Towards sustainable and resilient value chains - MAP Position Paper (Transilvania, Romania)

Abstract

The diversification of rural economy activities and the farms’ vertical integration must be flexible and based on market dynamics. To improve the vertical and horizontal integration across agri-food value chains, policies should be designed in a way that addresses vertical and horizontal coordination in a synergic manner. At this stage of the project, the goal was to identify the visions of the Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) on the problems that reduce synergy along the agri-food value chains and to propose solutions to these problems starting from the current situation in the field.

Full text

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE &
RESILIENT VALUE CHAINS
MAP Position Paper
SHERPA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 862448.

Authors
ERDN | Monica Mihaela , Catalin Munteanu, Brumă Ioan Sebastian, Codrin Dinu
Vasiliu, Lucian Tanasă
Contributors
Felix Arion, Mugurel Jitea, Ben Mehedin, Mihai Vonaș, Irina Toma, Judith Molnár,
Remus Ilieș, Viorica Boboc
Citation: Tudor, M., Munteanu, C., Sebastian, B., Dinu Vasiliu, C., Tanasă, L. (2022) MAP
Position Paper (Transilvania, Romania) - Towards sustainable and resilient value chains.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7266778
Paper finalised in October 2022
Find out more about the Romanian Multi-Actor Platform!
https://rural-interfaces.eu/maps/romania-transylvania/
Disclaimer: The content of the document does not reflect the official opinion of the
European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely
with the author(s).

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Summary and key messages
The diversification of rural economy activities and the farms’ vertical integration must be flexible and based
on market dynamics. To improve the vertical and horizontal integration across agri -food value chains, policies
should be designed in a way that addresses vertical and horizontal coordination in a synergic manner. At this
stage of the project, the goal was to identify the visions of the Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) on the problems
that reduce synergy along the agri-food value chains and to propose solutions to these problems starting
from the current situation in the field.
The main problems identified by the members of the Transylvania MAP regard the following aspects:
i)
access to information, advisory services, specialized consultancy;
ii)
low degree of awareness of the importance of consuming local products;
iii)
lack of confidence in quality schemes;
iv)
bureaucracy
.
As for the first problem, the identified solution focused on improving communication and cooperation
between farmers, enhancing farmers’ access to information, involving universities in the advisory activity,
and capitalizing on the exchange of best practices.
For the other three problems, the proposed solutions aimed at
creating local labels
that are known and
recognizable by consumers, creating promotional strategies focused on the
cultural specificity
of the
geographical location and on the
cultural values associated
with the product with geographical indication.
A particular importance should be given to the organization of local, regional and national information
campaigns, aiming at increasing the degree of awareness about the importance of consuming local products
and regarding quality schemes respectively.
Finally, to reduce bureaucracy, the relaxation of rules was proposed by reducing/eliminating over-regulation,
simultaneously with the adaptation of rules the to local/regional specificity as well as adequate counselling
of the staff in the territory on the unitary application of the rules and procedures developed at the central
level.

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1. Introduction
Increasing the value added of agricultural and agri-food activities is a ceteris paribus precondition for
changing the structure and diversification of rural economy. Thus, the prosperity and resilience of rural areas
will increase, while local communities will become stronger and better (inter)connected. In this direction, the
rural economic and social revitalization must rely on a local approach based on evidence, in accordance with
the principles of sustainable development (Tudor & Brumă, 2020).
In practice, the diversification of economic activities results in the creation of more prosperous rural areas.
In peripheral rural areas, the sustainable development of these activities can be initiated (in the vision of
Transylvania members) by the increase of integration in the agri-food chains. The necessary measures imply
the increase of the bargaining power of a gri-food producers, simultaneously with the improvement of their
position in the agri-food chain. Small producers prevail in Romania, inclusively in Transylvania. Therefore,
improving the producers’ position in the value chain is possible by increasing cooperation between producers,
in order to reduce the strong influence of distributors in the agri-food chain (Tudor & Brumă, 2020 & 2021).
In general, most consumers are less aware of the importance of consuming local products and are poorly
informed about these products. The semi-organized groups of consumers in the great cities from
Transylvania are an exception, these having a great appetence for buying fresh agri-food products, from
local sources, through direct purchase from producers or from agri-food markets (Tudor, Brumă, 2020). Yet
the main problem is the lack of consumers’ confidence in the quality schemes and the generalized confusion
regarding the labelling, certification and quality assurance systems for the agri-food products (Tudor &
Brumă, 2021). Therefore, in the long-term, a strategic approach is needed to educate consumers in order to
increase the level of information on local products and increase the degree of penetration of sustainable
products in population’s consumption (Tudor & Brumă, 2021).
Another important barrier to the market access of local products is given by their price (higher compared to
mass products), which makes them less competitive (Tudor & Brumă, 2021). The distributors in the (poorer)
predominantly rural or peripheral areas are reluctant to include significant quantities and assortments of such
products in their supply, because there is no systematic demand for such products.
The SHERPA process aimed at collecting the opinions of stakeholders from Transylvania (Romania) on the
sustainable integration of (small and medium-sized) farms in the agri-food value chains, with a
view to synthesize the directions in which it is most appropriate and feasible to address local needs. The
members of the Transylvania MAP were invited to reflect on the following key questions:
 What are the needs in the area covered by the Transylvania MAP targeting the sustainable
integration in the agri-food value chain?
 What political interventions (instruments, measures) are already in place and which are the relevant
examples of actions taken by local actors in the area covered by the Transylvania MAP in response
to the specific needs of integration in the agri-food chains?
 What political interventions (instruments, measures) are recommended by the platform members to
be implemented at local, regional and/or national level? How can the EU support these interventions?
 What are the current knowledge gaps in this field and what research projects are needed in the
future?

