DYNAMICS OF OPERATORS AND AREAS FROM ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA

Abstract

Organic agriculture is the most important source of healthy food for the population, as well as a real solution against environmental pollution. Practicing organic agriculture represents a concrete opportunity and a real chance for rural economies, contributing to sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to present the dynamics of the operators and surfaces in organic agriculture, in the period 2018-2023 in Romania. The data collected for the studied interval show that the total areas used in organic agriculture in Romania have increased constantly, from 326259.51 ha in 2018 to 693998.31 ha in 2023. Among the cultivated areas, the largest were occupied with cereals, followed by those with industrial and fodder plants. A spectacular increase is observed in the areas of pastures and hays, more than four times in the analyzed interval. Also, the number of operators certified in organic agriculture showed a constant increase during the analyzed period, starting from 9008 operators in 2018 and reaching 14061 operators in 2023. It can be stated that the ecologically cultivated area in Romania has registered a slight revival considering that by the percentage of certified areas is far below the EU average.