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The Farmer Who Dared to go Digital
One of Moldova’s most digitalized farmers, Veaceslav Burlacu, is reshaping agriculture through digital tools.
1 Sep 2025
As a small boy, every day, Veaceslav Burlacu would diagonally cross the wheat fields with his father. In the burning sun and pouring rain. That’s how “real farmers” monitored their fields and determined when it was time to harvest. “We measured the crops with the ruler!” he recalls laughing.
Family legacy in farming: Veaceslav Burlacu with his father and two sons. Photo: Private collection
Now, after taking over the farm, Svirol Agro, with his brother Vitalie Burlacu, he stands in the middle of the same fields. But he no longer checks them with his feet. It takes him a minute to see everything he needs to know on a screen.
The Bond of Brothers: Veaceslav and Vitalie Burlacu. Photo: Private collection
Veaceslav is one of the pioneers in digitalizing Moldova’s fields. But this change didn’t come easily.
In 2018, he started using a digital farm app developed by the local company AGXEL, with support from Startup City Cahul, a program of the Startup Moldova Foundation. Backed by the European Union and Sweden, this initiative provides mentorship and funding to help southern Moldovan businesses adopt innovation.
Through the Digital Impact Program, Svirol Agro equipped its tractors, combines, trucks, and cars with GPS trackers, sensors, and digital fuel meters - laying the foundation for full farm digitalization.
Veaceslav dared to go digital when few believed it mattered.
It took time to convince the older generation that there is no need for rulers and notebooks anymore. But recently, a growing number of farmers are curious about digital solutions. It’s transforming the sector!
And Burlacu has proved that it’s worth it.
Doubled salaries in a few years
In only a few seasons, Veaceslav’s team has felt the impact of going digital. Their paychecks more than doubled, now reaching 40,000 MDL a month during the peak season - a clear sign that success in the fields is shared with the people who make it happen.
Digitalization gave him full control of his farm. Satellite images now show crop health and readiness, helping him see which fields need care or are ready to harvest. Even from a distance, he can monitor field work, reducing losses and boosting transparency. What once took hours on paper, now takes minutes on a screen.
Harvest in motion: A combine working on Svirol Agro fields. Photo: Olga Cernea
Real-time fuel and operations control allows Veaceslav to optimize usage and cut unnecessary costs. “Whether you want it or not, we have to make life easier and digitalize our processes. Fuel control, tractor work monitoring, task checks, and warehouse entries - these tools save us precious time,” he says.
Veaceslav Burlacu shows how the farm app works. Photo: Olga Cernea
The return to the local market
On a hot summer day, Veaceslav was driving and excitedly showing on his screen how satellite crop monitoring lets him assess crop health and harvest readiness:
“Look, every two days I can see how the crops are developing. Here’s the road, and this strip of sunflowers was sown later, so it’s at a smaller growth stage. From the edges, the field might look perfect, but inside, someone could damage a part of your crops - and without these images, you wouldn’t even know.”
Today, Veaceslav leads one of Moldova’s largest lucerne farms, cultivating over 630 hectares with plans to expand further. His company’s revenues have grown impressively - from around 10 million MDL in 2017 to an estimated 50 million MDL in 2025. His company exports high-quality lucerne seeds to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Romania. In addition to lucerne, the company also cultivates cereal and oilseed crops such as wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, and legumes - providing seed and feed production to both domestic and export markets.
Looking forward: Veaceslav on the fields of change. Photo: Olga Cernea
People work smarter, business runs smoother
Veaceslav Burlacu tried other paths, too.
“I was in France, where a farmer without heirs wanted me to take over his 60-hectare orchard,” he recalls. His brother Vitalie Burlacu was invited to work in the plant protection industry in the US.
But they decided to return to Moldova. “Love for family and working together for a common goal is what truly matters,” Veaceslav mentions.
They started with cultivating tomatoes and peppers, but soon moved to other crops. Veaceslav advises other farmers to experiment more: “Don’t just grow wheat, corn, or sunflowers. Testing other crops helps to avoid dependence and opens new opportunities.”
