AGRICULTURE

The European Commission has approved the entry of the “Scrumbie de Dunăre afumata” smoked Pontic shad in the register of products with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, a release from the EU executive informs. The smoked Pontic shad is a lightly-salted, smoked fish from the Danube Delta, which is…

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Romania’s cereal crop this year was of over 30 million tonnes, as to 27 million tonnes last year, with corn and sunflower outputs topping EU charts, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Petre Daea told AGERPRES on Monday. “This year’s cereal crop exceeds 30 million tonnes. At sunflower we have…

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Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the members of her cabinet convened in a solemn meeting to celebrate the National Day of Romania in the centennial year of the Greater Union of December 1, 1918, in Alba Iulia on Thursday. The meeting took at the Alba Carolina Fortress, the Union Hall. At the end of the meeting, Dancila participated in the signing ceremony of agreements between the government and the teacher’s trade unions as well as between the government and the Federation of Construction Employers. She then signed the Carolina Fortress guestbook. The solemn meeting of the government was preceded by a visit by Premier Dancila to the Union Monument in Alba Iulia and a meeting with Archbishop Irineu Pop of Alba Iulia. At the same time, she attended a wreath laying ceremony at Mihai Viteazul’s equestrian statue.   Government passes Agreement for supporting Education     The agreement between the Government and the Federation of Representative Education Trade Unions, under which the Government pledges to take action to support education, in keeping with the priority role of this area, provided for in the government program, was adopted on Thursday, by memorandum, in a solemn meeting in Alba Iulia. According to a Government release, the agreement was signed by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the leaders of the representative education trade unions: Anton Hadar, Alma Mater National Federation Trade Union President, Simion Hancescu, President of the Federation of Education Free Unions, and Marius Nistor, President of the Spiru Haret Education Union. The agreement has in view increasing the funding for education by at least 15pct annually compared to the previous year’s budget so as to reach at least 6pct of GDP and “bringing forward to 1 September 2020 the salary increase planned until 2022”. The document provides for “the granting of two gross salary per year for personal development and teaching materials” and “the granting of up to 5,000 euro for the purchase and modernization of a dwelling, as well as the purchasing of the necessary land for the construction, for teachers in rural areas.” According to the agreement, teachers with an actual education service of at least 30 years “receive six gross average salaries at retirement”. The text approved by the Government also stipulates “the setting up of a single development account through which all universities can start / complete investment projects” and “the construction of at least 1,000 kindergartens with a sports program”.   The Executive  approves establishment of “Unirea” Agri-Food Trade Office   The government approved on Thursday the establishment of the Romanian Agri-Food Trade Office “Unirea”, a trading company tasked with creating a national mechanism to ensure the purchase, sorting, primary processing, standardization and distribution to domestic or export trade networks of agri-food products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) announced in a release. The new entity is designed to make a pro-active contribution to the implementation of the national agricultural policy by capitalizing in an integrated and comprehensive manner on Romania’s agricultural potential, in keeping with the strategic directions of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and the provisions of the Governing Program. The Agri-Food Trade Office is based on three structuring and development pillars: a nationwide network of agricultural clusters that will integrate the local agricultural production resources and specific services in one or several Administrative Territorial Units, and will incorporate at least one product collection/distribution center. “The basic function of the local cluster is to provide farmers with quality inputs (seed material, seedlings, livestock breeds, agro-chemical products, mechanization services, human and financial resources), but also to ensure the purchase on the spot, for a fair market price, of all the resulting agricultural products,” the release states. Another pillar is represented by a network of regional silage, storage and industrial processing centres, the basic function of such a centre being that of ensuring the proper sorting, packaging and storage of agricultural products in the quantities, assortments and quality required for their rhythmical promotion in domestic commercial networks, but also their quota amounts for major export operations. Both the market’s supply with fresh quality products and the products’ added value through industrial processing and preservation methods will be monitored in these centres. The creation of a national store network is also envisaged, mainly in high-consumption centers, capable of supplying the domestic market with home-grown fresh and processed agri-food products, thus contributing to balancing sectoral trade. The Romanian Agri-Food Trade Office “Unirea” will promote strategic orientations such as: the intensive integration of research & innovation results and best practices in all processes, including by capitalizing on Romania’s rich tradition in this field; attracting the farmers into the regulated and taxed economic circuit and stimulating the associative milieu; the full computerization of processes from production to management, including the implementation of a functional system to ensure the traceability of specific products; increasing skills and specialization in agri-food production and processing, thus contributing to the development of the sectoral labor market. The company’s entry into the economic circuit can ensure a higher efficiency and effectiveness of support to Romanian farmers and products in foreign markets, but can also satisfy the domestic market’s demand, MADR notes.   Alba Iulia Resolution: We call on Romanian nation to open new century of real unity   The Government calls on the Romanian nation, at the opening of a “new century of real unity, in the fullest brotherly harmony, in tolerance and good neighborliness,” reads the Alba Iulia Resolution, signed by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. “For the future that is laid out in front of us, we have the sacred duty of defending and enriching the treasure trove of the Greater Union received from our forefathers. We thus call forth, in the year of the nation’s Centennial, all Romanians to continue, with brotherly unity, the historic construction of the Greater Romania cathedral. We will have to cultivate and cherish even more the symbols of our national culture – some of them, peaks of universal culture – spiritual values meant to always inspire our…

