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The agriculture of the Republic of Moldova is particularly prone to natural risks, especially droughts. The purposeof this paper is to present the state of sustainable development of the agricultural sector and opportunities forimplementation of the innovative land cultivation technologies. There are a number of socio-economic constraintsfor increasing the productivity in the traditional agricultural systems. In order to meet the growing competition onthe regional markets of agricultural products, modernization of agriculture in the Republic of Moldova is veryimportant. For investigation of the actual state of implementation of the conservative land cultivation technologieswere used specific methods and techniques such as statistical and economic analysis of economic indicators, casestudy approach, semi-structured interviews of agricultural producers. The study is also based on the statisticsreceived from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of Moldova.Economic analysis confirms that implementation of the No Till technology will reduce essentially the directproduction costs compared to traditional technology. However a more visible effect occurs starting with the 5-6year of the conservative land cultivation technologies’ implementation.

This paper focuses on the links between agricultural modernization and sustainable development, looking in particular at the impact of the structural changes over the rural livelihoods. In order to achieve this, there were used the following research methods such as: analysis of the economic indicators, methods of comparative analysis, assessment of the public policies’ impact on the rural development. The agricultural sector in the Republic of Moldova is based on extensive farming and is insufficiently adapted to market economy conditions. There is a growing understanding in the country that the rural economy is not confined to the agricultural sector, but embraces the broad spectrum of needs of all rural people including living standards, economic activities and natural resources. The situation is associated with the major risks related to the structural changes that may affect the countryside and the economy as a whole such as: a) migration and uncontrolled urbanization, b) lack of professional qualifications and adaptability of the population in the rural areas, c) inadequate use of the natural resources. Rural economy, employment issues, natural resource management and also goals and circumstances of the agricultural production have changed considerably. At the same time, academia and civil society are aware that the new paradigm of modernization must begin both with the agricultural technologies and the people. Its novelty is that in the combination of financial, economic and technological policies for agriculture, new components to be introduced, like policies aimed at improving human capital in agriculture and environmental protection. The paper contains conclusions and proposals on modernization of agriculture and diversification of non farm activities in rural areas.

This paper focuses on the links between changes in the land use and sustainable rural development in the Republic of Moldova. A particular attention is addressed to the analysis of land ownership fragmentation, existing impediments for creation of sustainable agricultural systems based on principles of economic growth, social equity and protection of the environment. The following research methods such as analysis of the impact of public policies in rural areas, including in agriculture, comparative analysis, analysis of annual time series, were used. There were also used qualitative research methods such as: interviews of key stakeholders and focus groups’ interviews. Data for the quantitative analysis were collected from statistical yearbooks of the Republic of Moldova, National Land Cadastre and other available sources. The agricultural sector of the Republic of Moldova after the land reform is characterized by a polarization between large corporate farms and many small and fragmented family farms. The consolidation of land ownerships could become an effective instrument that can address both the problems of land fragmentation, but also the sustainable rural development in a wider context.

The main challenge of the food sector in the Republic of Moldova is to identify specific needs and opportunities for agriculture and rural development throughout food supply chains, and focusing investment in areas where the most impact will be made. The identification and allocation of resources requires analysis of main dimensions of food supply chains, in order to establish links and determine local factors. In small transition economies the diagnosis of the food supply chains, is typically based on limited data and incomplete information. In order to investigate the actual state of food supply chains were used specific methods and techniques: statistical and economic analysis of macro-economic indicators, semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders, analysis of the impact of public policies on the agro-food sector. In the article is analyzed the process of food systems formation and integration at the local and global level. Although it is a small part of the overall agricultural sector, various local food systems are under development in the Republic of Moldova. These systems bring consumers in close contact with farmers and mobilize them to support local farms and sustainable farming practices. While local food systems continue to face many barriers, many of them show considerable potential for growth.