Agriculture minister discusses trade, farming techniques with Israeli, Spanish ambassadors

Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu met on Wednesday with Israel's ambassador in Bucharest Reuven Azar, with the two officials discussing among others the access of Romanian meat and agri-food products to the Israeli market and solutions for the agricultural sector to stave off climate change, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a release.Talks focused on intensifying Romania - Israel cooperation on areas of common interest, so as to really benefits farmers. With climate change directly affecting the agricultural sector, the solutions sought refer to the responsible use of water for irrigation and drought-tolerant plant varieties.   Also, the two officials looked at ways to simplify the certification procedure for kosher slaughterhouses in order to ease the access of Romanian meat and agri-food products to the Israeli market, with ambassador Azar mentioning that he has taken steps to obtain support for completing all the necessary formalities as quickly as possible.Regarding protected vegetable growing, the sides explored topics related to the use of new technologies, modern systems for the use of irrigation water in vegetable and fruit growing, the promotion of agri-food products.Preparations for the Israeli Minister of Agriculture's visit to Romania in October was another subject of discussion.At the end of the meeting, Reuven Azar invited Minister Barbu to participate in the Agritech Exhibition organized in Israel between October 17 - 19.Also on Wednesday, the Romanian Agriculture minister met with Spanish ambassador to Romania Jose Antonio Hernandez Perez-Solorzano, with talks covering the market situation and trade in agricultural products, amid support to European farmers affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Other topics referred to the future of rural areas and the Common Agricultural Policy, the new genomic techniques to strengthen the agricultural sector, under consideration of the climate change that increasingly affects both countries and the depopulation of villages. Regarding this problem that is topical for Romania too, Minister Florin Barbu declared that it needs to be tackled by the European Union so that a unitary strategy is devised.The Romanian minister also addressed the issue raised by Romania, and which rallied the support of other EU member states, regarding the application of a derogation from GAEC standards 7 and 8 in 2024. The Romanian official requested Spain's support in amending European legislation, so that the percentage of land left fallow is calculated nationwide, not per holding.The Spanish ambassador conveyed the support of the Spanish EU Presidency and mentioned that Romania is a strategic partner of Spain, as the two peoples share a lot in common, and the authorities of the two states are in permanent dialogue.