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Ambassador of the US to Romania Hans Klemm stated on Thursday at the “Food and Water Resources Security” Forum that Romania has potential as an agricultural power and the possibility to improve its productivity is great, which improvement can be accomplish by introducing technology. The US official stated that during his trips, over the past three years, throughout Romania it has become clear that Romania has potential as an agricultural power. He offered Braila as an example, which, at the middle of the 19th century represented for the international grain trade what Chicago is currently representing, giving at the end of the 19th century the price of wheat was set in Braila, just as now it is being set in Chicago. He went on saying that the Agriculture Minister was the person who knew most about the potential to improve Romania’s agricultural potential, representing a tireless advocate for the Romanian farmer, with the goal of improving productivity. He added that, when looking at the productivity of the Romanian agriculture compared to the agricultural productivity of other EU member countries or worldwide, it’s clear that there is a huge potential in Romania to improve production and productivity. The US official also said that one of the ways through which this improvement can be accomplished is by introducing technology. According to Agerpres, Hans Klemm explained that the US has a big agricultural productivity and this thing is partly due to well-educated farmers, but also to farmers who are able to apply modern technology to agricultural production. He added that one of the main challenges which the Romanian agriculture is confronted with is improving the irrigation system. On the other hand, Hans Klemm stated that, as Ambassador of the US to Romania he has three priorities that include promoting security inside the partnership and as NATO allies, promoting US values and democracy, as well as promoting prosperity. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), in collaboration with the US Embassy in Bucharest organised on Thursday the Forum for food and water resources security, a special event that was held within INDAGRA 2018.  

Manufacturer of farm and forestry machinery IRUM Reghin presented on Tuesday in Bucharest the first farm tractor manufactured in Romania after a 10-year break, on an investment of 4 million euro; the machine’s selling price starts at 34,500 euro. “The total investment in this project was over 4 million euro, and the project spanned about 5 years and incorporated the work of 50 engineers. As the main goal we sought to roll out a tractor with a competitive quality/price ratio, targeted at all farmers but especially at small and medium-sized ones. We put great emphasis on the visual identity and in this regard we invested heavily in design. And what’s most important: our goal was to create a tractor that can be exported worldwide and boldly represent the Romanian industry,” IRUM Reghin development director Andrei Oltean told a press conference on Tuesday. The Tagro tractor was developed at the Reghin-based Research and Development Center for Agricultural and Forestry Machinery – IFOR. This center is unique in Europe and was set up by the Maviprod group of companies in the precincts of the IRUM plant, on an investment of 2.65 million euro. The center employs about 50 Romanian engineers. The investment for bringing the Tagro project to life required another 4 million euro made available by IRUM shareholder, Maviprod group. The tractor’s serial production will start in April 2019 and the management of IRUM Reghin estimates that 200 machines will be produced and sold in the first year, that the number will go past 300 in 2020, and 500 Tagro tractors will follow in 2021. IRUM CEO Mihai Olteanu said that the new tractor “will be bound for foreign buyers, first of all for Hungary, where the company already has its own headquarters that will be expanded, but that “the Bulgarian and Ukrainian markets are particularly interesting and they will serve as connection bridges to Western Europe.” Tagro is intended primarily for small and medium-sized farms and will be sold both on the domestic and foreign markets, and has all the necessary features for a modern tractor, including radio control and air conditioning. Prior to the release, the tractor was tested in Romania and Italy, and by the end of this year the process of homologation with the Romanian Automotive Registry in Bucharest will be finalised. IRUM was founded in 1953 as a facility for the repair of farming and forestry machinery. In 1993, the Oltean family founded Maviprod group, which bought in 1996 the majority stake in IRUM Reghin. In 2007 IRUM Reghin entered a partnership with the Tractorul plant in Brasov, to produce together a Romanian farm tractor, but the bankruptcy of the Brasov-based plant cut the project short. Despite that, in 2010 IRUM Reghin started producing farm tractors in partnership with the Belarusian Factories. IRUM Reghin currently sells 500 tractors on the Romanian market, accounting for 20 percent of a market where 2,500 new tractors are sold annually. IRUM has almost 500 employees, and the 2017 turnover of Maviprod group – that also incorporates IRUM – is 40 million euro.   AgriMin Petre Daea: Tractors need to be produced in Romania   The Romanian farm tractor developed by IRUM Reghin attracted Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea like a magnet, his first stop of the traditional tour of the INDAGRA 2018 Fair being at the stand of the Romanian tractor manufacturer. “I intend to come to you as soon as possible, because it is worth discussing as carefully as possible, to see what we can do together and to draw a path of the Romanian tractors industry with the launch in Reghin, which is a great thing. I would spend until tomorrow morning next to this tractor, because it is worth the effort of these people, who have found the way to success when asked to analysed which way to turn. I am glad that it is nothing less than any other tractor on this exhibit platform. It is a moment of satisfaction for all Romanians. It was a desideratum of ours because it was a field in which we were competitive and where the foreign market was populated by Romanian tractors and aggregates,” Petre Daea said on Wednesday. Asked by a journalist if he will support a “Rabla” programme for tractors in view of the re-engineering of the Romanian agriculture, the minister has given assurances that together solutions can be found “so that we do what needs to be done for the Romanian industry.” Subsequently, Daea visited another stand of a tractor manufacturer, Titan Machinery, telling them they have competition on the market, all the while tasting honey and other products offered by the exhibitors. The Minister of Agriculture made a tour of the exhibition and, together with his Finnish counterpart, Jari Leppa, and Finland’s Ambassador to Romania, Paivi Pohjanheimo, again visited the stand of the Romanian tractor from Reghin and the stand of the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers. Unfortunately, the animals are completely missing from this year’s edition of the INDAGRA Fair due to the evolution of African swine fever on Romanian territory, which has closed all animal fairs.

