Resilience in addressing climate change challenges in Moldova’s agricultural sector

Cărpineni. The idea of ​​starting an agricultural business came to Andrei in 2013. 

Andrei, 37, Moldovan from Cărpineni village, in Hâncesti rayon, only had two small greenhouses. Over time, business went well and in 2017 he took the risk of renting another seven. 

“I have gained experience over the years. Agriculture is a high-risk industry; it is a long-term business that requires perseverance.” 

Andrei started growing tomatoes, then cucumbers and Kapia peppers. In the last 4 years, to meet the demand, he has returned only to growing cherry tomatoes of the "datterino" variety that originates from southern Italy, Sicily. “We sell our tomatoes only in the Republic of Moldova, we have a contract with a network of stores that buys 90% of our production. To my great joy, when our local tomatoes appear, the stores decide to stop importing cherry tomatoes from Italy in our favor,” Andrei proudly says. 

This success is the result of perseverance, character, patience and a good dose of risk not only for the dynamics of the market but above all for the impact that climate change has had in recent years in the Republic of Moldova.  

The country faces significant socio-economic challenges and a heightened risk of climate-related issues. Over 12% of its population is exposed to disasters, far exceeding the average of 2.1% for Upper Middle-Income Countries (IMF Staff Country Reports Volume 2023 Issue 428 (2023). This exposure has significant repercussions for both Moldova's environment and its economy.  

The first measures that Andrei began to adopt to deal with climate change date back to two years ago on the interventions considered most urgent, that of replacing the foil on the greenhouses with a double layer, an air cushion to maintain or increase night temperatures by at least 5 degrees, and a structural modification to the ventilation system to avoid drafts in spring and autumn. 

According to the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal, temperature increases of 2-3°C by 2050, combined with changing rainfall patterns, could intensify droughts, negatively impacting agriculture and stimulating rural-urban migration in the country, as well as international migration. 

“The temperature difference between day and night continued to be out of the norm”, says Andrei. For plants, the difference should be 4-6 degrees for optimal conditions. In his greenhouse, temperatures reached 40 degrees during the day and 10-12 at night. Plants were under stress, and both productivity and quality decreased. “Without good quality agricultural products, you could not get far in Moldova.” Yet, the worst was yet to come. 

In January 2024, the Republic of Moldova was hit by a wave of frost that affected the entire agricultural sector with significant consequences also for the Moldovan supply chain.  

The January 9, 2024, snowstorms destroyed 90% of Andrei’s greenhouses. 

As part of the joint effort of IOM Moldova with the Moldovan authorities to support small and medium-sized business, a call for proposal was launched within the project "Promotion of Human Security of Ukrainian refugees, third-country nationals (TCNs), and the host communities in Moldova through Socio-Economic Empowerment and Inclusion," thanks to the financial support of the Government of Japan and the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS). 

Carpidor SRL, Andrei’s company, was awarded by IOM a small grant of 15.000 USD to reconstruct three greenhouses damaged by frost and snowstorms.  

He benefited from this support by relaunching the tomato cultivation and, after the end of the harvest, the lettuce cultivation. With the same support, he also hired 2 people to work in the greenhouse, starting with planting, plant maintenance, harvesting, packing and ending with cleaning and preparing the greenhouse for the next season.