Extending the social security coverage for farmers in the Republic of Moldova: findings and recommendations based on the social security assessment survey

In the Republic of Moldova, agriculture is a major economic sector. However, farmers and agricultural workers are one of the most disadvantaged groups who are not adequately covered by social security. The extension of coverage to agricultural workers may face various challenges due to the specific vulnerabilities they face. These conditions make it all the more important to provide adequate social protection for this group.

Effective policies and strategies for extending social security coverage for farmers should be based on an in-depth analysis of the target groups, and an evaluation of their social security needs and the services currently available to them. To this end, a social security assessment survey was carried out in November 2015 to collect primary data on the living conditions, household income structures, and the current status of social security coverage of farmers.

This report is organized as follows. Chapter 1 reviews the existing social security policies and related tax policies for farmers. Chapter 2 presents the main findings of the statistical survey as well as the focused group discussions. Chapter 3 summarizes the key issues in extending social security coverage for farmers, and discuss their policy implications. Three Annexes with explanations of detailed technical issues supplement the report. Annex 1 includes the questionnaires from the survey. Annex 2 summarizes the questions posed during focus group discussions. Annex 3 presents case studies of social security systems for farmers in selected EU member states. Finally, the Statistical Annex provides tables with detailed results of the statistical survey.