Moldova looks to niche crops to boost revenue

Currently, sunflower and, to some extent, rapeseed act as “key revenue drivers” for Moldovan farmers, but experts recommend paying more attention to “niche” crops.

According to the results of a study by the Agrocereale association, the share of oilseeds in the structure of field crops for the current year’s harvest in the country is at least 30%. According to the agronomic norm, analysts note, it should not exceed 20%. Given the agronomic limits for the production of sunflower and rapeseed, they must be partially replaced in field crop rotations with oilseeds, grain and industrial crops with a higher specific value. These can be flax and mustard seeds, buckwheat, hemp, safflower and other crops.

Agricultural crops from the range of grain and oilseed “niche” in the structure of physical exports occupy less than 1%, while the financial revenue from their deliveries abroad is approaching 2% of the total amount of agricultural and food exports of the country.

“These agricultural crops, despite their small volumes, demonstrate great potential for “niche” exports, which can be very profitable when scaling up production,” says Yuri Rizha, Chairman of Agrocereale.

In addition, as the association’s experts believe, “niche” oilseeds and grains are an almost ideal raw material base for the “small reindustrialization” of the rural economy of the Republic. In this regard, there is also potential for the revival of small enterprises for the deep processing of “niche” raw materials and the production of specific food products, including organic ones, with great potential for export to markets with high consumer solvency, analysts note.

Last year, the country allowed farmers to grow industrial hemp, and Prime Minister Dorin Recean called on the business community to promote its cultivation. He noted that industrial hemp is a profitable and easy-to-care-for crop, with a vegetation cycle of only 90 days, which allows for two to three harvests per year in Moldova.