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2. Current situation based on background research and
evidence
The territory of the Transylvania MAP covers the historical region with the same name, located inside the
Carpathian arc. The region’s total area is about 10 million ha (42.1% of Romania’s total area), representing
the place of residence for 6.6 million people (about 1/3 of the country’s population). Transylvania has diverse
landform features, from plains in the west, high plateaus (305m – 404 m) in its central part and mountain
areas in the eastern and southern extremities. It also has an important hydrographic network.
Transylvania is a rich region in mineral resources (mainly natural gas, lignite, gold, silver, manganese, lead)
and has a diversified industry (IT, electronics, furniture, mining, pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages,
fertilizers, machinery and subassemblies), located mainly in the big cities. The farming activities have a
significant historical continuity and are widespread in the region. Livestock raising (bovines, swine and mainly
sheep), vine and fruit farming, vegetable growing and grain cultivation are important farming activities with
a long tradition in Transylvania.
In Transylvania, the agri-food sector is generally characterized by fragmentation and non-homogenous
territorial dispersion both in terms of primary production and of facilities for processing and marketing agri-
food products. Yet, the agricultural sector in Transylvania is marked by obvious trends towards
modernization, namely:
 The small (semi)-subsistence farms prevail, with areas less than 5 ha. The average area of
these farms is about 1.4ha/farm and they operate about 26% of the region’s agricultural area;
 Specific for Transylvania is the increased importance of commercially-oriented medium-
sized farms (5 – 50 ha UAA), accounting for 14% of the total number of farms, which operate
about 1/3 of the region’s agricultural area. The average size of these farms is about 9.6ha/farm.
Table 1 presents the farm structure in Transylvania, on a comparative basis with the rest of Romania;
Table 1. Farm structure by size classes of utilized agricultural area in Transylvania and national total
Structure of the number of holdings
Year
<5ha
5ha – 50ha
50ha - 100ha
>100ha
Total
Transylvania
2005
84.9%
14.5%
0.2%
0.3%
100%
2016
84.9%
14.4%
0.3%
0.4%
100%
Romania
2005
89.9%
9.6%
0.2%
0.3%
100%
2016
91.5%
7.9%
0.2%
0.4%
100%
Structure of utilized agricultural area, by size classes
Year
<5ha
5ha – 50ha
50ha - 100ha
>100ha
Total
Transylvania
2005
30.3%
30.4%
2.5%
36.8%
100%
2016
25.9%
29.0%
4.1%
41.0%
100%
Romania
2005
36.7%
23.3%
2.4%
37.6%
100%
2016
28.7%
20.2%
3.3%
47.8%
100%
Source: NIS, Farm Structure Survey, 2005, 2016
 In present, farmers from Transylvania have the highest appetence for cooperation in Romania
and the upward trend towards cooperation has strongly accelerated in recent years. There were 681
functional agricultural cooperatives in Transylvania in the year 2020 (up by 50% in only 2 years).
These cooperatives have 4100 de members, summing up about 50% of total members of agricultural
cooperatives in Romania. However, the number of cooperative member farmers is low compared to
the total number of farmers in Transylvania (1 million farms in 2016). In the context in which 99%
of farms from Transylvania are small and medium-sized farms (under 50 ha), the poor horizontal
integration between farmers weakens their ability to sell their products on the market;

