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Romanian land resources are immense, but certain land-ownership laws have caused a fragmentation of agricultural areas. Romania suffers from fragmentation of agricultural properties. Compared to other Member States of the European Union, Romania has an average farm size similar to that of Malta or Cyprus, island countries with much less agricultural land than Romania. Almost 75% of farms in Romania have less than 20 ha, and the share of farms under 10 ha represents about 98% of the total number and 38% of the total agricultural area used. In this paper, the authors analyse the situation of cultivated areas and productions in the main crops in Romania under the current conditions. Romania is one of the European countries with the most favourable soil and climate conditions for agriculture. Romania's natural conditions indicate that more than 60% of the total area of our country can be used for agriculture. The role of agriculture is an extremely important one for today's society because it can provide the necessary production of food for the population, raw materials for different industries, as well as production for export. Agriculture is one of the sectors where the Member States of the European Union have agreed to share both public funding and responsibilities. Studies carried out for this paper show that Romania is one of the main agricultural producers at European level and that it ranks among the countries of the European Union in terms of the area under cultivation and production of the main agricultural crops. The authors of the paper conclude that Romania is also one of the top ten exporters of wheat and maize in the world. Analyses show that agriculture is one of the few branches of the economy that have ranked Romania in the European top of the first places in the production of cereals and oilseeds obtained each year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hops is an increasingly rare crop on the territory of Romania, but this culture deserves attention due to its use. It is worth mentioning that the Romanian farmers are encouraged to cultivate this plant by increasing subsidies from one year to the next. For the analysis of evolution of this crop for the studied period, the technical indicators represented by the areas and production environments as well as the economic indicators represented by the prices, subsidies granted / ha and commercial trade will be taken into account. This paper seeks to highlight the technical and economic aspects presented above, their dynamics and the importance of this culture that will reflect on the demand for the national market for this product. The outcome of the study will highlight the support of the domestic hop market through domestic or imported production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to follow trends in the development of organic farming in Bulgaria, and to identify the factors' strength and direction of their impact on organic production of agricultural products. The study covers the period from 2003 to 2013 and is based on information from official statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the author's own research. There are distinct rates of increase in both areas and organic agricultural production in Bulgaria. While in 2003 the areas under organic management are 8,364 ha by 2013 they numbered 56, 287 ha. Bulgaria has a high potential for production and export of organic agricultural products fresh and processed, but significantly lags behind other European countries. However, there is increasing momentum in organic farming, driven by a group of economic, market, social and legislative initiatives. The main reason for this growth is consumer demand of organic products in Bulgaria. In general, the motivations of Bulgarian consumers of organic products are related to the benefits for health and the environment, to the improvement of food quality and to the support of local small farmers, communities and markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]