The Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Project in Moldova PCRR/USAID announced the opening of a financing line for the modernization of irrigation systems through the installation of equipment using “green” (renewable) energy to supply and distribute water to farmland. Associations of Water Users for Irrigation (AUAI) are invited to participate in the project. Applications shall be submitted to the PCRR/USAID office until January 27, 2023.
The total budget for this area of PCRR/USAID is 1.6 million MDL ($84,000). The maximum grant for one association is 0.4 million MDL (or up to 30% of the total amount of the investment project), EastFruit reports.
In total, 35 Water Users Associations for irrigation are officially registered in Moldova. They administer 30 centralized irrigation systems capable of supplying water for more than 10 000 hectares.
According to the experts of the PCRR/USAID project, the share of energy costs in associations’ tariffs for water supply to agricultural land in Moldova reaches 60%. Tariffs for the services of water user associations have increased by about 20-30% this year due to the increase in the price of electricity and other energy resources.
Experts say the irrigation sector in Moldova is less affected by the transition to the use of “green” energy than greenhouse production and storage infrastructure for agricultural products.
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