From 27 November to 1 December 2023, a group of students from the MBA study program “Management in agribusiness” and the professors of the Technical University of Moldova, Mrs. BUGAIAN Larisa, LITVIN Aurelia, BÂRDAN Veaceslav, made a study visit to Brussels.
The participants visited and communicated with representatives of European and national institutions and agricultural enterprises in Belgium:
- Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission.
- Permanent Representation of Romania to the European Union.
- The COPA-COGECA Union, which is the largest umbrella organisation for farmers and agricultural cooperatives in Europe and the largest lobby group in the EU.
- FOODDRINKSEUROPE – the voice of the food industry in the EU.
- European Parliament.
- House of European History.
- The Bel’Export fruit export company, as well as the BelOrta and New Green cooperatives. Together they have a combined annual turnover of over €450 million.
- The Forward Farm company, which specialises in growing potatoes in the countryside. The farm has a research partnership with Bayer to test and adapt innovations in farming systems.
Participants learned about the legislative process at European level and how farmers’ wishes are considered in this process. The legislative process involves a number of European institutions which are consulted by civil society organisations. Deliberations and negotiations can take 2-3 years.
This study visit is part of the project “Electronic Pan-European Learning System for Sustainable Agribusiness MBA Education”, e-agriMBA, co-financed by the EU, with the main aim of deepening practical knowledge on the European integration of the Republic of Moldova and the digitisation of agriculture.
The study visit was supported by the OPTIM Project, funded by Switzerland and implemented by Helvetas.