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 Upward trend of the valorisation of potential for eco-friendly a griculture, in the hilly and
mountain areas of Transylvania, which have favourable conditions for implementing organic farming
practices with minimum conversion efforts. In the year 2020, there were 6200 registered farmers
certified in organic farming in Transylvania; the operated agricultural area under this system totalled
217000 ha (4.5% of UAA). In only 2 years (2018-2020), the number of organically certified
producers in Transylvania increased by 30% and the area under organic farming increased by 70%;
 Increasing capacity of the representation of producers’ interests in the agri-food chain
and in the relation with political/administrative decision -makers – in Transylvania there
are 118 recognized producer groups active in all agricultural sectors.
In Transylvania, the value added of agricultural and agri-food activities can be increased through the positive
valorisation of quality schemes and through the valorisation of local potential for organic farming.
In regards to the integration in agri-food chains, the territory of Transylvania MAP is characterized by
consolidation trends of economic and social sustainability, alongside with certain evolutions that limit the
chance of vertical integration in the agri-food chains for small and medium-sized farmers.
 The positive valorisation of quality schemes for agri-food products, of certification schemes
recognized at national level in particular. Thus, in 2020, there were more than 2200 producers
certified with quality schemes (about 60% of the total number of producers in Romania certified
with quality schemes). These producers play a particularly important role in the preservation and
valorisation of the traditional food specific to Transylvania and in the valorisation of Romanian
products at their maximum potential on the national and European markets. The national
certification schemes that are mostly accessed by producers from Transylvania are:”mountain
product” – which includes 1700 products certified at the level of the region and ”traditional product”
– 450 products. By the raw material used in the preparation of certified food products in
Transylvania, most products (860 certified products) are obtained by the processing of fruit and
vegetables. The milk-based products (790) and meat or bee hive products are in second place (more
than 200, each)
1
;
 Increasing addressability for financing dedicated to farm integration in the (short) agri-
food chains – confirms farmers’ high appetence for cooperation in Transylvania (60% of projects
funded under NRDP 2014-2020, dedicated to the creation of short agri-food chains, were located in
Transylvania);
 Opening towards cooperation initiatives for the knowledge transfer – in Transylvania, 16
projects received funding dedicated to cooperation between farmers, research bodies, universities,
advisors, to increase the degree of innovation and of adaptation of research results to sectoral needs
(sM 16.1 of NRDP 2014-2020);
1
https://cpac.afir.info/ToateProdusele (accessed on August 23, 2022)

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Figure 1. Structure of agri-food processing industry and services in Transylvania
Source: NIS, TEMPO on-line database
 The increase in the number of agro-processing units results in higher value-added products
delivered to the market. There is a tendency of food industry specialization in the processing of
cereals (bakery and bread products), of vegetables, fruit and meat in Transylvania. The significant
increase of the number of processing units in the fruit and vegetable sector in the period 2013-2020
is associated with the implementation of a National Rural Development Plan (NRDP) 2014-2020
measure that is mainly dedicated to investments in processing facilities in the fruit sector (sM 4.2a:
Investments in the processing/marketing of fruit products
). At the same time, other segments of
food industry (milling, milk processing, production of beverages, fats and oils, etc.) have a lower
presence (even in recession) in the region’s economy, although there are plenty of raw products to
supply this industry (Figure 1);
 Downward trend of services dedicated to the marketing of food products (processed or
ready-to-eat fresh products) – the number of economic operators providing wholesale and retail
trade services for agri-food products has significantly declined in the last ten years, which weakens
the chances of producer’s access to the market (mainly in the case of small producers). The exit
from the market of a significant part of intermediaries from the agri-food chains has forced producers
to look for other marketing strategies for their production, such as direct sales;
 The status of supplier of agricultural raw materials and unprocessed products still remains
valid for rural Transylvania: the number of economic operators that sell wholesale agricultural raw
materials remained almost constant in the region in the period 2008-2020;
 Upward trend in the valorisation of local products in the local HORECA sector – there is a
strong upward trend in the number of restaurants and catering units in Transylvania.
425 12 410 38 246 125
2526
506 64 273 229
751
2100 1702
4766
582
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Meat processing
Fish processing
Fruit & vegetable processing
Vegetable & animal fats
Milk processing
Milling and starch
Bakery
Other food
Animal feed
Beverages
Leather processing
Wholesale trade of
agricultural products
Wholesale trade of food and
beverages
Retail trade of food in food
stores
Restaurants
Catering
number of local active units
2008 2013 2020

