STANDARD TWINNING PROJECT FICHE
1. Basic Information
1.1 Programme: 2012/023-421
1.2 Twinning Number: MD 12 ENI AG 01 16 (MD/25)
1.3 Title: Support to the National Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Moldova
1.4 Sector: Agriculture
1.5 Beneficiary country: the Republic of Moldova
List of Abbreviations
ANSA / National Food Safety Agency
AIPA / Agency for Intervention and Payment
ARD / Agriculture and Rural Development
ARDS / Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2014-2020
CAP / Common Agricultural Policy
CIB / Comprehensive Institution Building
DCFTA / Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
EC / European Commission
EIB / European Investment Bank
ENI / European Neighbourhood Initiative
ENP / European Neighbourhood Policy
ENPARD / European Neighbourhood Partnership to Agriculture and Rural Development
ESRA / Economic Stimulation in Rural Areas
EU / European Union
EUD / European Union Delegation
GIZ / Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit
HR / Human Resources
ICT / Information, Communication and Technology
MAFI / Ministry of Agriculture and Food-Industry
NDS / National Development Strategy
NAO / National Authorising Officer
NGO / Non-Governmental Organisation
PSC / Project Steering Committee
RTA / Resident Twinning Adviser
UNDP / United Nations Programme for Development
USAID / United States Aid for International Development
WTO / World Trade Organisation
2. Objectives
2.1 Overall Objective(s):
The overall objective of the project is to enhance the commercial and export potential of the agro-business food chain in Republic of Moldova in line with EU standards and DCFTA technical requirements.
2.2 Project purpose:
The purpose of this contract is to strength the capacity of the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) in managing all aspects of food safety from the farm to fork, in establishing unified food safety control system at the central level, with regional and local representations and in enforcing compliance of agro-food operators with national/EU standards in view of DCFTA.
2.3 Contribution to National Development Plan/Cooperation agreement/Association Agreement/Action Plan
On 27 June 2014, Moldova and the EU signed the Association Agreement including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DCFTA). In support of implementation of the Association Agenda, the EU signed the Single Support Framework (2014-2017) with the national authorities allocating up to EUR 420 million with key priorities Public Administration Reform, Agriculture and Rural Development, Police and Border Police. Around 60% of EU Assistance to Moldova is implemented via Budget Support for which three actions were launched as part of the AAP 2014 for a total of EUR 131 million to implement the DCFTA (EUR 30 million), Public Financial Policy Reforms (EUR 37 million) and European Neighbourhood Programme to Agriculture and Rural Development (EUR 64 million). Besides these programmes the EU has ongoing budget support programmes in the field of Vocational Education Training (EUR 25 million), Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (EUR 21 million), and Economic Stimulation in Rural Areas (EUR 72 million). The total amount of budget support payments in Republic of Moldova for 2014 alone totalled EUR 79.5 million.
In the context of the Association Agreement, the Republic of Moldova committed to approximate its legislation in the relevant sectors with that of the EU, and develop its administrative and institutional infrastructure. The Association Agreement is a concrete way to take advantage of the very positive dynamics in EU-Moldova relations. It focuses on support for core reforms, economic recovery, governance, sector cooperation and the far reaching liberalisation of Moldova’s trade with the European Union. The Agreement aims to deepen political and economic relations between Moldova and the EU, and to gradually integrate Moldova into the EU Internal Market – the largest single market in the world.
The DCFTA has considerable economic and geopolitical significance decisive for Moldova. In particular, the DCFTA aims to include the Republic of Moldova into the European economic area, provided Moldova complies with substantial parts of the acquis in the areas of standards, quality infrastructure, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards. This Agreement therefore opens great opportunities for the country, for both the market access for goods and services and the deep structural reforms favors for increasing the competitiveness of the Moldavian economy.
The Republic of Moldova has been on a path of approximation of its food safety and quality legislation and institutions for many years. This process has been intensified over recent years as part of the preparation for the conclusion and implementation of the Association Agreement including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The progress in the field of approximation of legislation in the field of plant and animal health and food safety has been considerable.
