# How to start a farming business in Moldova: crops and viticulture, livestock, forestry, fishing and aquaculture

No farming activity is among the 22 licences in the list of permits. The first decision is the legal form: a peasant farm pays 7% income tax, an SRL 12%. This page starts with crops and viticulture, where fields need no permit but a vineyard must be entered in the Vine and Wine Register. Then comes livestock, with its sanitary-veterinary authorisation, then forestry, where timber from state forests is won at auction, and it ends with fishing and aquaculture.

## In brief

- **CAEM codes:** 01.11, 01.21, 02.20 and 03.22
- **Licence:** Not required (livestock, forests and fishing have permits of their own)
- **Income tax:** 12% for an SRL, 7% for a peasant farm
- **Individual enterprise:** Not applicable (in farming, an individual can only work as a peasant farm)

## Grain, vegetables, orchards or a vineyard: fields need no permit, while storage and vineyards have their own rules

Growing grain, vegetables, fruit and grapes needs neither a licence nor a permit. A vineyard must be entered in the Vine and Wine Register within 30 days of planting, and one larger than 0.5 ha must be planted according to a design project. If you sort, pack or store fruit, vegetables, grain or nuts, you register with the National Food Safety Agency.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 01.11 | Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds | Wheat, maize, barley, sunflower, soya, rapeseed, peas and beans grown in the field. Preparing the crop for first sale belongs here; processing it in a mill or an oil plant does not. |
| 01.13 | Growing of vegetables and melons, roots and tubers | Field and greenhouse vegetables, melons, potatoes, sugar beet and cultivated mushrooms. |
| 01.21 | Growing of grapes | Vineyards for wine and table grapes. Making wine is not included: it has code 11.02. |
| 01.24 | Growing of pome fruits and stone fruits | Orchards of apples, pears, quinces, plums, sweet and sour cherries, apricots and peaches. |
| 01.25 | Growing of other tree and bush fruits and nuts | Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and currants. |
| 01.61 | Support activities for crop production | Field work done for others under contract: ploughing, sowing, spraying, harvesting, irrigation and hiring out farm machinery with an operator. |

- **Authorisation: Food safety registration certificate** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Conditioning, packing and storing grain and oil seeds; sorting, packing and storing fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts; exporting these products; and organic farming. The list also covers small producers’ primary production of fruit, nuts, potatoes and vegetables. The application includes the title deed or the lease for the premises. It costs 150 lei.

**Who buys it:** Mills, oil, sugar, canning and juice plants, wholesalers and exporters, and, for grapes, wineries. A grower who sells grapes for wine gives the buyer the data it needs for its own production declaration.

**What is different about the money:** Grain, vegetables, fruit, fresh grapes and oil seeds under the tariff headings listed in the Tax Code are taxed at 8% VAT instead of 20%. Tractors and farm machinery under the headings listed in the Tax Code are VAT-exempt. When you buy produce from an individual who is not registered as an entrepreneur, you withhold a 6% final tax on payment.

## A cattle, pig, sheep or poultry farm, or an apiary: a sanitary-veterinary authorisation or registration with ANSA

A farm keeping cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry or rabbits can only operate with ANSA’s sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation. It is issued within 20 working days at most, after an on-site inspection, and the application includes a contract with a veterinarian. An apiary needs no authorisation, only a sanitary-veterinary registration, which is free and has no expiry.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 01.41 | Raising of dairy cattle | Dairy farms and raw milk production. Processing the milk falls under 10.51. |
| 01.46 | Raising of swine/pigs | Pig farms. Like any livestock farm, they operate under the sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation. |
| 01.47 | Raising of poultry | Chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, egg production and hatcheries. |
| 01.49 | Raising of other animals | Bees, with honey and wax production, rabbits, fur animals and snails. The classification that takes effect in 2027 has no class 01.49, and raising other animals moves to code 01.48. |

- **Authorisation: Sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry if you own the premises; for the term of the lease if you rent them. Farms keeping cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, rabbits or fur animals, hatcheries, livestock purchasing units and units that collect live animals for export. The application goes to the agency’s local office, with the company’s registration document, proof of the right to use the premises and a contract with a veterinarian. It costs 150 lei. If the agency does not reply within 20 working days, the authorisation is deemed granted. Modernising, relocating or expanding requires a new authorisation.
- **Notification: Sanitary-veterinary registration** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry. Apiaries, fish farms, artificial insemination units and primary feed producers. The company notifies the agency, which adds it to the list of registered units within five working days. Registration is free.

