Five partnerships created among producers and farmers from both banks of the Nistru river benefit from grants of US$50,000 each for procuring necessary equipment for applying innovative technologies in the process of agricultural products’ production and processing.

Those 12 agricultural producers and processors, who have established partnerships, have won the grants’ competition organized by UNDP “Advanced cross-river capacities for trade” (AdTrade) project, financed by Sweden and the United Kingdom. Overall, 16 project proposals were submitted at the competition, out of which five proposals developed by farmers from both banks of the Nistru river, who established partnerships, were selected.

Besides purchasing the production equipment, the winning partnerships will benefit from business development consultancy, which would allow them to become more competitive, to increase their sales, to access new export markets and to contribute to create at least 53 jobs, especially for women and persons from socially-vulnerable groups.

The projects cover innovative business ideas by applying new technologies, reducing production costs, adjusting productions and/or processing to the new needs of the market in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The activities envisaged in the winning project proposals will be implemented until the end of 2021 and include among others: procurement of innovative equipment for plums’ processing, automation of dried fruits’ production process, implementation of innovative technologies to crop table grapes according to Pergola and Gable systems, procurement of modern equipment for drying fruits and vegetables using the energy from photovoltaic panels, association of beekeepers from both banks of the Nistru river so as to increase production volumes for honey and derived products of high quality, as well as procurement of equipment for meat processing, as well as for production of cold-pressed sea buckthorn juice and oil and its packing.

The non-reimbursable financial assistance provided by Sweden and the United Kingdom in the framework of the UNDP “Advanced cross-river capacities for trade” (AdTrade) project will contribute to improving the business environment, creating jobs and enhancing partnerships, hence allowing the companies from both banks of the Nistru river to overcome the negative impact of the pandemic crisis, and providing an opportunity for companies from the left bank of the Nistru river to access trade mechanisms available on the right bank of the river, to enrich their knowledge and skills, to increase sales and to diversify the sale market.