Changes in the Romanian farm structures during transition - evolution and main determinants

In Romania, farm restructuring is an ongoing process, largely conditioned by the legal framework that accompanied the land reform during the transition period. After 1990, Romanian agriculture experienced critical shifts in farming structures, reflected also in the production ones. While arable land represents 63% of the UAA, a restrictive production factor in developing a competitive agriculture resides in the fact that 61.7% of total arable land is utilized in excessively fragmented family farms - 14303 thousands plots. This is seriously hampering family farms' productivity, if we take into account that they are producing an estimated 74% of the total crop output of the sector level (2004). Under the present conditions, the agricultural producers act under two major objective restrictions: (i) integration of the Romanian agriculture into European structures, under the implementation of the 2007-2013 CAP reform; (ii) the relative low possibilities for backing up the financial support received through different EU-funded programs. The present study tries to assess the evolution of the Romanian farm structures during transition, together with the policies aiming to land ownership and consolidation, by analysing the main determinants of the changes, the expectations, the successes and failures, as well as to appraise the problems encumbering the further restructuring process, given the need for successfully competing in the EU Single Market.