Fruit farmers need to use organic products to protect their orchards because the problem of pesticide residues in fruits is becoming increasingly urgent. This is especially true in the context of tightening requirements by retail chains in the European Union as well as the removal of a number of phytosanitary products from both European and national registries, MOLDPRES reports.
According to Vitali Gorincioi, the chairman of Moldova Fruct, producers should redirect their attention to buyer demands as soon as possible. “Chain stores do not accept fruits with residues exceeding the maximum allowable norms. We do not have much time to re-orient ourselves and see how we protect our orchards from diseases and pests while offering the consumer a high-quality and harmless product,” he said.
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The Fruit Producers and Exporters Association of Moldova, also known as Moldova Fruct, organized a discussion of this problem within the project “Climate Reform in the Republic of Moldova” funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
“The goal of our project is to help producers meet the needs of the EU market, enter this market, and stay on it. It is very important that these requirements are known to the production sector and importers of these products provide access to the required range of phytosanitary products,” said Felicia Prikop, an agribusiness specialist with IFC.
“The future of the system for protecting horticultural plantations from diseases and pests, obviously, focuses on the gradual reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides and their replacement with biological ones. The latter will not be cheap and this will undoubtedly lead to higher production costs. This is why growers need to focus on precision farming, innovation, and better planning for comprehensive disease and pest control schemes. Our common goal is for EU and other consumers to enjoy the special taste of Moldovan fruits and to ensure that these fruits are harmless and of high quality as well as provide satisfactory profit for producers,” concluded the Executive Director of the Moldova Fruct Yuriy Fale.
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