Dubossary, 5 June. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. An entrepreneur from Italy, one of the major land users in Dubossary District, Roberto Guardigli, is planning to further develop his business in Pridnestrovie, investing in new projects.
Today, Lender Agroprim LLC processes over 9,000 hectares of agricultural land in the district. The Italian businessman arrived in Dubossary in 2007. An experienced farmer, he decided to try to realise his abilities on the Pridnestrovian land.
Many hectares of land were abandoned and not cultivated in those years. The owner of Lender Agroprim LLC, Roberto Guardigli, rented most of them and began to cultivate cereals. For several years, the entrepreneur invested €4.5 million in agricultural production, purchasing new equipment for partial reclamation.
For 10 years in Pridnestrovie, he hasn't had only to invest and develop but also to face difficulties, the businessman says.
"There were not stable business policies; product prices changed frequently; irrigation tariffs doubled. It was difficult to build medium- and long-term plans. I hope that now the situation in the republic has been changing for the better; laws are adopted to attract new investors," said Roberto Guardigli.
In addition to the traditional varieties of cereals - winter barley, wheat, as well as corn, rapeseed and sunflower, Lender Agroprima tries to cultivate new types of crops: peas, flax, chickpeas, which are in demand in the European market. Along with growing cereals, the entrepreneur started to build a complex for storing, processing and packaging products.
Last year alone, €2.3 million was invested in the first stage - construction of an elevator that can store 16,000 tonnes of grain. The elevator was equipped with new fire safety and power supply systems. To complete the first stage, it is still necessary to invest €650,000. The entrepreneur plans to complete the installation of processing lines.
"We are planning to build a dining room for our employees, a wholesale store where everyone can buy cereals at affordable prices, like at seasonal fairs. We are also planning to buy a modern "Autopilot" system to control equipment. This will enable us to use it more efficiently, determine yield maps and automatically calculate the costs of technological stages of cultivation," Roberto Guardigli said.
The Italian farmer hopes that the new investment law will also help those who have already started investing in business development in Pridnestrovie. Over the past three years, LLC Lender Agroprim has contributed 19 million rubles to the budgets of various levels.
