WE BRING EUROPE HOME: family from central Moldova settlement grows cornel trees according to European agricultural practices

Iurie Stratan, a farmer from the Crețoaia village, Anenii Noi district, started a business in the field of cultivation of cornel trees, in order to save and turn to good account a unique collection of varieties of cornel trees.

Through this business, European agricultural practices took roots in Cretoaia.

This is the first farm of Moldova which produces cornels and got GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP certificates, which confirm the observance of good agricultural practices and the company’s social responsibility in relation with its employees. The Stratan family produces cornels on an area of almost five hectares. The fruits are meant for export, as well as selling on the local market.

The cornel orchard was planted in 2000, testing the production of 23 varieties of cornel trees. ‘’We were pioneers in Moldova with the cornel orchard and there are only several of us in Europe. The fruits are delivered to the European market in dry form and the fruits are exported to the United States frozen or combined with other fruits. In 2022, we got an overall harvest of 25 tons, of which 70 tons were exported. Last year, the harvest was poorer, as the plantation was hit by the droughts from 2022 and 2023,’’ Iurie Stratan told MOLDPRES.

The entrepreneur also said that the GlobalG.A.P. certification opened new opportunities and would allow accessing new markets, with better prices.

The farm of the Stratan family benefited from support on behalf of the Competitiveness and Resilience in Moldova Project of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the implementation of the GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP standard. ’’Certainly, these are the first producers of cornels from Moldova with European certification and it is not ruled out that it will be the first company of Europe GlobalG.A.P. for the production of cornels,’’ USAID said.

This year, the farmer industrialized the production of tinned cornels, such as stewed cornels, jams, as well as liqueurs, a novelty being the production of cornel oil.

"Our only way to advance is the integration into the European Union; that’s where our assistance, support in projects, the best technologies and technical sources are coming from,’’ Iurie Stratan said.

There are about 20 hectares of cornel orchards in Moldova. The country is among the regional leaders in the implementation of the GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP. standards. There are about 100 certified agricultural producers, including in the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia Autonomy.

Correspondent: Lilia Grubii