TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN ROMANIAN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE FROM 1990-2023: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

Cosmin Sălășan, Carmen Simona Dumitrescu, Iasmina Iosim, Cristian Găină, Raul Pașcalău

Abstract


The examination of agricultural land use data from Romania over three decades (1990-2023) reveals significant transformations in cultivation patterns, regional distribution, and crop priorities. This analysis interprets the extensive dataset on cultivated areas across Romania, with particular focus on nationwide trends, the Western region, and Timis county specifically. The data reveals a Romanian agricultural sector that has undergone fundamental transformation while maintaining its core focus on cereal production. The overall reduction in cultivated area should not necessarily be interpreted as agricultural decline, but rather as a complex adjustment reflecting changed economic circumstances, ownership patterns, and technology adoption. The dataset documents a profound transformation of Romanian agriculture during its post-communist transition. The total cultivated area has contracted significantly, cereal production has maintained its dominance despite absolute declines, greenhouse cultivation has virtually disappeared, and fallow land has followed complex cycles of abandonment and recovery. These changes reflect not just agricultural policy decisions but broader economic, social, and demographic transformations that have reshaped rural Romania

Keywords


change patterns; land use; structural reforms.

Full Text:

PDF

References


BELETE TEGEGN, YADETE ESHETU, 2023, Effect of Mono Cropping on Soil Health and Fertility Management for Sustainable Agriculture Practices: A. Journal of Plant Sciences. 192-197. 10.11648/j.jps.20231106.13.

DAVIDOVA SOPHIA, FREDRIKSSON LENA, GORTON MATTHEW, MISHEV PLAMEN, PETROVICI DAN, 2012, Subsistence farming, incomes, and agricultural livelihoods in the new member states of the European Union. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 30(2), 209-227.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 2017, Evaluation study of the payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment. Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/598b81ff-dfbc-11e7-9749-01aa75ed71a1

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, 2016, Precision agriculture and the future of farming in Europe. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/581892/EPRS_STU(2016)581892_EN.pdf

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, 2025, Financing of the CAP: facts and figures.

Brussels: EU Publications. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/106/the-common-agricultural-policy-capL

EUROSTAT, 2023, Agricultural Production and Land Use Statistics. Luxembourg: Eurostat

FAO FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, 2025, FAO cereal supply and demand brief. Retrieved from ttps://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/csdb, 2025

GIURCĂ D., VASILE A., POPA D., 2018, Post-Communist Agricultural Transitions in Romania. Journal of Rural Studies, 57, 112–125

HAZELL PETER, 2007, Transformations in Agriculture and their Implications for Rural Development. The Electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics.4. 47-65.

LUCA L., 2013, Changing of agricultural policies in Romania during preparation of EU accession and thereafter. Agrarian economy and rural development - realities and perspectives for Romania. Available at: https://mpra.ub.unimuenchen. de/53258/1/MPRA_paper_53258.pdf

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS (NIS), 2025, TEMPO_AGR108A_3_4_2025. Bucharest: NIS

NISTOR D., NISTOR DOINA, 2002, Land Degradation by Erosion and Its Control in Romania, 12th ISCO Conference, Beijing, 621-626

RUSU MARIOARA, DIRIMANOVA VIOLETA, SIMIONESCU VIOLETA MARIA, 2015, Agricultural knowledge and information system: Lessons learned in the postsocialist period in Romania and Bulgaria, The Research Institute for Agricultural Economy and Rural Development (ICEADR), Bucharest, 263-268.

STĂNUȘ CRISTINA, 2021, Territorial fragmentation in post-communist Romania: the not so curious case of a de-amalgamation reform. Miscellanea Geographica. 25. 62-70. 10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0044.

SWINNEN J. F., 1999, The Political Economy of Land Reform Choices in Central Europe. Economic Systems, 23(1), 37–57. Available at:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0351.00029

TRADING ECONOMICS, 2025, European Union cereal yield. Available at: https://tradingeconomics.com/european-union/cereal-yield-kg-per-hectare-wb-data.html


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Cosmin Sălășan

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

LUCRĂRI ȘTIINȚIFICE MANAGEMENT AGRICOL

ISSN print 1453-1410
ISSN online 2069-2307
(former ISSN 1453-1410, E-ISSN 2069-2307)

PUBLISHER: AGROPRINT Timisoara, Romania
PAPER ACCESS: Full text articles available for free
FREQUENCY: Annual
PUBLICATION LANGUAGE: English

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara
Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism
300645, Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, Romania

E-mail: tabitaadamov2003 [at] yahoo.com
Phone: +40-256-277439, Fax.: +40-256-277031