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Chisinau, 15 October 2007— Twenty thousand five hundred farm households from Moldova affected by this year’s drought received support from the United Nations in the framework of the project „Relief and Technical Assistance Response to the Drought in Moldova”. Starting with December, another fifteen thousand socially vulnerable families will be provided with livestock fodder. This data was presented during today’s donors’ meeting, where the status on the implementation of the United Nations drought response was presented.

According to Anatol Gorodenco, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, who attended the meeting, the packages consisting of seeds, fertilizers and fuel which have been distributed to selected farmers will allow planting nearly 10.250 hectares of winter wheat. Should the weather be good next year, nearly 30.500 tons of wheat could be harvested from the same area of land. „The financial and technical assistance donors have provided had a major impact in alleviating the consequences of the drought which affected the country earlier this year. Eighty per cent of land has been planted to ensure the food security of the country during 2008”, Anatol Gorodenco said. At the same time, Minister Gorodenco requested donors to look into the possibility of supporting the genetic fund of livestock, which was affected by the drought. „Unfortunately, the actions undertaken by the Government cover only 10-15% of the needs and if urgent measures are not taken, future costs for the revival of the livestock sector will constitute more than $50 million”, mentioned Anatol Gorodenco.

Gheorghe Cainareanu, representative of the National Agency for Rural Development „ACSA”, organization which monitored the distribution of packages to the farm households, highlighted that during this week most of the farmers from those 494 selected localities will finalize the planting of the winter wheat. The distribution of assistance was done according to criteria approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and based on the FAO/WFP recommendations, Gheorghe Cainareanu said.

Ignacio Artaza, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Moldova, mentioned at the meeting that another fifteen thousand socially vulnerable families affected by the drought, including from Transnistria, will be selected to receive livestock fodder. Commissions created at community level will take into consideration the impact of drought, social conditions and the number animals the family has, giving priority to the most vulnerable households. It is expected that animal fodder will be distributed to beneficiaries as of December. In addition, food aid packages for pregnant women and nursing mothers are being currently distributed.

The project „Relief and Technical Assistance Response to the Drought in Moldova” will be carried out during six months and has a total available budget of nearly $6 million. Ignacio Artaza expressed hope that funds to be allocated by donors will be sufficient to help other vulnerable groups of people affected by the drought. The Honorary Counsellor of the Netherlands stated during the meeting that his country will provide funds for the joint United Nations project in support of drought alleviation efforts.
 
The project „Relief and Technical Assistance Response to the Drought in Moldova” includes five key components:

• Technical expertise, management, coordination;
• Emergency procurement of seeds, fodder and other agricultural supplies;
• Emergency assistance to socially vulnerable groups;
• Aid monitoring; and
• Planning for medium and long-term assistance.

The financial support is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the European Commission through its Humanitarian Office (ECHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The project is managed by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Population Fund, the United Nations Children Fund, other UN agencies and the Government of the Republic of Moldova as well as non-governmental organizations and local public authorities which are implementing partners of the project.

More information about the UN response to the drought

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For contact: Aliona Niculita, Programme Analyst, UNDP Moldova, tel. 22 00 45, ext. 120, cell 0691 29415