3. Description
3.1 Background and justification
National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) was created on January 16, 2013, under the reorganization through fusion of Sanitary-Veterinary and Animal Origin Food Safety Agency and of General Inspectorate of Phytosanitary Supervision and Seed Control. National Food Safety Agency became the successor in rights and obligations for veterinary and phytosanitary field and officially began its activity in February 14, 2013. ANSA operates under the Law no. 113 of May 18, 2012 on establishment of principles and general requirements of the food safety, Law no. 221-XVI of October 19, 2007 on veterinary and sanitary activity, Law no. 228 of September 23, 2010 about protection of plants and phytosanitary quarantine and Government Decision no. 51 of 16.01.2013 on the organization and operation of the National Food Safety Agency. ANSA is a government structure under the Prime Minister Office.
The overall objective of the Agency is to organize and coordinate the areas targeted to ensure safety and food quality, maintaining and enhancing animal welfare and plant health, maintaining a system of state measures aimed at ensuring animal health and plant protection, safety of food and raw material obtained as a result of their processing.
The specific objectives are outlined in accordance with the general objective of the Agency and deal with food and feed safety: ensuring sanitary-veterinary control and animal welfare, seed control, plant protection and health and phytosanitary quarantine, biological, chemical and physical safety of animal and non-animal origin food and animal feed, animal health, control of animal, zoonoses and zoonotic agents, contagious diseases, supervision and monitoring over production, import, marketing, use and storage of phytosanitary products and fertilizers, supervision and control over residues of pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary medicines and other contaminants, primary product food and feed quality supervision, and other fields related to food safety animal and plant health.
The main source of funding of the Agency is the State Budget, covering about 75% of annual expenditure, the other 25% are the resources from charged services provided by the Agency. Agency's total budget for 2015 was 180 449 thousand lei, of which about approximately 35 671 thousand lei accounted own resources.
Informational systems are undeveloped and in some cases inexistent. Most information can be found only on paper, which makes the process of monitoring and monitoring programs extremely difficult. The reporting system is not unified, is carried out sporadically and is not systematised.
As a young institution, which operates a relatively short period of time, and was compelled to adopt EU legislation at operational level in a short period of time, it can be emphasized that ANSA has a tremendous difficult work. Signing the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, provides a wide range of opportunities for the operators and producers from Moldova, the main opportunity is the potential of opening of one of the largest markets in the world. Meanwhile, the two agreements impose a number of requirements that Moldova has assumed to fulfill. At the institutional level, in order to access the European market for Moldovan products, ANSA must meet a number of requirements, which requires time, hard work and large financial resources. As a result, ANSA is the cornerstone for facilitating the access for local producers to foreign markets.
In this respect, ANSA needs at the moment a team highly qualified and trained, so that they can meet all the requirements put forward by EU, in order to prove the ability of Moldova to provide quality and harmless products to European consumers. A negative factor facing the Agency is currently high flow of staff, caused by low salaries and lack of motivation. This leads to some gaps in Agency's activity, both centrally and locally, in subordinated subdivisions. Therefore, staff training is a key factor influencing the quality of services delivered by the Agency.
In addition to monitoring and control functions, the Agency has an important function of consulting the private sector operators in order to implement safety and quality standards of food, raw materials and feed. In this regard, the Agency develops and informs the private sector operators of the requirements on product quality, product safety, storage, preserving, placing on the market and others conditions. These activities are extremely important in the context of the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU. The opening of the European market is a major opportunity, and knowledge of the requirements of these markets for food is a primary factor to gain access to the latter. European requirements and standards for animal and vegetable origin food are constantly adjusting and information to local producers can only be reached through responsible official bodies, which are familiar with all regulatory and legal changes that take place in the EU.
