Vladimir Seregov
Vladimir Seregov from Balanul Nou village, Râșcani district is proud of the 14 greenhouses he managed to build and achieve beautiful results. More than that, he says that one of the 14 greenhouses is underground and unique of its kind in our country. Vladimir's story began in 2016, when after several years of working abroad he decided to invest the money in a business developed at home, namely in greenhouses. The producer says that he always loved the land and when it came to the business he knew for sure that it would be something related to agriculture. The first greenhouse was built with the money he managed to collect abroad, but already after the first year, which was a successful one, he thought of expanding and so he applied for a bank loan. Because he was just starting out, commercial banks were quite skeptical about giving him a loan.
"Like many other Moldovans, after several years of working abroad, I decided to invest at home, because I have always had a special love for the land. So we invested and built the first greenhouse, everything went well and we decided to expand. We also ended up accessing a loan, calling Mikro Kapital. Being a successful experience, other loans accessed through this company followed", says Vladimir Seregov.
The underground greenhouse is located at a depth of 2.3 m. 5 permanent employees work in the greenhouses, and additional staff are hired during the harvest season.
"I believe that an important change has been introduced for employers, it is about the register of workers. This register includes working people, including those who are seasonally employed. For the most part, people have permanent work, maybe only 1-2 months are free, otherwise, starting from January, work starts in the underground greenhouse".
Grow a wide variety of vegetables, starting with early cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, regular cabbage, cauliflower, sweet peppers.
"I manage a store where we sell our own produce, but we also have a partnership with the companies that deliver vegetables to supermarket chains in Chisinau, and we also sell part of the production at agricultural markets. Regarding doughnuts, for example, the harvest we have is insufficient, I am constantly asked if we have any bell peppers left. We also have buyers who procure vegetables for freezing".
In the underground greenhouse, in addition to the seedlings needed for the ground greenhouses, they also grow seedlings that they sell based on prior contracts.
"This year, we harvested more than 20 tons of early cabbage and I consider it a good result. The biggest problem we have is the lack of workers, even if you find people you hire, they work for a year and then go abroad. We as employers are happy when we find people ready to work, we teach them, but after a certain period of time, unfortunately, they leave. In addition, the current year the prices of fertilizers and inputs have increased a lot, and the marketing price of the production has remained the same".
The producer claims that they are also affected by the high prices of wood and coal, because they have to heat the greenhouses.
"With the increases being so high, I would have to raise the price of the seedling, but who will afford to buy it. We did not receive subsidies and did not benefit from help from the state, because we could not collect the necessary documents in the required time, because the production does not wait and all the work must be done on time".
Thus, when needed, it focuses on accessing loans, and here the partnership it developed with Mikro Kapital is really useful. Including, he accessed the money needed for the construction of the underground greenhouse through this company.
"The underground greenhouse is unique in our country and I am glad that we were able to implement this project. I appreciate very much that the collaboration we have with Mikro Kapital is a lasting one, based on trust. In addition, we have an advantageous partnership, the collaborators are very attentive, they are always ready to help us, consult us. I would recommend other entrepreneurs to turn to this company".
As for future plans, the producer says that he will pay more attention to the quality of the products he grows. If until now he was oriented towards expansion, now he considers that the area he has is sufficient. Will invest in film, quality fertilizers.
"Now is the time to reap the benefits of the investments made," Vladimir Seregov also said.
Mikro Kapital - we develop the business together!
