For 19 of the 51 Local Action Groups (LAGs), no sources of funding have yet been found. The topic was discussed at the first meeting of the LEADER Monitoring Committee. “We turned to the donors because we want to support all the initiatives of this kind so as not to discourage rural development on various components,” said the expert of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM) Viorel Rusu.

Present at the meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea noted that the LEADER Program and the LAGs are a successful model for rural development in Moldova. However, in order to maximiser the benefits and overcome the challenges, constant involvement and the combination of effort of all actors are required.

The 51 LAGs comprise more than half of the population and territory of the Republic of Moldova. The LAGs or Local Action Groups have the status of legal persons and are made up of three partners: local public authorities, economic agents and non-governmental organizations.

The LEADER approach has been implemented in the Republic of Moldova since 2016, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and with the support provided by development partners (European Union, Poland, U.S., Switzerland, the UK, Romania, Estonia, the Czech Republic and others).