Hello, Alexei. Before our meeting, I researched your company, Micu&Co, and, frankly speaking, I was surprised by the extensive list of crops you cultivate. You manage 280 hectares of walnuts, oats, mustard, peas, alfalfa, wheat, barley, sunflowers, and corn in parcels of 10-50 hectares.
Oh, you forgot to mention buckwheat and spelt. On top of that, we also grow Christmas trees for rent. Rented trees, instead of ending up in the trash, go back to the forest.
All the more so! Every new crop involves additional challenges and investments. Why not just stick to three/four profitable crops? That would also simplify the logistics.
There are several reasons. Crop diversity is a kind of risk insurance in agriculture. Different crops react differently to drought and rainfall. Thus, low yields in one segment are almost always compensated by high yields in another. While in good years we have a good harvest for all crops.
It's like diversifying your investment portfolio in the stock market.
Exactly! Before agriculture, I was working in the banking sector.
Then your approach is very understandable. What other reasons could there be?
If it were up to me, I would compel farmers, at the state level, not to disrupt crop rotations. Sustainable land use requires both crop rotation on the same land area and allowing rest periods for the soil. We adhere strictly to these principles. In my experience, paying attention to the soil results in higher yields and reduced risks.
I can't help but ask how you went from banking to agriculture? Such reprofiling is less common.
My father is a farmer. At 82, he is still working in the fields. I supported him in farming until I was 14. Then, I pursued my studies in banking and stockbroking. After the Academy of Economics, I got employed in a bank. No way in hell I was going back to farming!
Then how did you "return to the origins"?
By 2009, during harvest time, my father was not feeling well, so I returned home to replace him. The following year it happened again, and in 2011 I decided to start a new phase in my life and that it would be related to farming.
But it still hadn't occurred to you to start organic farming at that time?
No, of course not. I was drawn to organic farming by luck and my sense of observation. 2012 was a very dry year. I had planted sunflowers, as usual, sprayed them with herbicides, but I had miscalculated the quantity, so several hectares remained untreated with herbicides. To my surprise, I harvested almost twice as much crop on that parcel. I could feel the difference in my pocket. It gave me a hint.
So you continued your experiments?
Well, in the following years, I started experimenting with other crops and compared the results. First, we tried treating the soil with natural fertilizer, then with compost, which we started producing ourselves. Gradually, by monitoring the yields, we stopped using herbicides. That's how we ended up in 2015 certifying all our land to organic farming standards.
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Who has consulted you?
The Czech organization "People in Need" has been supporting organic farming in Moldova since 2015. The program aims to help local farmers to produce according to the principles of organic farming, certify their production and get better prices for organic products while protecting water and soil at the same time. The certification process took us almost three years. Since autumn 2018 we have been operating as a 100% organic farm.
Following Moldovan certification standards?
Both following Moldovan and European standards. If we are talking about European standards, I refer to Regulation 834 on organic production. Since certification, we have been working under constant control, and at least once a year we are checked by the Moldovan authorities and by a commission from Germany as well. Sometimes even two unexpected visits per year are possible. In return, compliance with organic farming standards opens up European markets to us.
How did you get your export contracts?
We had our first attempts in 2016. I remember we were at a trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany, supported by the "People in Need" organization on Valentine's Day. Besides, we are members of MOVCA - Moldova Organic Value Chain Alliance. We also received considerable support from the investment agency "Invest Moldova". Invest Moldova helped us get to the relevant exhibitions, not as visitors, but as an association of Moldovan farmers with our stand.
Equally praiseworthy is the initiative of "Invest Moldova" to promote organic products from Moldova. The "ECO Moldova"[1] Program consists in installing "eco-shelves" in 34 Moldovan diplomatic missions abroad. Businessmen from abroad could see with their own eyes the organic products of Moldovan farmers. The initiative has been very successful in countries like Lithuania, Portugal, and Bulgaria. Thanks to this exposition, we started exporting to the Czech Republic.
Also at the recommendation of the Investment Agency, we went to an exhibition in Italy in 2019. Following that trip, we started exporting sunflower and spelt wheat. The assistance provided by Invest Moldova has helped us to grow, orient ourselves in the market, and find new potential importers of our products. We are now proud of our export experience in Italy, Austria, Turkey and, the Czech Republic.
Alexei, we all go through our second year of working in pandemic conditions. How did you guys cope with it?
There were difficulties, but eventually, we got them sorted out. One lesson learned due to the pandemic was online selling, which we have mastered. Through our website, we sold more than 50% of the cultivated buckwheat. We are now setting targets for the next three to five years.
What are your goals?
First of all, to certify the plum orchard according to the Global GAP standard. The "Export Morning" [2]Program of the same Investment Agency informed us that such certification would make us attractive to the German retail network.
We are also planning a grain storage project. It would, certainly, require the involvement of several farms. I would like to have more competition and traders in our grain trading market, thus avoiding creating a monopoly in the purchasing sector. As far as our family plans are concerned, we planning to form a complete agricultural production cycle. My father is thinking of a cattle farm while I'm thinking of a poultry farm. If I were to advertise it, I'd say that it is all about "Happy chickens in an organic garden". I want to create a chicken paradise, where chickens can roam and peck in natural conditions. Happy chickens would produce organic fertilizer and allow us to sell more value-added products.
What do you estimate is the current share of organic farms in Moldova?
I think no more than 2%. Overall, I am convinced that organic farming is the imminent way for the development of Moldovan agriculture. For this reason, it is crucial to create mechanisms that encourage the export of organic products and the creation of value-added products.
As for the local market, I dream that sooner or later schools, hospitals, and kindergartens in the regions will buy food products mainly from local producers. It's not just a matter of calories and vitamins. Eating organic food will improve the quality of our lives and those of our children.
[1] To promote the export of value-added products and to support its diversification into new markets, the agency launched the ECO Moldova Program by producing the country's exhibition shelf. The Eco Moldova Shelves contain food products of 17 local companies producing organic products and was distributed to 34 Moldovan diplomatic missions and serves as an additional promotion tool for niche sectors in the Republic of Moldova.
[2] "Export Morning" - a program dedicated to increasing the skills and competitiveness of local companies for efficient export and its orientation on strategic markets of the Republic of Moldova. Each export destination is presented by describing the retail market, niche markets, B2B and B2C sales, competitors' profiling, and success stories.
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