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry is the main partner of ANSA, which is responsible for developing state policy in the field of food safety regulation and control and in the sanitary-veterinary and zoo technical field, plant protection and phytosanitary quarantine, seed control, primary products, food and feed quality. The key document, which guides state policies in this area for the next period, is the Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy for 2014 – 2020.
The Agency cooperates with the Ministry of Health and Consumer Protection Agency in order to take measures of early warning and emergency occurrence, related to human and animal health that carries risks.
3.2 Linked activities (other international and national initiatives):
The European Union is a major donor to the Republic of Moldova and has allocated more than € 500 million to Moldova. The Single Support Framework, SSF (2014-2017) is the main EU-mechanism for supporting Moldova in its implementation of the AA-agenda. Of all the areas in which support is provided, there are three priority sectors out of which ANSA benefits from two: public administration reform and agriculture and rural development. The European Neighbourhood Program for Agriculture and rural development (ENPARD), under the Annual Action Program 2014, focuses on supporting enhanced agricultural competitiveness. It also seeks to improve markets and strengthened policy, legal and institutional framework.
Besides ENPARD, considerable support is also channelled via the program for Comprehensive Institution Building (CIB). It includes for example supply of laboratory kits for surveillance of Avian Influenza and NewCastle Diseases, EU high-level policy advisors mission with one High Level Advisor placed in ANSA. The budget support for supporting the implementation of the DCFTA is also targeting ANSA.
FAO
In early 2014, FAO and Moldova signed a host country agreement, under which FAO is to establish a permanent representation in Chisinau. The main objectives with the permanent representation are to strengthen relations and to support implementation of technical cooperation projects, focusing on animal health, food safety, nutrition and agriculture development (FAO, 2014). During the period 2014-2015, FAO is implementing a project “Support to strengthening the food safety system in Moldova”. It focuses on four outputs; food safety legislation, application of risk analysis, FBO implementation of Codex recommendations and strengthened national Codex structures.
World Bank (WB)
“Agriculture Competitiveness project (2012-2017). The development objective of the project is to enhance the competitiveness of the agro-food sector by supporting the modernization of the food safety management system, facilitating market access for farmers, and mainstreaming agro-environmental and sustainable land management practices. A tangible investment is the building of four new Border Inspection Points in Moldova.
U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID
The main project financed by USAID in agriculture is the “Agriculture Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project, ACED”. It is a five-year program (2011-2016), co-funded by USAID and MCC ($ 16 mln). The main objective is to improve the competitiveness of Moldovan high value agriculture (HVA) by addressing binding constraints in targeted fruit and vegetable value chains at the marketing, production and policy levels.
Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ
German international cooperation with Moldova focuses on promoting modernisation in the agricultural sector and the food processing industries, as well as on improving vocational training and municipal services. GIZ supports ANSA in the following areas: institutional building, inspection, auditing, accreditation of laboratories and equipment.
Romanian Government is financing a 100000 Euro project focused on animal health and supply of kits for laboratory for testing the efficiency of the vaccines.
3.3 Results:
Result 1: National legislation regulating food safety, food/feed, veterinary and SPS is aligned with EU acquis and is being implemented by ANSA.
Indicators
ü Legal and regulatory framework developed and implemented - 100% for 2017 and 2018;
ü Regulations specific to sanitary-veterinary field, harmonized with EU requirements - 100%;
ü Specific official control procedures are fully developed and put into practice;
ü Secondary normative framework and operational procedures are harmonized with EU requirements;
Result 2: Unified control actions and mechanism on the entire chain from "farm to fork" is being implemented by ANSA
Indicators
ü Necessary technical guidelines, SOPs and checklists are developed
ü Risk assessment based control procedures are fully developed and put into practice
ü The inspectors from territorial subdivisions of the Agency are trained
ü Diseases monitoring programs are developed
ü Operators monitoring plan are approved by ANSA
ü Monitoring and surveillance programs for animal diseases are put in place by ANSA
Result 3: Consumer confidence on the food safety system enhanced through the implementation of a structured information and risk communication policy and raising of consumers’ awareness