**Who buys it:** Slaughterhouses, dairies, meat processors, egg and honey collection and packing units, livestock purchasing units and units that collect live animals for export, all of them holding a sanitary-veterinary authorisation.

**What is different about the money:** Live animals under the tariff headings listed in the Tax Code are taxed at 8% VAT. A company that buys animals from an individual who is not registered as an entrepreneur withholds a 6% final tax, but raw milk bought from individuals is not taxed. The state pays neither subsidies nor compensation for unidentified animals.

## Logging, a forest nursery or mushroom gathering: auctions, proof of timber origin and permits from the Environment Agency

State and municipal forests cannot be granted under a concession. Their timber is sold by the forestry enterprises or by a company that has won the right at auction. In a private forest, trees can be felled only after the timber has been assessed and the felling sites authorised. Timber may only move with documents proving its legal origin, and gathering mushrooms and wild berries commercially needs a permit from the Environment Agency.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02.10 | Silviculture and other forestry activities | Planting, thinning and tending forests, and nurseries growing seedlings for reforestation. |
| 02.20 | Logging | Felling and extracting logs, firewood, and wood and logging residues for energy. Splitting and planing wood fall under division 16. |
| 02.30 | Gathering of wild growing non-wood products | Mushrooms, wild berries, nuts, chestnuts, acorns and grass gathered from the wild, not cultivated. |

- **Authorisation: Permit to fell forest vegetation** — Environment Agency, valid for 1 year. The permit the list of permits sets for felling forest vegetation, issued free of charge. In a private forest, the Forest Code allows timber to be harvested only after it has been assessed and the felling sites authorised by the environmental authority, and the trees to be felled are marked in advance by forestry staff.
- **Authorisation: Permit to collect wild plant resources** — Environment Agency, valid for Calendar year. Gathering wild fruit, berries, nuts, mushrooms and medicinal plants for sale or for production. It costs a company 2,000 lei. Plants and animals listed in the Red Book may not be collected at all.

**Who buys it:** Sawmills and furniture factories, which may not receive, store or process timber without proof of origin, buyers of wood for energy, and private forest owners, who can hand the management of their forest to a specialist company under a contract.

**What is different about the money:** Solid biofuel for energy production and the raw material supplied for it, including forest products and logging residues, carry 8% VAT. Forest land can be used for up to one year, for a fee, to harvest timber, grass or non-wood products or to place beehives.

## Commercial fishing or a fish farm: a quota from the Environment Agency or a fish pond of your own

Commercial fishing in rivers and natural lakes is only allowed with a commercial fishing quota certificate, issued by the Environment Agency for one year at 9,000 lei per quota, with an auction when there are several applicants. A fish farm works in fish ponds it owns or has the use of, with an environmental permit for special water use and a sanitary-veterinary registration.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03.12 | Freshwater fishing | Commercial fishing in rivers and lakes. Sport and recreational fishing has code 93.19. |
| 03.22 | Freshwater aquaculture | Raising fish in ponds and tanks, including fry hatcheries. Processing fish falls under 10.20. |

- **Notification: Sanitary-veterinary registration** — National Food Safety Agency, valid for No expiry. Apiaries, fish farms, artificial insemination units and primary feed producers. The company notifies the agency, which adds it to the list of registered units within five working days. Registration is free.
- **Authorisation: Commercial fishing quota certificate** — Environment Agency, valid for 1 year. Commercial fishing in rivers and natural lakes. By 15 April the agency publishes the list of fishing sectors and the quotas for the following year, and applications are accepted until 1 May, with the list of employed fishers, the fishing gear and the net mesh sizes. With a single application for a sector, the decision comes within five working days. With several, the quota is auctioned and goes to the highest bidder, starting at 9,000 lei. Permits for the employed fishers are issued free of charge together with the certificate.
- **Authorisation: Environmental permit for special water use** — Environment Agency, valid for 6 years for short-term use, up to 12 years for long-term use. Use of water for fish farming by the holder of a pond’s hydraulic structures. It costs 1,000 or 3,000 lei, depending on the length of use.

