Romania has signed financing contracts worth approximately EUR 1.7 billion, aimed at developing the food industry, through the National Strategic Plan (PNS) and the Investalim program, said Nicu Vasile, president of the League of Associations of Agricultural Producers in Romania (LAPAR), on Tuesday.
"Investalim and the Strategic Plan 2023-2027 - through these programs, Romania has signed financing contracts worth about RON 1.7 billion, targeted at developing the food industry. The investments are aimed at: building and modernizing oil, meat, dairy and bakery factories, developing food processing units, reducing imports and increasing food exports. I was talking a little earlier about Romania's imports of agri-food products. We contribute more than 8 billion to the national budget deficit on imports of agri-food products alone. At the basis of all these investments and funds, at the basis of a farm, but also of a country, there is the land, the main means of production, the main national strategic asset, which ensures the national security of a country," said Nicu Vasile, at a specialized event.
The head of LAPAR said that Romania is implementing the National Strategic Plan under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by 2027. With a total budget of about EUR 15.83 billion, this plan aims to modernize, restructure and increase the competitiveness of farms, with a special focus on family farms, young farmers and sustainable rural development, but without performance criteria.
As regards digitalization, although Romania has a low level of digitalization in agriculture, the National Strategic Plan provides support for the adoption of digital technologies in farms.
According to the specialist, in terms of improving position in the agri-food chain, in Romania there is little or no discussion about the product supply chain.
"We say that we are capping prices, but it seems normal to me, as a government, to know clearly what are the markups on each link in the production chain, starting from the producers of raw materials, I am referring here to the vegetable company, to processors, distributors, chain stores, to know the final price that the consumer, namely us, takes. And I mean the cost in the daily basket. Risk management at farm level is essential for maintaining the stability and sustainability of agricultural activities in Romania. The main risks identified for farms in Romania are: soil and atmospheric drought, especially in the south-east of the country, hail, storms and floods, volatility of grain prices and agricultural inputs, we are talking about a sector totally dependent on other economies. I refer here to the chemical industry, petrochemicals and even international trade. We don't have these things, we need to develop them. We have destroyed the chemical industry and we import fertilizers. Out of 11 fertilizer factories, we only have Azomures, which is closed. The volatility of grain and input prices, the lack of financing for farms in difficulty, the increase in fertilizer, fuel and agricultural machinery prices," the specialist added.
LAPAR chairman participated, on Tuesday, at the 5th edition of the Forum of Entrepreneurs in the Agricultural and Food Industry, organized by Club Antreprenor Magazine and Ziarul Pozitiv. AGERPRES
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