Agriculture, forestry, and fishing-Romania

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing-Romania

Agriculture has traditionally been the backbone of the Romanian economy; more than one-third of the land is devoted to cultivation (including vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens). A radical land reform, begun in 1921 and completed in 1948, redistributed farmland from large owners to peasant farmers, but the restructuring of the economy after the communist takeover included the compulsory collectivization of agriculture, carried out between 1949 and 1962. Since 1989, state farms have been retained as large units of up to about 120 acres (50 hectares) with shareholders, but collective farms have been broken up into individual holdings—although in some areas they have been replaced by loose cooperative associations. Romania faced major problems following the breakup of these collective farms and the resulting uncertainty of ownership. These small individual plots became devoted to the subsistence crops traditionally cultivated by peasants. Despite a bountiful cereal crop in 1995, there was an overall downward trend in agriculture in the 1990s, as the endemic lack of capital investment and limited technologies continued to hinder the agricultural sector. Moreover, irrigation systems that had been installed during the communist era, especially on the southern and western plains, fell into disrepair by 2000. Restoration efforts have been under way with aid from the World Bank since 2003. In the early 21st century, more than one-fourth of the labour force was employed in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, but the industries accounted for less than one-tenth of the Romanian GDP.

The climate and relief of the extensive Romanian plains are most favourable to the development of cereal crops, although these also are found in the Subcarpathians and in the Transylvanian Basin, where they occupy a high proportion of the total arable land. Wheat and corn (maize) are most important, followed by barley, rye, and oats. Two-row barley is cultivated in the Brașov, Cluj, and Mureș areas, where it is used for brewing. The tendency is for the acreage of cereals to fall as yields increase and industrial crops require more land.

Vegetables and legumes—peas, beans, and lentils—are planted on relatively small plots. Peas are the predominant crop; maturing in time for an early harvest, they allow a second crop, usually fodder plants, to be grown on the same ground. Vegetable cultivation is particularly marked around the city of Bucharest, with specialization in the production of early potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbages, and green peppers. Similar gardening areas are found around Timișoara, Arad, Craiova, Galați, Brăila, and other cities. The most important potato-growing areas are the Brașov, Sibiu, Harghita, and Mureș districts. Other related crops include sugar beets; sunflower seeds, mostly on the Danube, Tisa, and Jijia plains; hemp; flax; rape; soybeans; and tobacco.

Romania can be counted among the main wine-producing countries of Europe. It specializes in the production of high-quality wines, using modern methods; with the growth of the tourist trade, its wines are becoming known to, and appreciated by, a larger international public. Large quantities are exported annually. The best-known vineyards are at Odobești, Panciu, and Nicorești, though there are a half-dozen or more other major centres. Both white and red wines have won various international awards.

At an elevation between 1,000 and 1,600 feet (300 and 500 metres), orchards are found on almost all the hillsides on the fringe of the Carpathians. There is specialization in fruits with a high economic yield. Orchards have solved problems of soil erosion on many unstable hillsides.

Livestock raising has a very long history in Romania. Sheep can be raised wherever grass is available, whether in the Alpine pastures or the Danube plain and valley. About half the cattle are raised for beef, which is an important export. In the 1990s the livestock sector experienced many of the same declines that crop cultivation did; however, by the early 2000s the trend reversed, and beef exports increased. Dairy products are also an important component of Romanian agriculture, as are wool, eggs, and honey.

Romanian forests traditionally yielded sawn timber, but since the 1990s the emphasis has been placed on finished products. The country’s timber is used primarily for building materials, fibreboard, and furniture manufacturing. Reeds from the Danube delta produce cellulose, which is used to make hardboard.

The rivers of Romania, its lakes—especially the group around Lake Razelm—and its Black Sea coastal region support a well-developed fishing industry. During communist rule, ocean fishing in foreign waters was developed rapidly to supplement the domestic catch and to increase the export of meat. Since the 1990s, demand for fish has fallen, largely because of the reduction in fleet and resources and the increase in the price of fish relative to other animal protein products. The largest quantity of fish comes from the Danube River, and most of the annual catch is consumed fresh. In the mid-1980s Romania’s leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, attempted to transform the Danube delta into a region of grain fields. Local residents were forced out as dikes were built to pump water out of the delta, and the grounds were flattened and planted with wheat and rice. Thousands of marine plants and animals were killed. After the revolution, the Romanian government created the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve in 1991 to oversee the restoration of the delta. Among the fish found in the Danube delta are carp, sheat fish, pike, and zander, along with fish that migrate from the Black Sea, such as the Danube mackerel and the sturgeon, which produces caviar, Romania’s most valuable fish product. In 2006, however, Romania issued a 10-year ban on commercial sturgeon fishing, citing concerns about the decline in sturgeon populations. Canneries are located at Tulcea, Constanța, and Galați. Trout farms are scattered throughout the country, though water pollution has endangered many of them. Mackerel, anchovy, and plaice can be caught on the Black Sea shore.