**Who buys it:** Fish collection units and units that produce, process, store and sell fish products, which operate under a sanitary-veterinary authorisation.

**What is different about the money:** The quota fee is paid in full to the state budget within three working days of the auction, and quotas are approved every year, separately for each river and lake. The owner of a pond’s hydraulic structures pays for the use of the pond’s land and is responsible for its upkeep.

## How the sector got here

- **1 March 2019 — Civil Code, chapter on agricultural leases, as amended by Law no. 133/2018.** The Law on agricultural leases no. 198/2003 is repealed. Since then, leases of land and other agricultural assets have been governed by the Civil Code, and unless the chapter on agricultural leases provides otherwise, the general rules on leases apply.
- **26 April 2025 — Forest Code no. 69/2024.** The new Forest Code takes effect, replacing the 1996 code. State and municipal forests cannot be granted under a concession, their timber is sold through the forestry enterprises or at auction, and it is traced from felling to first processing through the timber tracking information system.
- **1 January 2026 — Law no. 126/2025 on the financing, management and monitoring of agricultural policy.** Support from the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas is granted for the interventions in the Strategic Programme for Agricultural Policy, which the Government approves for five years. Calls for applications run for 30 to 90 days, and the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture decides within 90 days of a call closing.
- **13 November 2026 — Law no. 168/2026 amending the laws on sanitary-veterinary activity and on animal identification.** Bee colonies are registered in the “BeeProtect” system within 45 days of being formed, poultry and rabbit farms update their stock in the State Animal Register at least once every seven days, and non-professional holdings may keep no more than 10 livestock units.
- **1 January 2027 — Law no. 126/2025 and the CAEM Rev. 2.1 classification.** Advance payments and direct payments are removed from Law no. 71/2023 on subsidies, which continues to apply only to post-investment payments and to projects started earlier. The new classification also takes effect that day: class 01.49 disappears, raising other animals moves to code 01.48, seed processing joins post-harvest activities in 01.63, and fishing gets a new class, 03.30, for support activities.

## How big the market is

Agriculture is Moldova’s third-largest sector by number of small and medium-sized companies. For 2025, 6,460 companies in agriculture, forestry and fishing filed financial statements, with 38,831 employees and sales revenue of 32.9 billion lei. Almost all of them grow crops or raise livestock: 6,298 companies, of which 5,461 have fewer than ten employees. Forestry has 62 companies and 3,766 employees, and fishing and aquaculture 100 companies and 262 employees.

The average gross wage in agriculture, forestry and fishing was 10,776 lei in the fourth quarter of 2025, and 13,672 lei in forestry. The average for the whole economy in the same quarter was 16,355 lei.

## Which permits apply instead of a licence

Farming requires no licence, and working the fields needs no permit. Permits come with the activity:

- a livestock farm operates under the sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation, while an apiary or a fish farm operates under a sanitary-veterinary registration, both from the National Food Safety Agency;
- storing, sorting and packing grain, fruit, vegetables and nuts, exporting them and organic farming require the food safety registration certificate, which costs 150 lei;
- a vehicle that carries live animals needs its own sanitary-veterinary authorisation, which costs 150 lei and is valid for three years;
- plant protection products may only be kept in a specialised warehouse, notified to ANSA at least 15 working days before work starts, and the people who handle them must undergo a medical examination;
- for exports of plants and plant products, ANSA issues a phytosanitary certificate, free of charge and valid for 14 days.

Forests, fishing and ponds fall under the Environment Agency, and vineyards under the National Office of Vine and Wine.

## Land: ownership and leases

Land is either bought or leased. Since 2019, agricultural leases have been governed by the Civil Code. The contract is made in writing, for at least one year and at most 30 years, and for an orchard or a vineyard the term is at least 25 years unless the parties agree otherwise. Rent is paid in money, in produce or in both, and produce is valued at no more than the local market price.

Within three months of signing, the tenant records a lease longer than five years in the real estate register and registers a shorter one with the town hall of the locality where the land is. If the tenant fails to do so, the lease cannot be relied on against third parties, and the owner may terminate the contract. The tenant has a right of first refusal if the owner sells the land.

