Indicator-based analysis of organic farming in Romania. Regional spatial patterns

ABSTRACT

Organic farming is regarded as the most effective and environmentally friendly solution to the growing pressure on land resources as a result of population growth and urban demand for goods and services. In Romania, little research has been conducted on the geographical distribution of organic farming at regional level and no research at local level. Using both secondary and primary data for two years (2014 and 2018), the paper examines the spatial distribution and changes of organic farming in Romania. By using several indicators computed at the Local Administrative Unit (LAU) level, an overall picture of organic farming in Romania is provided. The results suggest regional disparities in the dynamics of the organic area, as well as several major concentrations of organic producers: one livestock-dominated located in the mountain-plateau-hilly region in the central, north and north-east of Romania and another crop-dominated found in the plain regions of the west, south and south-east. Apart from this spatial clustering, the pattern of organic farming is quite random, strongly depending on the local environmental conditions. Moreover, the authors identified a tight relationship between the development and spatial distribution of organic farming and policies support and European subsidies through Common Agricultural Policy.

KEYWORDS:

• Organic farming
• geographical distribution
• location quotient
• dynamics of organic farming
• agricultural policies
• Romania

Acknowledgements

The current research was carried out within the project ‘The geographical study of man-environment relationships in metropolitan areas’, conducted under the research plan of the Institute of Geography, Romanian Academy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Organic_farming_statistics

2 https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en

3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en

4 https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/agriculture/greening-agricultural-policy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elena-Ana Popovici

Elena-Ana Popovici agricultural land-use change; integrated human-environment studies; modelling of land-use/land cover change.

Nicoleta Damian

Nicoleta Damian population geography; social geography; society-environment interactions; local and regional development.

Ines Grigorescu

Ines Grigorescu interdisciplinary researches on man-environmental interactions; local and regional development; urban-rural relationships and synergies.

Mihaela Persu

Mihaela Persu rural geography; population and settlements geography; local and regional development.