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The profitability of maize cultivation depends on the production yield of this crop. This paper presents the analysis of the yield and profitability of maize cultivation in three crop farms of different sizes in Romania. From the analysis carried out, a number of results are obtained, which lead to the conclusion that in order to reach the profitability threshold, the production in the 60 ha farm would have to be at least 133.26 tons of maize in 2019, at least 85.83 tons of maize in 2020, and at least 165.56 tons of maize in 2021; in the 600 ha farm, the production in 2019 would have to be at least 2.350.23 tons of maize in 2019, 2,198.44 tons of maize in 2020, and 3,172.33 tons of maize in 2021; and in the 3,000 ha farm, the production should have been at least 4,157.75 tons of maize in 2019, 4,424.70 tons of maize in 2020, and 6,284.46 tons of maize in 2021. These productions were made only by the farm of 3,000 ha, which had a constant profitability of the maize crop, exceeding the profitability threshold every year, as follows: in 2019 with 2,216.85 tons of maize, in 2020 with 2,738.60 tons of maize and in 2021 with 3,887.34 tons. On farms of 60 ha and 600 ha, the profitability threshold could not be reached, in most cases, the major causes being of agropedoclimatic and economic nature. The conclusion of the analysis carried out was that, in order to have a constant profitability of the maize crop, it is necessary to counteract the drought by introducing irrigation to this crop, reducing production expenses and increasing the value of subsidies, so that the gross product highlights the profitability of the maize crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European agriculture is a sector that is in a decisive moment of transformation. The transition from small farms to viable and sustainable businesses is difficult and often traumatic. One of the ways to face these changes is through the grouping of farmers creating agri-food cooperatives. This model has proven successful in Sweden or Finland but has not been developed equally in all territories. Romania is a country with no deep-rooted cooperative tradition. However, it has exciting and promising initiatives that may represent an alternative development path, especially in rural areas. This paper addresses the current situation of agri-food cooperatives in Romania, analysing its immediate past and exploring the opportunities that arise in the future through a scientific literature review. Results help to better address future actions on cooperative promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the causal effects of EU Rural Development funds for micro-enterprises and tourism activities on the number of newly established enterprises in the treated rural communities of Romania (programme period 2007–2013). Using a combined database from several sources at the local administrative unit (LAU2) level, both the average treatment effects and average treatment intensity effects are analysed based on Propensity score matching and Dose response treatment models. Controlled variables include institutional factors, and urban–rural as well as farm–non-farm spill-over effects. The analysis showed that on average funds did not contribute to the creation of new enterprises in Romanian rural communities in the period 2009–2014. By matching for covariates no differences were found between supported and unsupported communities regarding new enterprise creation. However, evidence was found that the higher the treatment intensity, the higher the number of newly established enterprises. Furthermore, the results showed that funds higher than €50 per inhabitant significantly contributed to the creation of new enterprises in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multi-actor Farm Health Teams (MAFHT) developed for dairy farms are teams that include farmers, veterinarians, and advisors covering complementary areas of interest in the field. The main objective of MAFHT is the design of the Multi-Actor Farm Health Plan (MAFHP) of actions by using the DISARM model. This model uses a participatory, farmer-led approach that was used previously in Denmark and the UK. This paper aimed to describe the particularities of MAFHP’s in five Romanian dairy farms designed to improve animal health and to reduce the need for antibiotic treatment. Farmers usually face management and/or health problems in correlation with the age category and physiological condition. The most common calf diseases were respiratory and enteric, but these problems did not create severe outbreaks of disease. Large dairy farms are more common with hoof disorders while small dairy farms are more exposed to udder diseases. All teams demonstrated their ability to identify farm practices to reduce bacterial disease and the need to use antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is one of the most important industry of Romania, being considered a major source of income to the state budget, employment and investment. Taxes influence the development of the tourism and the value added tax (VAT) is a main factor of affecting the tourism competitiveness. The present study represents an analysis of VAT and of the impact of VAT rates on the tourism sector, respectively of the Romanian agritourism. Given the fact that VAT can be considered one of the most important types of taxes applied in the tourism sector, the study highlighted the immediate effect of reducing the VAT rate in 2018, compared to 2017 on overnight stays, arrivals and average length of stay, as well as the impact on the economy as a whole. At EU level, in 2017, the average standard VAT rate was 21%, a number of 21 countries having this average rate, including Romania, with 19%. Most Member States also applied reduced VAT rates for accommodation services, Romania being again one of them. Through this analysis it was concluded that in order to obtain the maximum effect of reducing the VAT rate in tourism, respectively agritourism, it takes several years for accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain became known as the technology underlying the cryptocurrency bitcoin. While here this technology has received quite controversial attention, its proponents expect much more promising applications in other fields. One of these concerns food-chain management, where it is said to have the potential to revolutionise it. This paper looks at this case from an institutional economic perspective. For this, it first clarifies how a straight application of this technology matches basic microeconomic thinking, as restricted to private goods and prices, and thus also the market optimism associated with it. The paper then analyses the role of institutions in the food system as it has so far been organised and how this institutional setting might be changed in order to incorporate this new technology while safeguarding the objective of an overall economic optimum. In order to sketch out some ways in which these conceptual considerations might actually be put to the test, a cursory introduction is given to some options relating to the situation in Romania. Some orientation might thereby be provided for further work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we seek to analyze the level of wine production and rural tourism in Switzerland. The various factors in wine production and their functions represented the different segments, their links and the global values and identified the added value for each segment of the value chain. 443 respondents were selected using the multi-stage sampling technique and interviewed using structured questionnaires, informal interviews and observation techniques to obtain primary results. This resulted using the functionality and analysis. The work concluded that Switzerland, although having a small agricultural area, the surface cultivated with vines is relatively significant (over 15,000 hectares). Also, production of more than 1 million hectoliters per year is destined for self-consumption, the exports representing only about 1% of total production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A face-to-face survey among 209 Romanian wine producers was carried out in order to find out about marketing strategies and the degree of diversification. Results show that producers emphasize the importance of high yields. Half of the respondents' revenues originate from wine sales. Direct marketing is more common than middlemen. While wineries and events are rather common marketing instruments, only 10 per cent of respondents offer accommodation or playgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EC proposals concerning CAP reform for 2014-2020 try to cope both with the wide variety of agricultural systems and economic structures of the 27 EU MS but also with current global challenges that agriculture has to face: food security and poverty reduction, climate changes or biodiversity loss. This article aims to analyse the proposed measures consistency with the current situation of Romanian agriculture. Distribution aspects of the direct payments between Member States are concerned. The data are originated in FADN and Eurostat statistics, and a non parametric approach is used in order to better understand the correlation between the direct payments proposed for 2014 -2020 and some socio economic criteria.The paper provides a brief analysis of the existing research concerning the distributional aspects (studies and statistics) and contributes to the debate by examining if the proposed redistribution is a consistent and coherent answer to the future challenges the agriculture has to meet in the future and to the targeted equity criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]