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3. Position of the Multi-Actor Platform
Based on the information collected in the first two exercises in MAP Transylvania in 2020 and 2021, the main
relevant opinions were extracted with regard to the sustainability of farmers’ integration in the agri-food
chains in the region. According to previous discussions with the MA P Transylvania’s members, the viability
and reliability of sustainable agri-food value chains can be ensured through alternative social organization
forms, based on cooperation and mutual trust. Horizontal integration in the collaborative value chains is
based on mutual trust and becomes possible through the creation of association structures and accession of
as many farmers as possible to these structures:

production cooperatives
;

producer organizations.
The sustainability of farm integration in the agri-food chains can be ensured, besides horizontal cooperation,
by vertical integration, that can be achieved through:

supply-delivery chains
established on formal (contractual) basis or informal basis (ad-hoc or based
on verbal agreements);

value creation networks,
organized under the form of clusters that
share common values
and
aim
to obtain the same competitive advantage
.
To improve vertical and horizontal integration in the agri-food value chains, public policies and programmes
need to address vertical and horizontal coordination in a
synergic manner.
In practice, a series of specific
challenges can reduce this synergy, hence affecting the viability and/or reliability of agri-food value chains
in the medium and long-term. Table 2 presents a summary of these problems, following the dialogue with
the MAP Transylvania members during the previous exercises.
Table 2. Challenges that reduce synergy at the level of the links in the agri-food value chain
Level
Challenges
Final consumers
 Lack of consumers’ confidence in the quality schemes
 Low awareness about the importance of consuming local products
 Low level of consumer information and lack of easy access to information on local
products
 Lack of cooperation between producer organizations and consumer organizations
Decision makers
 Bureaucracy
 Low coherence in the public policies at local / EU level
Farmers and
small producers
 Poor entrepreneurial education
 Absence of marketing abilities / skills
 Difficult access to financial resources
 Lack of certified professional skills and the appropriate workforce
 Lack of qualification structures at the workplace
 Lack of producers’ confidence in quality schemes
 Poor access to information, advisory services, specialty consultancy
Market / chain
integration
 Production fragmentation (low bargaining power of small farms)
 Weak horizontal cooperation
 Limited vertical integration
Source: processing based on Tudor & Brumă 2020, 2021.

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The list of challenges extracted from previous exercises is not exhaustive, MAP members having the
possibility to propose other problems for debate, which they consider relevant for the sustainability of the
agri-food value chains in Transylvania.
3.1. Identified needs
The greatest four challenges for the sustainability of integration in the agri-food chains in Transylvania, in
the opinion of MAP members, are the following:

Limited access to information, advisory services, specialty consultancy;

Low awareness of the importance of consuming local products;

Low confidence in quality schemes;

Bureaucracy
.
The MAP members’ vision on these challenges as well as the intervention needs and the experimented
solutions are broadly presented in the next sections.
The most important challenge identified by the MAP Transylvania actors is the limited access to
information, advisory services and specialized consultancy. In general, farmers are not open to
novelty and change and they rather prefer a reactive consultancy (experimenting – analysing – providing
solutions) focusing on specific problems. The problem lies in the much too narrow view of consultancy
encountered in the current practice. In general, the strategic consultancy focuses on the identification of
funding sources and on obtaining funding, on the preparation of documentation for the submission of projects
under the NRPD axes / measures. Well-targeted consultancy, aimed at the operational needs of farms, is
sporadic or even non-existent in the peripheral rural areas. The operational needs of (small and medium-
sized) farms are very diverse and include a wide range of knowledge and information that small producers
do not have or do not have access to: from attracting and retaining labour force, to information about
technical and technological solutions for current farm problems, to product promotional strategies.
Although Local Action Groups (LAGs) could be a viable solution for the
need to access information and
consultancy
, in reality only few LAGs manage to provide support in this sense to the rural actors in their
territory. In certain cases, the politicization of LAGs, as well as political interferencesw or local interest groups
aggravate the problem by limiting the chances of access to viable solutions.
The low degree of awareness of the importance of consumin g local products is the second major
challenge that farmers in Transylvania are facing in selling their products. Important sales of products in
terms of volume and value are achieved in urban areas, and not in rural areas. Farmers from peri-urban
areas benefit from increased possibilities to sell their products, due to the proximity of marketplaces. On the
other hand, the peripheral rural areas are disadvantaged because the absence of farmers’ cooperation greatly
increases the cost of selling products on the urban market. Although there is a growing trend of consumers’
appetence for ”traditional” agri-food products, with ”the taste from old times” (manifested mainly in the big
cities and among tourists visiting Transylvania), the local products are not sufficiently known and recognized
by consumers. Although there is a multitude of national quality schemes for local products, the pre paration
of documentation for the registration of producers is considered cumbersome. Furthermore, the multitude
of such schemes and the absence of horizontal integration of producers make local products difficult to
standardize at national level and even less known by final consumers. In this context, the certifications
related to a certain product are no longer a value creating asset, but only an additional cost for producer.
For instance, in the opinion of MAP Transylvania members, the “mountain product” certification does not
have the expected effects on the market, but only a sporadic contribution to the sale of products.
Another problem related to products with geographical indication is that in Romania, these products are
considered both by consumers and by producers as a “marketing trick”. Producers have not focused on the

