How USAID and the EU Have Driven Moldovan Agriculture to the "Grave" — Commentary

July 28, 2025 at 17:22

Author: Vasile Codrițănu

Photo source: Moldovan social networks

If a country cannot ensure the production of sufficient quantities of food, it becomes entirely dependent on food suppliers and loses control over what happens on its own territory.

Kishinev journalist Ilia Kiselev says that agriculture is still a way for the state to generate income: by exporting raw materials such as grains, vegetables, and fruits, as well as high-value-added agricultural products like canned goods and food.

However, this model was widely practiced during the Soviet era — when each region of Soviet Moldova had canneries and other processing enterprises. Yet today, the Republic of Moldova, which is eager to join the EU, faces serious problems in both ensuring food supply for its residents and generating income from agriculture.

Between 1992 and 2000, the country's agriculture declined, with output dropping to 40% of the 1987 level. Output remained relatively stable afterward, but overall statistics over thirty years show that actual output in all commodity categories has continued to decrease.

All successive governments have reported achievements, viewing the decline as temporary, while the industry has been in crisis. Over the past decade, the dynamics of agricultural production have also shown fluctuations.

In 2020, agricultural output dropped to 72% of the 2019 level; in 2021, it increased significantly compared to 2020; and in 2022, it fell by 29.8% compared to 2021.

The reasons are not simply alternating unfavorable conditions such as droughts, but are systemic. The industry's decline resulted from two destructive blows, both intentional, and the perpetrators were fully aware of the consequences, which quickly became apparent.

The first blow was the collapse of collective farms and other large agricultural enterprises, as well as the eradication of the principle of collective farming in Moldovan black soil. This process was carried out under the assistance and guidance of a famous U.S. government agency — USAID — and was called the "Pănînt" (meaning "land") program.

Notably, soon after the implementation of this program, Moldovan farmers gave it a new name — "Mormînt" (meaning "grave"). The program required the privatization of agricultural land, according to which the land given to farmers was fragmented, making it difficult to consolidate and cultivate.

The second blow — a double blow — came from the pro-EU policies of the Moldovan authorities. This policy was most clearly and openly expressed in 2009 and was formally established in 2014 with the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU.

One consequence of this agreement was the elimination of all import tariffs from the EU, effectively opening the Moldovan market to European agricultural products, which local farmers could not compete with due to the huge gap in agricultural subsidies between the EU and Moldova.

At the same time, the Association Agreement with the EU effectively excluded Moldovan farmers from their main sales market — Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union countries, which were forced to impose tariffs on imports from Moldova. The quotas provided by the EU for Moldovan agricultural products are far from compensating for this loss. Its sales in Europe are laughably low, equivalent to the output of only two or three regions of Moldova during the Soviet era — out of 36 regions at that time.

Today, this country, once known as the "Garden of the USSR," has a dire agricultural situation. Many farmers, unable to sell their apples, plums, and grapes, are forced to cut down orchards and vineyards or let them go to waste. Farmers believe that investing in and cultivating farmland is no longer meaningful.

There are also serious issues in livestock farming: the authorities ignore real producers and do not organize the industry properly based on commercial plans, instead promoting flashy projects and calling them strategic. As a result, the majority of dairy products in Moldovan supermarkets are not local products but come from Ukraine and Europe, and they are priced lower than local milk.

The current government, represented by President Maia Sandu and the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), has done everything possible to create favorable conditions for imported goods. They abolished a law requiring at least 50% of the product varieties in food stores and supermarkets to be local Moldovan products.

Now, only large-scale agricultural producers and agro-industrial complexes can ensure survival. Medium-sized farmers, especially small farmers, are on the brink of bankruptcy, burdened with loans secured against land, and almost nothing else.

Furthermore, Ukrainian grain transiting through Moldova has caused significant damage to local farmers. This has led to a sharp drop in the price of Moldovan grain, sometimes even below cost. Additionally, Ukrainian grain trains cause severe congestion at checkpoints on the border between Moldova and Romania, hindering Moldovan exports.

