On 18 November, a workshop was organized within the framework of the “Greening Economies in the Eastern Neighbourhood” (EaP GREEN) Project; it presented a study on public procurement of organic food products in the Republic of Moldova. EaP GREEN is an EU-funded project, jointly conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The project aims at promoting the transition towards greener societies.

Encouraging organic agriculture in Eastern Europe is one of the project’s objectives. Based on a market study that was carried out within EaP GREEN, the workshop participants were able to review the organic market of the country and the availability of organic agrifood products that can be purchased by school canteens in Moldova through public procurement procedures.

The results of the study show a high potential to move towards a more sustainable society in Moldova by promoting the production of agrifood products and facilitating access to those by educational institution’s canteens, following other examples in Europe. It is expected that by 2017, school menus will include about 30% organic and 70% conventional vegetables. This will stimulate producers to convert from agricultural conventional production into organic and diversify according to the demand.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Moldova, UNEP, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI), the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finances, the Public Procurement Agency, as well as by producers of agrifood (fruits, vegetables, nuts, grapes, wines, etc.). In addition, representatives from several media reported on the event and interviewed participants.

Besides the presentation of the study, workshop activities were organized such as interviews, meetings and discussions with representatives of MAFI, the General Educational Department of Chișinău, the Public Procurement Agency, and certified producers. The next step will be the consolidation of the efforts of all stakeholders and implementation of identified solutions at the legal level and practical level by the Moldovan authorities in close partnership with CSO and organic producers.

More information: rie.tsutsumi@unep.org