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standardization of these products, on increasing their quality and ensuring quality standards to be
communicated to consumers. Consequently, consumers have not created positive and favourable
associations with the brand represented by the geographical product, but have only identified it as a generic
product promoted under a certain geographical indication. In this case, the indication becomes a mere
copyright element, rather than a means of expressing the cultural identity of the geographical location from
which the product originates, and consumers do not consider that they have an additional guarantee of
quality when they buy this product.
In close relation to the previous problem and a consequence of it is the low degree of confidence in
quality schemes (both among consumers and producers). At European level, the quality schemes
(PGI, TSG, PDO) have a very good reputation. However, in Romania, the quality schemes
are less recognized
or
viewed with reticence by the Romanian consumers.
Practically, there is a high degree of confusion about
quality schemes (about the European quality schemes in particular). Certain producers also show a significant
reticence to quality schemes (mainly European quality schemes), although for other producers the quality
schemes have brought benefits (materialized in increased business profitability ).
Consumers’ mistrust comes from the reluctance to pay extra for certified products (e.g., organic
products).
For example, the ecological certification is not perceived by consumers as a category point of
parity for the organic product brand because the ecological product is associated with the natural product,
bought from small producers in the agri-food market.
In the case of producers, the mistrust stems
from the risks associated with European and national quality schemes.
The European quality
schemes imply the association/cooperation with other producers that jointly submit the documentation for
the certification of the same product, and the certification costs are considered to be significant. The access
to national quality schemes is easier in financial terms and in terms of required documentation. The fact that
single producers can access national schemes for products from the same geographical area and category
generates excess certificates for the same product and oversaturation of supply. Furthermore, having in view
Romanian consumers’ reticence regarding quality schemes, producers consider that the benefits of
certification (materialized in the increase in sales volume and turnover) are uncertain, which determines
them to be reticent in accessing quality schemes.
As a rule, urban consumers from Transylvania, as well as tourists who visit the region have the
tendency
to buy agri-food products from local sources, regardless of whether these have a certification
or not.
This tendency represents a significant opportunity for the sustainable development of agri-food
chains, mainly of short channels that facilitate the integration of small farms.
In Romania, there is
a generalized confusion
between the ecologically certified product and the natural
product. This confusion also extends between the products obtained on the household or on a family farm
and the ecologically certified products. There are opinions according to which the products obtained on family
farms can contain more chemicals than those obtained in conventional agriculture, as some farmers do not
have the technological skills necessary to apply synthetic chemicals under optimum conditions. In the
absence of certifications and quality controls at the access to market, consumers looking for ”natural
products” are under risk of purchasing and consuming agri-food products with non-conform chemical
content.
Bureaucry in Transylvania, like in the rest of the country, are a stringent challenge that affects farmers and
small producers. For instance, from the Order 111/2008 modified in 2019, the syntagma “small producers”
was removed, which practically eliminates most facilities provided to this category.
In Romania, the
excessive bureaucracy makes it difficult for small producers to enter the market.
The
extremely thick legislation and the difficult access to information sources on legislation greatly impacts the
small producers’ activity. At the same time, over-regulation makes it difficult to access potentially useful
financing sources for farmers. An example specified during the discussions within MAP Transylvania focused
on:
the requirement to monitor how many times a cow ruminates to determine its level of happiness in order
to access the European animal welfare funds
(considered non-realistic).

