15 March - 15 April 2011, Chisinau, Moldova

On Tuesday, 15 March 2011, Republic of Moldova launched their first General Agricultural Census. This census will put Moldova in line with other European countries which undertake an agriculture census at the end of each decade.

The total cost of the census is estimated to be of the order of US$6 Million. Governments of Moldova, Sweden, and Romania, the European Union, USDA and FAO are partners in this census. Funding from FAO and Romania is being used to provide technical assistance to ensure that the census follows international guidelines and standards as well as responds to the policy needs of the Government. Under the technical leadership of FAO, experts from Italy, Poland and Romania have contributed to planning of this census.

Besides the conventional data items for an agricultural census, special attention has been given to designing the census, to capture information on small farmers, land degradation and community infrastructure for agricultural development.