Determined to innovate, Veaceslav embraced the idea that traditional farming methods alone wouldn’t guarantee success. “Nature changes, and if you want to be successful in business, you have to change too.”
For Veaceslav, digitalization is more than technology; it’s a game of strategy and discovery. “A farmer is like a player,” he says with a smile. “You need to see the opportunities at your feet, use the tools you have, and make smart moves if you want to win - because in farming, as in life, the right decisions today shape your future.”
He leads by proving that technology brings transparency, boosts efficiency, and drives success - setting a powerful example for others.
“Don’t be afraid to start,” he says. “Begin small, go step by step, and you’ll see the results.”
Veaceslav’s mindset shift is not just a personal milestone – it reflects a challenge faced by farmers worldwide. Even with new technologies emerging, agriculture remains deeply rooted in tradition and often resistant to change. Agriculture worldwide faces a persistent dilemma. As agricultural technology expert Vitalie Buzu,CEO and a Founder of GreenO, an AgriTech and climatetech startup, explains:
“We always identify the trends, but we never get the timing right.”
After two decades of innovation, farming is still very much driven by people, Vitalie explains. He points out three big challenges: farmers are naturally cautious and slow to try new tools; land is divided into many small, scattered farms, which makes automation tough; and over the last 25 years, Europe has lost about 30% of its farmers because younger generations prefer city life over “mud and boots.”
“Agriculture is entering a decisive decade,” says Vitalie Buzu. “Super-digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotization will reshape farming - but only where land is consolidated and farmers are ready to adapt.”
Vitalie Buzu, CEO and Founder of GreenO, stresses that digitalization and innovation are essential for modern agriculture to overcome sector challenges and climate change. Photo: Private collection
AI helps farmers make better decisions,like what to plant, when to fertilize, and how to protect crops. In places where young people are leaving farming, AI can fill gaps in knowledge and support. But because soil and weather conditions vary even within small areas, AI needs local information to provide accurate advice.
Automation is changing how work gets done on farms, with driverless tractors and drones helping small teams manage large areas more efficiently. However, finding skilled tech workers to maintain these machines remains difficult, which can slow progress. At the same time, climate change is pushing farmers in southern Moldova and Romania to move away from traditional corn, opting instead for drought-resistant crops and farming methods that improve soil health. Since small farms often can’t afford expensive equipment, many are being absorbed by larger, technology-driven operations as older farmers retire. As a result, big investors are buying farmland, betting on a future where farming is fully automated and managed on a large scale.
What Moldova Must Do
Buzu stresses that Moldova must urgently adopt digital solutions, improve financial support, and create knowledge-sharing platforms to help farmers adapt.
“If we don’t act now, Moldova’s agriculture risks falling behind.”
He envisions a future where Moldovan field data feeds AI systems to offer tailored advice, helping farmers grow smarter, more flexible, and drought-resilient crops. Achieving this requires investment in technology, education, and a shift in mindset beyond traditional farming habits.
“Digitalization and regenerative agriculture are the keys to survival,” he says. “Farming today is like playing chess - you need to anticipate, plan, and use the right tools at the right time.”
Svirol Agro at a Glance
Scale & Crops: 3,000 hectares in southern Moldova, including 630+ hectares of lucerne - plus wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, and legumes for seed and feed.
Rapid Growth: Revenue jumped from 10M MDL (2017) to 50M MDL (2025).
Digital Pioneer: 25 GPS‑equipped machines and the AGXEL farm app track fuel, fieldwork and crop health in real time.
People Impact:Salaries doubled to 40,000 - 45,000 MDL in just a few years
Digital Efficiency: Since 2018, 25 GPS‑equipped machines and the AGXEL farm app have enabled real‑time monitoring of fuel, fieldwork and crop health, cutting losses and saving hours of paperwork. “Digitalization makes managing your business easier, without any gaps.”
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