Neighbourhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), the EU has initiated to support economic growth and stability in neighbouring countries.

The conference is taken part in by 25 delegations from Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and other countries.