LEADER approach in the Republic of Moldova
The LEADER approach has been implemented in the Republic of Moldova since 2016 in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA) and with the support provided by development partners (European Union, Poland, USA, Switzerland, Great Britain, Romania, Estonia, Czech Republic and others).
In the Republic of Moldova there are 48 LAGs, in which approximately 749 localities (50% of rural localities). LAGs are at different stages of development. The senior LAGs have been implementing local development projects for several years, while the junior LAGs are only at their first attempts.
In 2022, the LEADER Program will be piloted by the state, which offers LAGs the opportunity to access up to 5% of the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and the Rural Environment. Thus, the Republic of Moldova is the first and, for now, the only country in the non-EU space that implements the LEADER approach as a public policy tool.