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At the level of famers and small producers, there is a widespread opinion that in Romania certain rules are
much more drastic than in other EU member states. This opinion is supported by numerous examples of
over-regulation or intransigency of local authorities in the application of rules. An example in this sense
concerned the DSVSA (Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate) rules for authorizing a commercial
space for small producers.
Another problem concerning bureaucracy is that in practice, methodological norms are not uniformly applied
and there are numerous differences in the interpretation of certification and control norms between the
authorities across different regions in Romania or between the EU member states. One example that was
mentioned during the discussions was the authorization of milk collection tanks that lasted over 3 months at
the local Sanitary-Veterinary Directorate (in Romania), although these tanks had already been approved in
Poland. At the same time, numerous European norms do not take into consideration the local or
regional specificity, being not adapted and adaptable to the particular characteristics determined by the
real conditions.
The above-mentioned bureaucratic aspects are aggravated by the absence of a support programme for
farmers and small producers to comply with the European norms. The
lack of predictability
, specific to the
Romanian legal system, hinders both the capacity for farmers’ voluntary compliance and their appetence for
the implementation of European norms.
3.2. Existing interventions and actions
Experienced solutions related to access to information, advisory services and specialty consultancy
generally targeted the LAGs. These solutions start from the premise that LAG is a local centre of influence.
From this position, LAGs provide consultancy prior to writing projects for accessing the NRDP measures
dedicated to farm modernization or investments in processing and marketing capacities. It is not among the
LAG responsibilities to offer customized and integrated solutions to certain promotion needs of local
producers; they only propose local development strategies. Practically, the LAG does not make up for the
lack of management and marketing skills of agri-food producers, nor can it mediate the transfer of technical
and technological knowledge.
In small and medium-sized farms, the level of education is directly proportional to their desire for information
and openness to adopt good practices in their activity. In practice, knowledge transfer and specialty
consultancy are provided to farmers and other actors in the value chain in a fragmented manner, through
the following:
 Public actors (universities, research centres) or private actors (NGOs, producer
associations/organizations, consultancy firms) within
research or consultancy projects funded
from non-reimbursable public funds or private funds (at the request of private beneficiaries)
.
This consultancy tends to respond to specific information needs, adapted to the requirement of the
project call or to the specific requirement of the financer beneficiary of the research (for instance,
the projects AgriLink and LIFE TransilvaniaCooperation). The main impediments of these actions are
the following:
i) Time-limited nature of counselling actions (determined by the period of project
implementation);
ii) Limitation in space (determined by the character of the action – pilot-project or case
study);
iii) Specificity of the thematic calls for non-reimbursable projects (that only partially
correspond to small farmer needs);
iv) Cost of consultancy actions that is prohibitive for small farmers;

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
Informal networks
in which farmers experiment and transfer knowledge to other farmers;

Transversal research-development associations
that take the form of platforms dedicated to
innovation transfer (e.g., AgroTransilvania Cluster). These platforms enable the exchange of ideas
and generate solutions that can be transferred by the platform administrators (academic
environment) to the actors in the agri-food chain.
The partnership between small producers and the academic environment was also extended at the high-
school level. The students of agricultural and directly productive high-schools have access to stages of
practical work on farms / agricultural cooperatives.
Regarding challenges generated by the low level of awareness of the importance of consuming local
products, there were public interventions implemented at national level, focusing on:
 MARD initiative to create
national quality schemes
, mainly ”traditional
product”
and
”established Romanian recipe”
that generally have a local character. The Ministry of Agriculture
created the legislative and administrative framework for the certification of food products of local
producers. There are 5 national quality schemes for food products:
traditional product, established
recipe, mountain product, certified wine, products that have acquired national protection.
Each
quality scheme has acquired a s pecific label that certifies that the product belongs to that scheme
and that guarantees product quality to consumers;

Support
provided under NRDP 2014-2020 for the creation of
short supply chains
(sM 16.4) aimed
at funding cooperation between local actors for the sale of agri-food products through the short
food supply chains.
Among the examples of actions of regional actors to support the consumption of local products, the platform
members mentioned the following:

Creation of local umbrella brands
. The experience of small producers from Transylvania shows
that umbrella brands can positively contribute to the improvement of market performance of local
producers and enjoy a high degree of acceptance by consumers. If the LAG is directly involved in
the creation, development and coordination of the umbrella brand, there is also a high degree of
acceptance by local producers (the example of partnership between LAG Valea Someșului and LAG
Colinele Prahovei that created the umbrella brand ”Green Leader” through which local farmers
(mainly beekeepers) can sell their products;

Direct sales mediated by online platforms.
An example of good practice is represented by the
producer group Roade Online Ardelenești (ROA). ROA is a local producer group (of about 27) around
which an active online community was established with about 20000 members. “From Producer
Directly to Consumer” (ROMO) is another example that operates according to the same principle in
Brașov county. The determining role in the formation of the community is played by social media –
Facebook platform. Interaction with the final customer is achieved through one-to-many meetings
at pre-determined meeting places. This type of direct sales’ channel to consumers represents not
only an opportunity to sell fresh agri-food products, but also a brand storytelling opportunity. In
essence, ROA, through direct producer-consumer interaction, occasioned by the exchange of
products and brunches organized in the farms from the platform, leads to the increase in the degree
of mutual trust and to raising awareness of the importance that local producers have for the
economic, social and ecological sustainability in the region;
 The creation and implementation of
creative solutions for presenting local products at the
point of sale
can have a strong visual impact on consumers. Thus, the degree of memorability of
local products will increase, the interest in such products may also increase, and consumers’
confidence in quality schemes is stimulated.

