Issues regarding agriculture development in Botosani county after accession to The European Union

Abstract

Development and efficiency strategy of agricultural production in a certain area is based on the analysis of the economic and financial situation of the agricultural sector, which should take into account the adoption of those measures aimed primarily at increasing agricultural production and, secondly, making it more efficient by accessing European funds (1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24). These measures will have a major influence on increasing the efficiency of the Romanian agriculture by promoting farmers’ managerial and marketing skills and orientation of farming activities to profitable investment, including integrated projects, by accessing EU funds (5, 6, 10, 15, 16). National Rural Development Programme is the instrument through which the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) can be accessed, which complies with the strategic guidelines of the EU rural development (15,20). Achieving the desired objectives of the National Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 is provided by the Managing Authority for P.N.D.R., namely the General Directorate of Rural Development, belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in its actual form, consumes, through the complex system of subsidies and other financial incentives, about half of the common budget and is built around two pillars: the first is the common market organizations and covers common regulation measures of agricultural products integrated markets functioning, and the second, which gained magnitude in the past decade, is rural development and includes structural measures that target a harmonious rural development (diversification of activities, product quality, environmental protection) (24). Accessing European funds for agriculture and rural development is closely linked to the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, which operates in three main areas, developing support measures financed from the national budget and European funds (6.16): a) direct payments and market measures; b) some measures financed from European funds for agriculture and rural development, established by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; c) payments which represent financial support from the national budget. Through the presented paper, the authors have proposed to highlight the main aspects that characterize the evolution of Botosani county’s agriculture after Romania’s adherence to the European Union (8, 11, 12, 22).