Manufacturer of farm and forestry machinery IRUM Reghin presented on Tuesday in Bucharest the first farm tractor manufactured in Romania after a 10-year break, on an investment of 4 million euro; the machine’s selling price starts at 34,500 euro. “The total investment in this project was over 4 million euro, and the project spanned about 5 years and incorporated the work of 50 engineers. As the main goal we sought to roll out a tractor with a competitive quality/price ratio, targeted at all farmers but especially at small and medium-sized ones. We put great emphasis on the visual identity and in this regard we invested heavily in design. And what’s most important: our goal was to create a tractor that can be exported worldwide and boldly represent the Romanian industry,” IRUM Reghin development director Andrei Oltean told a press conference on Tuesday. The Tagro tractor was developed at the Reghin-based Research and Development Center for Agricultural and Forestry Machinery – IFOR. This center is unique in Europe and was set up by the Maviprod group of companies in the precincts of the IRUM plant, on an investment of 2.65 million euro. The center employs about 50 Romanian engineers. The investment for bringing the Tagro project to life required another 4 million euro made available by IRUM shareholder, Maviprod group. The tractor’s serial production will start in April 2019 and the management of IRUM Reghin estimates that 200 machines will be produced and sold in the first year, that the number will go past 300 in 2020, and 500 Tagro tractors will follow in 2021. IRUM CEO Mihai Olteanu said that the new tractor “will be bound for foreign buyers, first of all for Hungary, where the company already has its own headquarters that will be expanded, but that “the Bulgarian and Ukrainian markets are particularly interesting and they will serve as connection bridges to Western Europe.” Tagro is intended primarily for small and medium-sized farms and will be sold both on the domestic and foreign markets, and has all the necessary features for a modern tractor, including radio control and air conditioning. Prior to the release, the tractor was tested in Romania and Italy, and by the end of this year the process of homologation with the Romanian Automotive Registry in Bucharest will be finalised. IRUM was founded in 1953 as a facility for the repair of farming and forestry machinery. In 1993, the Oltean family founded Maviprod group, which bought in 1996 the majority stake in IRUM Reghin. In 2007 IRUM Reghin entered a partnership with the Tractorul plant in Brasov, to produce together a Romanian farm tractor, but the bankruptcy of the Brasov-based plant cut the project short.   Despite that, in 2010 IRUM Reghin started producing farm tractors in partnership with the Belarusian Factories. IRUM Reghin currently sells 500 tractors on the Romanian market, accounting for 20 percent of a market where 2,500 new tractors are sold annually. IRUM has almost 500 employees, and the 2017 turnover of Maviprod group – that also incorporates IRUM – is 40 million euro.