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To stimulate consumer confidence in quality schemes, numerous promotional campaigns were
organized in Romania, financed by European funds or national grants. These campaigns aim at promoting
certified (ecological) products as alternative to mass products.
The local actors’ actions aimed at increasing consumer confidence can be classified into two categories :
 Impersonal communication techniques:
o communication through an event (tastings at public events, participation in thematic fairs)
o public relation activities (direct meetings with consumers, onsite visits on farm / producer
location to increase consumer confidence in the quality of ingredients and in the production
process);
 Personal communication techniques:
o direct sales to consumers (through short food supply chains with direct delivery – e.g., ROA
and ROMO or through points of sale owned by producers – e.g., Magazia Morăriţei);
o direct communication with consumers (mainly through social media platforms).
In regards to excessive bureaucracy, practice shows that the market always precedes state regulations.
Rural economy diversification is inclusive and based on market dynamics. (Tudor & Brumă, 2021).
To prevent problems related to the legal vacuum or legislative gaps and reduce the impact of bureaucracy
on the operation of agri-food chains, participants from Transylvania have pointed out that the viable solution
is direct communication with decision-makers to expose the bureaucratic/normative problem and
suggest/find the optimal solution to remove obstacles. Thus, in order to facilitate the authorization of small
farmers (from remote areas, with natural constraints ) to provide foodstuffs to tourist groups transiting the
rural communities,
the regulatory framework was created for the establishment of”local
gastronomic points” at farm level
. The idea of local gastronomic points was developed at the initiative
of Ivan Pațaichin Mila 23 NGO that promoted and sustained to MARD the need to
simplify the sanitary-
veterinary authorization of small farmers
in remote areas. The farm authorized as local gastronomic points
offers tourists transiting the rural area foodstuffs produced on farmer’s household, using traditional food
preparation methods
2
.
In this context,
LAGs
were mentioned by Transylvania MAP members to have a
role of facilitator of the
dialogue
between NRDP beneficiaries and the managing authority of funds intended to support actors in
the agri-food chain. The LAGs can ask the national authority (or other regulatory authority) for clarifications
with regard to the rules and regulations required of NRDP beneficiaries and can suggest the necessary
corrections, in case the regulatory framework prevents beneficiaries from accessing funding or carrying out
their activity.
Table 3 – Examples of actions taken by local actors
A. Title : AgriLink H2020 Project (2017-2021);
https://www.agrilink2020.eu/category/farmers/page/3?tag=innovation-case-study
The case study concerned the information and counselling of small farmers from Brașov county in the choice
between manual (traditional) and mechanized hay harvesting. The results show that raising awareness of the
environmental benefits of manual practices, accompanied by farmers counselling on accessing NRDO agro-
environmental payments, can have a positive impact on biodiversity preservation in the mountain areas.
2
http://www.ansvsa.ro/comunicare/campanii-ansvsa/puncte-gastronomice-locale/

