“Success in agribusiness is no longer determined by land area, machinery or production capacity alone. Today, success increasingly depends on knowledge, innovation, adaptability and human capital. Agriculture is no longer just about physical labor. The agricultural sector increasingly utilizes data for decision-making, modern technology and effective resource management. Farmers need skills in interpreting information, using high-performance machinery and applying solutions adapted to field conditions,” MAIA press release quoted the Secretary of State as saying.
Vasile Charban emphasized that modern agriculture involves the use of digital technologies and agro-technologies adapted to climate change. Among the skills required for the sector are the so-called “precision farming” tools, data analysis, water management, soil fertility, financial planning, access to markets and the use of modern machinery.
International experience
Discussions at the conference focused on agricultural counseling, applied education and knowledge transfer to farmers. The event was attended by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and a delegation from North Carolina State University, other international partners and academia.
The conference program included topics such as university contributions to economic development, public-private-university partnerships, soil science, plant nutrition management, the role of experiment stations, and the application of agricultural policy to farmers.
The second day of the conference was dedicated to the discussion of investments, technologies and modern skills in the agricultural sector. The topics of Moldovan-Dutch cooperation in economic innovation, the AgriMBA program of the University of Technological University of Moldova (UTM) and modernization of agricultural machinery were presented.
The conference was organized with the support of North Carolina State University (NC State University), the U.S. Embassy, the OPTIM project with the support of the Swiss Government and Helvetas Moldova.
