Automated viticulture in Moldova

Victor Efros, a 61-year-old agronomist, started his own vineyard in 2001 in the village of Pașcani in the Criuleni district. This business model is very popular in Moldova. Before that, he attended numerous national and international viticulture seminars and learned everything you need to know to make money from this business. However, Victor Efros offers something special: he grows wine using the European method with Moldovan grapes. Today Victor and his son are very proud of ten hectares of high quality grapes.

Viticulture is a seasonal business and his team is constantly changing. In the off-season, he employs five people. For the harvest season, he needs more than 20 employees to finish all the work on time.

Victor Efros took out a loan to introduce automation processes in his vineyard. The loan he received enabled him to purchase modern equipment and machinery.

Another feature of Victor Efros’ vineyard is that a rose bush grows at the beginning of each row of vines. This is a nice side effect, as the roses make the plantation look more colorful. But the real reason is that the rose has the same immune system as the vine. As soon as the first signs of disease are visible on the rose’s petals, he can act quickly to keep the vineyard healthy.

Microinvest, a microfinance institution, is a major player in the Moldovan microfinance market. Founded in 2003, Microinvest currently lends to more than 20,000 borrowers, including many farmers and small entrepreneurs. The microfinance institution has a gross loan portfolio of over 47 million euros and lends an average of 2,094 euros. Thanks to Microinvest’s loans, Victor Efros was able to gradually automate his vineyard. He acquired his own harvesting machine and built a wine cellar to store the wine.