During this phase, local initiative groups (LIGs) will be selected from a list administered by the Ministry through the Moldova LEADER IT Soft (MLIS) information system.
They will receive funding from the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Environment. This year, 7% of this fund will be used to support the development of rural communities by involving the local population, stimulating entrepreneurship and creating new services at the local level.
LEADER is an EU tool for rural development. The first such program was launched in the EU in 1991. Its main participants are local initiative groups (LIGs) formed on a bottom-up basis. They include representatives of the government, business and civil society sectors, who jointly manage development processes.
They are established in an area consisting of several neighboring communities that share common resources and potential. LEADER includes today about 50 LIGs, which cover half of the territory of the Republic. The model of their functioning in Moldova was developed within the EU SARD program, which was implemented in Gagauzia and Taraclia district.
In February 2020, it was decided to develop a legal framework to grant the LIGs the status of a legal entity. The Law on Principles of Subsidies from the National Fund for Agriculture and Rural Environment Development included provisions on the National LEADER Program and local initiative groups. Initially, the fund set aside 5% of financial resources for the program, later the share was increased to 7%. The Law on Local Initiative Groups was approved in April 2021 in final reading.