A company with a foreign founder, director, beneficial owner or capital cannot buy agricultural or forest land, and the purchase contract would be void. The Land Code ban concerns acquiring ownership of the land, not leasing it. Other real estate, which a company with foreign capital can also buy, is covered on the [real estate agency](/en/industries/real-estate-agency) page.

Agricultural land with buildings on it is taxed at no less than 0.1% of the tax base, at the rate approved by the local council. For agricultural land left uncultivated two years in a row, the local council may increase the tax up to 300%, from the third year onwards.

## Crops and vineyards

Growing crops needs no permit. What matters is what you do with the harvest: a grain store, a cold store for fruit or a sorting and packing line is registered with ANSA, and small producers of fruit, nuts, potatoes and vegetables register for the production itself.

### Vineyards have their own register

Vineyards are recorded in the Vine and Wine Register, kept by the National Office of Vine and Wine. Within 30 days of planting, replanting, grubbing up or selling a vineyard, its holder applies to have the plantation entered or its details changed. A commercial vineyard larger than 0.5 ha must be planted according to a project drawn up by a design office, within the demarcated wine-growing area. Wine may only be made from Vitis vinifera varieties or crosses of it, listed in the Catalogue of Plant Varieties or the European Union’s common catalogue. Noah, Othello, Isabelle, Clinton and the other direct-producer hybrids, as well as Vitis labrusca varieties, are banned for wine production.

A young vineyard is recorded in its first growing season and becomes a bearing vineyard after its fourth year. Every year, grape growers file a harvest declaration by 1 December. Making wine is not farming: it has code 11.02 and its own rules, set out on the page about [food, beverages and tobacco](/en/industries/food-beverages-tobacco).

## Livestock

A livestock farm needs its sanitary-veterinary authorisation before its first working day. ANSA inspects the farm on site against a checklist, and the authorisation is issued within 20 working days at most. Farms that export are authorised by the agency’s head office. Pigs may not be raised in forest rangers’ lodges or in zones that ANSA designates as high-risk for category A diseases.

Every animal is identified and registered in the State Animal Register: cattle get two ear tags and an individual passport, free of charge; sheep, goats and pigs get one ear tag; horses get a transponder. The deadline is 20 days from birth, or up to 60 days for piglets, lambs and kids. The purchase, sale, death or slaughter of an animal must be reported to ANSA within seven days, and unidentified animals may not leave the farm. From 13 November 2026, bees are registered in the “BeeProtect” system on the basis of the apiary passport, and poultry and rabbit farms update their stock at least once a week.

## Forestry

Forest land may belong to the state, to local authorities or to private owners. State forests are managed by the institution responsible for forestry, and municipal ones by the town halls, directly or through specialised providers. Neither can be granted under a concession. A private company gets access to them in three ways: it buys the right to harvest timber at auction, it is granted forest land for use for one year at most, for harvesting, grazing or beehives, or it provides forestry services under a contract.

The owner of a private forest works to a forest management plan drawn up by a specialist company, guards and regenerates the forest, and fells timber only after the environmental authority has assessed it and authorised the felling sites. The sale of a forest is reported to the local forestry office within 60 days. The owner can hand the forest’s management to a specialist company under a contract, notifying the town hall and the environmental authority within 30 days.

Timber is tracked from the felling site to first processing through the timber tracking information system, and may only be transported with documents proving its origin. The Environmental Protection Inspectorate seizes timber without documents, and a carrier must refuse to load it. Grazing goats, sheep and pigs in forests is banned.

## Fishing and aquaculture

Commercial fishing is only allowed in the river and lake sectors the Environment Agency approves each year, with seine nets, trammel nets, gill nets and fyke nets whose mesh sizes meet the legal limits. Nets may not take up more than two thirds of a river’s width, and baiting is banned. Only the quota holder’s employed fishers may fish, each with their own permit.

A fish farm needs no quota. The company is operating legally if fish farming is among its registered activities, it owns or has the use of a purpose-built fish pond and it meets the environmental and sanitary-veterinary requirements. Fish pond land belongs to the water fund, and a pond’s use can only be changed with the consent of the Ministry of Agriculture.