INDAGRA 2018, the international fair for agriculture, opened in Bucharest on Wednesday and will run until November 4. INDAGRA 2018 brings together more than 550 companies from all over the world, 380 of them from Romania. The fair’s degree of internationalisation stands at 31 percent, up from the 2017 edition’s 11 percent. Twenty-five countries of tradition in the agricultural domain, the export and import of agricultural products and high-performance equipment are represented, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Republic of Moldova, Russia, South Korea. INDAGRA 2018 benefits from the official international participation of the following countries: Turkey, Finland, Belarus, Greece, Hungary and Spain, and group participations from France and Poland. As part of the exhibition, the authorities subordinated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will organise a series of conferences whose main topics will be: rural development, change of generations in agriculture, development of the rural environment and of agriculture in Romania through CAP post-2020, financial support for farmers offered by APIA via NRDP measures, as well as financial support offered via NRDP for the development of young farmers, boosting the production of fish for Romanian consumers. INDAGRA FOOD and EXPO DRINK will take place alongside INDAGRA. 750 companies from 25 countries are present at the events which consist of five days of exhibition and linked activities (lectures, conferences, round tables). The exhibitions cover a surface of 64,000 square metres, where the largest producers and importers will bring before the public novelties from: agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, public food services and beverages. INDAGRA FOOD is an international food industry fair, while EXPO DRINK is dedicated to wines, beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.   Ambassador of France Michele Ramis: French Agriculture Minister to visit Romania by end of year   Ambassador of France in Bucharest Michele Ramis said on Wednesday at Indagra that she hopes the new French Minister of Agriculture will visit Romania by the end of the year. I wish to highlight the rich Franco-Romanian cooperation in the sectors of animal husbandry, agricultural education, research and I hope, in the forestry field, following the renewal of the strategic partnership,” the diplomat said. She talked about the “rapprochement of visions” between Romania and France within the framework of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, a preliminary to the presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will be held by our country in the first half of next year. “We hope the new Minister of Agriculture pays a visit by the end of this year,” Ramis pointed out. The diplomat also spoke about the Romania-France season. “The season will be inaugurated on November 27 in Paris by the two presidents,” she brought to mind. Michele Ramis emphasized that this season will also tackle the economic sectors, such as agriculture, alongside the cultural sector. Also during the Season, the diplomat mentioned, there will be an economic forum in Paris, on December 6, forum where the Romanian Prime Minister will also participate. “Many businesses in your field will be represented,” Ramis told those present at the Indagra Fair stalls.  

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said in the opening of the 23rd edition of the INDAGRA International Fair, that it was imperative for Romania to manage to prevent the African swine flu, while voicing hope that this would be a learned lesson, which will lead to responsible actions and decisions, so that the damages be avoided and the budget resources not be allocated for compensations, but for investments. “We all want to see an increase in performance in agriculture, zootechnical, in the food industry. Farmers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector invest continuously in increasing competitiveness and adjusting to the exigencies on the market. Which is precisely why they expect the state to manage responsibly the emergency situations the national authorities are supposed to deal with. In this respect, it was imperative for Romania to manage to prevent the African swine flu, which was a phenomenon that spread aggressively and uncontrollably. Despite the previous incidents and warnings, we were once again taken by surprise by the most serious pandemic the Romanian zootechnics had to deal with in the past years. I hope that, in the future, this will be a learnt lesson, which will lead to responsible actions and decisions, so that the damages be avoided and the budget resources not be allocated for compensations, but for investments,” reads the message of President Klaus Iohannis conveyed by Presidential Advisor Cosmin Marinescu. In this message, the head of state said that the force of some events such as INDAGRA prove that the trust in the capacity of entrepreneurs to capitalize on the huge potential that Romania has in agriculture is fully justified. He brought to mind that Romania will have the responsibility in the next interval to coordinate the establishment of the new Common Agricultural Policy. He underscores the importance of external competitiveness of the Romanian agri-food sector. “In the past years, the commercial deficit deepened more and more, with the most significant influence being, the same as last year, that of the trade with meat and meat products, and the one with vegetables and fruits. Moreover, in what concerns the foodstuffs, imports exceeded exports in all categories. (…) It is not enough to produce, to have good crops. It is essential we also to create, generate high added value. (…) Which is why we need to further promote, intelligently, the certified traditional products, in order to make them an authentic business card for the potential of our agriculture,” said Iohannis. The head of the state believes that support policies for the agriculture and the development of the Romanian village must be based, more and more, on the contribution of the younger generation. President Iohannis encourages debates in which farmers, specialists seek to identify concrete solutions to the existing challenges and opportunities. “I encourage the making of alternative policies to be proposed to the authorities. A truly healthy change comes from within the agriculture sector, from the people who are devoted to agriculture, and not necessarily from outside. Farmers are reliable people, people who are determined and hard-working, who put their heart in their work. I congratulate you for your consistency and determination of your efforts!,” he concluded.  

National leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), major at rule, and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, considers that Romania’s livestock potential is huge and draws attention that significant amounts of grain that leave the country return in the form of bakery products. “Romania should return to its former livestock management. The […]

Romania’s irrigated agricultural area could increase to over 1.8 million hectares from the current 610,000 hectares without adversely impacting water resources, reveals a survey by the Ministry of Waters and Forests commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR) said in a release on Friday. In connection […]