In the village of Slobozia, in the Ștefan Vodă district of Moldova, Veronica and Veniamin Bondarenco – a dedicated farming couple – made a bold decision to invest in their homeland rather than seek a future abroad. This choice, made five or six years ago, marked the beginning of an agricultural journey built on hard work, vision, and an openness to innovation.
Their first step was the purchase of 20 hectares of farmland. To be closer to their work, the couple moved to the village and gradually developed their agricultural business, which now spans over 350 hectares of crops and 12 hectares of plum orchards.
In 2024, with the support of the EU-LEADER Rural Development Fund 3.0, funded through the EU4Moldova: Local Communities programme, under the EU4Business initiative and implemented locally by the Local Action Group “Drumul Kizilului”, the Bondarenco family received a grant aimed at digitalising their farming operations.
The project included the installation of a modern weather station, the development of a user-friendly website and a multifunctional digital platform, as well as the purchase of a laptop to help manage the business more efficiently.
“We have a modern, very simple and useful website for our customers. They already know what we do and what we offer, so when they call, they know exactly what they need,”Veniamin Bondarenco explains.
The website reflects their full range of services – from crop sales and land rental to home delivery, depending on quantity.
A core element of the project is the digital platform that allows the family to monitor each field remotely. It provides real-time data on soil conditions, supports mapping, and facilitates better-informed decisions. The weather station, linked to satellite and smart sensors, supplies precise updates on temperature, humidity, and wind.
“Now we can monitor everything from home. It’s incredibly useful, because before we had to physically go out to the fields to check the conditions,” Veronica Bondarenco adds.
The data is also key for coordinating their team. Workers located in different areas receive up-to-date information on the optimal time to start work in the fields.
Their current crops include wheat, maize, sunflower, rapeseed, and peas, with part of the harvest sold locally and the rest exported to the European Union. Thanks to the integration of smart technologies, the Bondarenco family can respond more quickly to market demands, cut operational costs, and increase the efficiency of daily tasks.
Looking ahead, Veronica and Veniamin plan to grow their business further, create more local jobs, and apply for a new grant to develop an irrigation system.
For the Bondarenco family, every step toward digitalisation has been more than an investment – it’s a statement of confidence in the potential of their village. They have chosen not shortcuts, but sustainable solutions that bring both purpose and progress. And as they look to the future, they see more than just cultivated land – they see a clearer path forward, where smart farming takes root and flourishes right here, at home.
