The vision for agriculture and rural development in Romania
BUCHAREST, June 2, 2015—The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and the World Bank will hold a high-level conference to present the strategic vision for the future of Romania’s agriculture and rural sector. The event will take place on June 3 in Bucharest at the Radisson Blu Hotel.
Romania is among the best endowed European countries in terms of land, water, and people. During the conference, stakeholders will discuss the challenges faced by the Romanian agriculture and rural development sector to fully make the most of its potential in the context of trends in Europe and globally.
“Romania aspires to develop and implement a modern rural policy and administration that serves every person, every day, in every region of the country,” says Elisabetta Capannelli, World Bank Country Manager for Romania. “Progress in agriculture could contribute to Romania’s overall economic growth, generation of public savings and a more sustainable trade balance to benefit all Romanians.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Ministry experts will present their medium- to long-term reform and investment priorities, while two former EU Commissioners for Agriculture and Rural Development – Dacian Cioloș, Commissioner from 2010 to 2014, and Franz Fischler, Commissioner from 1995 to 2004 – will be the main speakers at the Conference.
The conference will discuss the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of Romanian agriculture and rural space, as well as knowledge and information systems to bring Romania’s agriculture sector to the cutting edge.
“Joining the European Union has vastly benefitted Romania’s agriculture and rural sector. Recent years saw a surge in Romania’s farm output, and a historic shift of our agri-food trade to a positive balance. Increased funding opportunities helped boost sector results. Private investments in the agri-food sector increased strongly, and multiplied the effects of the ample public funding, both national and European. The agriculture and rural administration managed over EUR 14 billion during the 2007-2013 period, and is managing another EUR 21.5 billion over 2014-2020,” says Daniel Constantin, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The World Bank, through direct assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has provided the blueprint for the reforms needed so that Romania can fully tap the benefits – financial, economic, and commercial – of EU membership. Adopting the sector vision and strategy is a major step forward towards a coherent, far-reaching, and stable public policy framework.
Implementation of the vision will require consistent and sustained effort in the medium- to long-term, starting with comprehensive institutional reform for the agricultural administration to modernize and digitize its systems and procedures, strengthen its human capacity to better meet current and future business needs, and effectively manage the risks faced by farmers. These topics will be discussed by World Bank experts as a result of the Advisory Assistance provided to the MADR between 2012–14 for Strengthening Strategic and Operational Management.
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