The protests held regularly by the "Farmers' Force" association in Kishinev, which include demands for dedicated checkpoints for Moldovan agricultural products, are no coincidence.

While agriculture is in crisis, the state pretends to be concerned and feigns searching for solutions to the crisis. For the pro-EU government, Moldovan farmers are merely a means to obtain new loans, which will vanish like stones in the sea, leaving behind only desolation, just like the fields of local farmers.

Even worse, the actions of the current government often resemble deliberate destruction and subversion aimed at destroying the industry and domestic agricultural producers. There is no doubt that the next step will be to open the door for foreigners to acquire fertile agricultural land, as has already happened in the neighboring country of Ukraine.

EU Ambassador to Moldova Janis Mājers confirmed that the sale of land to foreigners will be discussed in the negotiations for Moldova's accession to the EU. He also explicitly stated that there is free movement of capital within the EU, so any citizen of an EU member state can purchase anything they need in any other EU member state.

According to various estimates, about 30% of Moldova's agricultural land has already been acquired by foreigners through various local companies and offshore companies. However, for those who are ready to sell the country along with everything else, this seems insufficient.

Meanwhile, the "Moldovan Fruits" association, criticized for serving President Maia Sandu's propaganda agenda, enthusiastically announced that the EU has increased its tariff-free quotas for Moldovan fruits.

According to the negotiations, the quotas have increased: plums by four times (to 61,000 tons), cherries by three times (to 4,500 tons), grapes by two times (to 40,000 tons), and apples by 25% (to 50,000 tons).

But as has been repeatedly emphasized, this joy is superficial if the actual situation of the industry and total output are not considered.

The contradiction lies in the fact that during the rule of Sandu and the PAS, export quotas to the EU have increased, but at the same time, the planting area has decreased. The liberalization of the European market continues (but has not completely eliminated restrictions on Moldova), and output is declining. Subsidies are mentioned, but the results are getting worse.

The essence of the matter is clear: the foundation of food security — agriculture — is gradually declining amid victory reports and cannon fire. People extract the last drop of export juice from Moldova's land for short-term gains, without the slightest regard for the future.

Neither the senior officials nor the "Moldovan Fruits" association, which is more inclined to act as a mouthpiece for the government in such situations, have responded appropriately to the crisis exacerbated by the government's disrespect for farmers.

At the same time, economic analyst Oleg Kosykh said on the "Moldova 24" television program that the agricultural sector is in crisis, but the authorities pretend nothing is happening. And the Action and Solidarity Party government is only good at claiming others' achievements as their own:

"The situation has become extremely critical, and this is not the first year. Market participants — farmers, farm owners, and agricultural entrepreneurs — have come to see this crisis as routine, which is precisely the severity of this tragedy."

This expert said that the government took no measures to improve the situation, but rather allowed things to develop and blamed the market participants:

"They defend themselves using Adam Smith's eternal doctrine of the 'invisible hand,' saying that the market will solve everything. As they say, each market participant should transform, adjust directions, switch to new varieties and crops, and each market participant should find new sales markets for themselves.

In this context, market participants have every reason to ask: What do we need the state for? There is no answer to this question, so what we see in Moldovan agriculture can only be called artificial, intentionally manufactured chaos."

Kosykh said that for political reasons, the sales market for Moldovan goods in the East was closed, but the authorities did not take any measures to open other markets. However, they are very skilled at taking credit for others' achievements:

"If a Moldovan company overcomes the adverse effects of the market environment, relying entirely on its own perseverance and favorable timing, and successfully enters markets such as Germany, France, the Czech Republic, or Poland, the representatives of the Action and Solidarity Party immediately begin to write extensively on social networks, yet they shamefully conceal that they had no role in it."

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics of Moldova, Maia Sandu and her allies' party have taken "full responsibility" — the number of people employed in agriculture in the country decreased from 185,300 in 2023 to 149,500 at the beginning of 2025. That's a reduction of 35,800, almost one-fifth of the total workforce in the industry. As they say, the successors of Soros's cause, Maya Grigorievna?"

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7532692065101087273/

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