## Subsidies

Farm support comes from the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas and is paid by the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture. Since 2026 it has been granted under Law no. 126/2025, for the interventions in the strategic programme the Government approves for five years, while Law no. 71/2023 still applies to projects started earlier. Calls are announced in the Official Gazette at least 20 days in advance and run for 30 to 90 days. Apply preferably online, to the agency’s office for the area where the farm is. Late applications are rejected, and the procedure ends within 90 days of the call closing.

An investment completed before the agency approves the project does not qualify for support, except for direct payments and a few interventions named in the law. Nor do companies whose founders, directors or beneficial owners are registered in jurisdictions that do not apply international transparency standards. The state pays no subsidies for unidentified animals.

## Which legal form to choose

In farming, an individual can only work on their own account as a peasant farm (gospodărie țărănească): the law does not allow an individual enterprise here, and no farming class is on the list of activities open to independent entrepreneurs. A peasant farm is registered with the Public Services Agency in the area where the founder’s land is, pays 7% income tax and can pay its annual tax in two instalments, a quarter by 25 September and the rest by 25 December. The founder must own land privately, only members of the founder’s family can be members, their work must make up more than half of the farm’s work, and all of them are liable for its debts with everything they own.

An SRL pays 12% but is subject to none of these conditions, is liable only with the company’s assets and is the form a foreign investor can use too. Paying the tax in two instalments, by 25 September and by 25 December, is open to agricultural companies as well, not only to peasant farms.

We handle the choice of CAEM codes, the articles of association, the filing at the Public Services Agency and the opening of the bank account. For a farm, we prepare the application for the sanitary-veterinary authorisation or the ANSA certificate, subsidy applications to the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture and export paperwork, and for a foreign company entering the market we register the Moldovan company. We can take over the accounting, including withholding the 6% tax on purchases from individuals, from the first month. What each service includes is set out on the [corporate services](/en/corporate-services) page.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do you need a licence to farm in Moldova?

No. The list of permits contains 22 licences, and none of them covers growing crops, raising livestock, forestry or fishing. Permits come with the specific activity: a sanitary-veterinary authorisation for a livestock farm, an ANSA certificate for storing and packing produce, a quota for commercial fishing, and an entry in the Vine and Wine Register for a vineyard.

### What do you have to do after planting a vineyard?

Within 30 days of planting, apply to the National Office of Vine and Wine to have the plantation entered in the Vine and Wine Register. For wine production you may only use varieties from the Catalogue of Plant Varieties or the European Union’s common catalogue, and direct-producer hybrids such as Isabelle or Noah are banned. The harvest declaration is due by 1 December.

### How many animals can you keep without a sanitary-veterinary authorisation?

A non-professional holding needs no authorisation, only a notification to ANSA. Until 12 November 2026, the limit is five adult cows with their calves, five pigs, 50 sheep or goats, 200 poultry, 100 rabbits and 30 bee colonies. From 13 November 2026 the limits change, and the total may not exceed 10 livestock units.

### How much does a commercial fishing right cost?

A commercial fishing quota costs 9,000 lei and gives the right to fish for one year in a sector approved by the Environment Agency. If several applicants want the same sector, the quota is auctioned, with a starting price of 9,000 lei. Only the company’s employed fishers may fish, with permits issued free of charge together with the certificate.

### Peasant farm or SRL: which should you choose?

A peasant farm pays 7% income tax instead of 12%, but it has the status of a natural person, and its members are liable for its debts with everything they own. The founder must own land privately, and family members must do more than half of the work, year after year. An SRL is subject to none of these conditions, is liable only with the company’s assets and can have shareholders from outside the family.

### Can a company with a foreign founder buy farmland?

No. A company with foreign capital, or with a foreign founder, director or beneficial owner, cannot acquire agricultural or forest land, and such a purchase contract is void. The ban concerns ownership of the land, not leasing it: an agricultural lease under the Civil Code runs for at least one year and at most 30 years.

### Who grants farm subsidies, and how do you apply?

The Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture, from the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas. Applications are accepted only while a call is open, and calls are announced in the Official Gazette at least 20 days in advance. Apply preferably online, to the agency’s office for the area where the farm is. An investment completed before the project is approved does not qualify for support, and no subsidies are paid for unidentified animals.

Choosing the CAEM codes, drafting the constitutive documents and filing with the Public Services Agency are part of the registration service.