Deep Roots

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of communism made people very reluctant to join any form

of association; families individually worked the small and

fragmented parcels of land inherited from their pre-war

ancestors. The persistence of the fragmented land structure

of Romania through the last 20 years, despite the expecta-

tions of many land consolidation experts, is largely due to

the important role subsistence and semi-subsistence farming

plays in providing livelihoods where pension and welfare

payments are extremely low, food prices are similar to those

in developed countries, and access to credit is very difficult.

These small-scale farmed landscapes, strongly associated with

family farming, are still under increasing pressure due to loss

of economic viability, failure to provide adequate living condi-

tions for young farmers, and resulting abandonment.

Taking land away from the families had a huge negative

impact on rural social consciousness and the effects of this

can be seen today. Rural society was shaken to its core. Family

values and traditions built over centuries were lost, the land-

scape and the environment suffered and the peasants were in

a great distress, not being able to secure their most vital needs.

Irreversible damage was also done due to huge migration from

the villages to areas where people could earn a short-term,

non-sustainable living. Abandoned villages and families found

themselves rethinking what their real values were.

Smallholding-based production has persisted, especially

in Romanian mountains and upland regions. However, live-

stock numbers have fallen since 1990, initially as a result of

the dissolution of state and cooperative farms, and later due

to rises in input costs and loss of market share, as a result

of cheap imports after Romania’s accession to the European

Union (EU) in 2007. The sharpest decrease in cattle numbers

began in 2009 when the milk market failed. Many small

farmers sold their cattle because the milk price was too low.

Worldwide, and in Romania alike, the trend was to develop a

performing agriculture. Subsidies helpmostly large farms achieve

performance, but they had almost no impact on the poverty of

rural areas. This bipolarity has been increasing over time.

It is painful to accept and understand the damage done

by the shift away from the cell on which rural development

was based: small scale family farming. The International Year

of Family Farming comes at a good time to spotlight these

unfair development paradigms and points to the importance

of insuring a decent living for humankind.

If support has so far gone mostly to developing large-scale

agriculture, it is now time to reconsider this approach and

to increase the support for family farms, in order to achieve

sustainable development. Family farms are the prevalent

agricultural model and the most important food supplier in

developed countries and in developing nations alike. Family

farms use environmentally friendly techniques, can offer excel-

lent quality products and keep rural areas alive. Small- and

medium-scale agriculture employs a large number of farmers

and our objective should be to assist them in gaining access to

knowledge and to markets. Family farms are not only occupied

with agriculture, they also lead important community social

activities, they preserve traditions and develop crafts, they help

tourists discover rural areas and, by using extensive agricultural

practices, they help protect the environment.

Small-scale farms have the power to build a network

capable of organizing production and distribution chains

that bring their products straight to the consumer market

and provide work at a local level. Those products can also be

used by public institutions and administrations, local restau-

rants and hotels, so developing the economy in the region.

Local food systems stimulate the growth of local economies;

global food systems only help a few. Developing the family

Image: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania

Family farms use the land around their houses and keep rural areas alive by preserving traditions and enabling rural tourism

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