My affair in Moldova

There's something I haven't told you.  I have this huge infatuation, dare I say I'm having an affair, in Moldova.  Really, I am left burning with passion when I think of him.  I look outside, and he is there staring back at me.  I come to the dinner table, and he himself provides an abundant, tasty meal for me.  I visit him every day, and there's both a distance and intimacy I can't quite fathom.  His name is Agriculture.  In my mind, he's brilliant, lifesaving, beautiful, and wholesome.

Agriculture.  If you know me well, you know that this subject is one that I get really excited about.
With just 45 days to go in my service, I must talk about this topic a bit more in-depth for you to understand just why I am engaged in this affair.  It's both beautiful and twisted.

Let me tell you how I really feel
I have for the last two years been so excited and so discouraged with agriculture in this country.  I have been so positive and vocal about my love for rural life but at the same time so vastly disappointed by the lack of hope and productivity within the Moldovan agricultural economy.  I have cherished moments when I have had the chance to help a Moldovan farmer (especially the young ones) but also have felt so pissed when I see the huge challenges they face.  I have enjoyed partaking in many traditions in this country but have also despised the Soviet mentality, which leads many unable to manage their own agribusiness well or employ others to independently work the land without being too micromanaged.  Ugh. I have so much to share about this subject that I could write for days.  

The Land of Plenty
Moldova is said to have some of the richest soils in all of the world.  The country is vastly agrarian and has always been that way.  You see rolling green hills, small lakes with a hobby fisherman or two, a small forest, and a small herd of goats.  You go to a village and you see traditional old houses with beautiful flowers and gardens, a horse and cart with a pile full of hay, a cute babushka (an elderly woman) on a bench outside her gate selling her homemade cheese, and a few children running down the road playing.  You see a shepherd and his herd of cows down by the creek.  You see neighbors gathering at dusk to enjoy each other's company over some homemade placinte and house wine.  You hear someone playing jovial Moldovan folk music as they do their evening chores in their garden and with their livestock.  Life in rural Moldova is beautiful in so many ways.  So much culture, tradition, richness, and clarity is found by this image.

The Flip Side: Poverty
I would be remiss if I didn't give you a few more images in this scene that aren't so appealing. Walking through town, you might also see a market in June full of fresh, juicy peaches but only for a maximum two weeks.  Everyone seems to be selling peaches for just 3 lei per kilo (~$0.09 / pound), leaving really very little profit for the farmer.  This goes for many seasonal fruits and vegetables and for the majority of farmers who all sell at the same time at the same low price.  If a farmer were to sell it to a supermarket, s/he might likely need a serious investment in technology and production capacity, but then s/he would have to endure the taxes incurred by the government not to mention the seemingly endless paperwork and inspections (let's not forget that any one agency is able to hold you up for as long as they want... or for as long as it takes for you to give them a bribe so they say).  And in any case, doing business means someone is making money off of your business, so the Moldovans say.

As you walk through the village, you see several empty houses with unkempt yards from when the families left to work abroad never to come back.  You walk into a school and find that there may be committed teachers but with so few resources, overflowing classrooms, and very small salaries that they are left exhausted and lacking motivation day after day.  You find more girls than boys in the high schools, since many of the boys already at age 16 have gone abroad to find a more profitable form of work for the moment.  Around town, you might find many elderly women who receive a small pension and somehow year after year make it through a cold winter living off of what they saved from their garden, what they can take from their cow (if they're lucky to have one), and what money they have after spending most of it on utilities.  You will find often at least one family member working abroad for 3 months at a time, if not for years at a time.  And you will easily find a drunk man or two midday, wandering the streets and most definitely not in any position to work.  His capacity for doing stupid things to himself and his neighbor has just increased for the majority of the day.  That's also a good reason why you might find a guard overlooking every good farmer's plot of land to prevent someone, perhaps a drunk someone, from stealing equipment or produce.

Sigh.  This part of reality in rural Moldova is the bit that I'd rather leave out but know I must share.  This is the part that often makes me angry, makes me feel helpless, and at the same time puts fire in my bones to do something, even the smallest good thing, to make this dismal situation a little better.  It also makes me grateful for those brave hearts and strong minds that are engaged in agriculture in this country, who have worked their tails off to be here and to work the land productively.  It's with all these emotions that I frame it as an affair with agriculture, this sector that so vastly impacts the livelihoods of so many Moldovans (and billions around the world). In Moldova, I might go as far as to say, "Scandal!"

Moving Forward

"Agriculture... is the first in utility, and ought to be the first in respect."  

Thomas Jefferson said it well in 1803, and he could say it again today in Moldova and worldwide.  I made some splashes in my blog about IT education in Moldova recently, but agriculture is what really makes me tick.  Agriculture always has my attention and respect wherever I roam.  I also truly believe it deserves far more attention and respect by others in the Republic of Moldova from the highest ranks in the government to the youngest kid in the village. 

I envision a transformation through a focus on utilizing agriculture to its full potential in this country.  If this were to happen, it will certainly take years.  For now, stay tuned as I hope to share with you soon a few success stories I have found that give me hope.