Moldova's lavender flourishes after post-Soviet decline Issued on: 26/07/2021 - 06:59 A growing number of farmers in Moldova are fuelling a resurgence in lavender, the cultivation of which collapsed along with the Soviet Union SERGEI GAPON AFP/File 4 min Valea -Trestieni (Moldova) (AFP) Young couples and families pose for glamour shots as the sun lowers over Alexei Cazac's sprawling field of lavender outside the capital of Moldova. "Once, in the first year the lavender was blooming, we came and the entire field was just filled with people," the 40-year-old farmer tells AFP on a recent visit. "It's like the set of a photo shoot. We didn't plan it this way," he says.