Page | 13
B. Title : LIFE TransilvaniaCooperation Project (2020-2023); https://fundatia-
adept.org/projects/life-transilvacooperation/
LIFE ”TransilvaniaCooperation” project is implemented by ADEPT foundation and proposes an approach to
cooperation between local actors (farmers, public authorities and community as a whole) to jointly assume the
sustainable management practices of Natura 2000 meadows in two rural micro zones (Valea Angofa/Commune
Apold, Valea Viscri/Commune Bunesti). The project aims to improve the effectiveness of agro-environmental
measures to stop the loss of species and habitats of European importance.
C. Title : ROA- Roade on-line ardelenești; https://m.facebook.com/events/702563917117384 &
ROMO – From Producer Directly to Consumer;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/reko.brasov/about/
 ROA and ROMO are private initiatives of agri-food producers from Transylvania, established on the basis of the
Swedish model REKO «Rejäl Konsumtion» («responsible consumption» – a.n.). They represent a form of direct
sale, based on pre-order, placed on Facebook platforms dedicated to initiatives. The members of ROA and ROMO
Facebook platforms are agri-food producers (about 30/platform) and final consumers (about 20000 in each
platform). The interactions between producers and consumers are on direct basis, of brunch type on farms and
weekly order deliveries.
 D. Title: AgroTransilvania Cluster; https://agrocluster.ro/en/home/
 AgroTransilvania Cluster was established in 2013 and has 57 members at present (40 enterprises representing
the entire agri-food chain, 7 RDI entities and representatives of local public authorities from Cluj county). The
goal of the cluster is to support the increase in the competitiveness of association, as well as of each individual
member, both on the national and international market, based on a common development strategy. The cluster
aims to involve its members in joint multi and trans-disciplinary activities, research, development, innovation
activities, technological transfer, provision of services, production, increase of visibility.
3.3. Recommendations from the MAP
3.3.1. Recommendations for future rural policies
The recommended solutions to improve small producers’ access to information, advisory services and
specialized consultancy can be structured by three hierarchical levels.
At individual level,
communication and cooperation between farmers must be improved for the
transfer of good practices and lessons learnt.
Farmers generally trust other farmers’ experiences,
turning interactions with these into informal learning sources. This communication must be capitalized under
the form of informal groups (organized, for instance, as specialized forums, discussion groups on Facebook
or periodical meetings). The informal groups, focusing on the valorisation of farmers’ experience, can turn
into active communities for mutual aid and support, in which experts from the academic environment or
other AKIS actors with relevant experience can participate as invited guests.
At the level of agricultural cooperatives,
farmers’ access to information and exchange of good
practices (for instance, through the creation of demonstration farms/plots) should be
improved
. The exchange of good practices may target both the daily activities on the farm and elements
specific to marketing consultancy, mainly with regard to the promotion of products to final consumers.
At the level of decision-makers and vocational training needs,
the increased involvement of specialized
universities in the kn owledge and innovation creation and transfer to farmers
is recommended.
In the opinion of the Transylvania MAP members, the new generation of farmers is an important vector of

Page | 14
innovation. Young farmers often have academic training in management, marketing and agronomic sciences.
These can be true promoters of change that can then be imitated by most local producers.
Regardless of the hierarchical level, a particular attention should be paid to the way in which the message is
created and transmitted to the actors in the agri-food chain. This should be adapted to the beneficiaries’
level of understanding and tailored to their specific needs.
Operational groups
could be an answer to the challenges related to access to information and practical
knowledge, but
better information is needed on the functions of these initiatives
and the funding
lines dedicated to them.
Also, a
local advisory system
dedicated to farmers and other rural businesses based on local specifics,
possibly supported by LAGs, would be a real support for supporting the sustainability of rural economies.
To increase awareness of the importance of consuming local products, it is recommended, in the
first place,
to create local labels known and recognized by consumers.
The notoriety of local products
can be supported through local, regional and national information campaigns (based on accurate
information), organized both by local producers and by the authorities. According to current experiences, the
direct meetings of local producers with consumers significantly contribute to the increase of the level of
consumers’ confidence and notoriety of local products. The trust-building mechanism is based on direct
communication, during which the producers can provide detailed explanations about their products and
directly answer consumers’ questions.
The products with protected geographical indication have been one of the drivers of local sustainable
development in the European Union, because numerous other activities (mainly related to tourism) can be
developed in relation to these products. Although, at the moment, this is an insufficiently well-understood
concept in Romania,
accessing the European quality schemes (based on geographical indication)
can be the basis of the formation of collective assets generating value at the level of local communities.
The
creation and implementation
(possibly by MARD)
of a promotional strategy based on local
specificity
and on the cultural values associated to
products with geographical indication
can be a
viable solution for increasing awareness of the importance of consuming local products.
At the level of local communities,
sustainable tourism
mainly focused on attracting Romanian tourists
from urban areas can be an effective promotion form for the consumption of local products. In Transylvania,
the creation of local gastronomic points in remote rural areas could be encouraged. These might be virtually
interconnected with the ”Via Transilvanica”
3
hiking trail, which will contribute to the sustainability of the
integration of farms from remote areas in agri -food chains.
To increase trust in quality schemes, the intensification of
promotion actions, both for con sumers
and producers,
is recommended.
 Promotion to
consumers
should target, in the first place,
the change in the consumption
patterns
(consumers’ orientation towards the consumption of products included in quality schemes)
and, in the second place, information on the alternatives of organic products (or products included
in other quality schemes) available;

For producers
, the promotion campaigns must ensure the
communication of benefits (value
added)
generated by the implementation of such quality schemes. It is recommended to identify
solutions at the administrative (governmental) level
to reduce and manage the risks
associated
with the implementation of quality schemes.
The main solution recommended to reduce bureaucracy and to limit its effects consists in relaxing the
rules (mainly by reducing / eliminating over-regulation), together with their adaptation to local / regional
3
https://www.viatransilvanica.com/

Page | 15
specificities. However, this adaptation should not replace the unitary approaches in the elaboration and
amendment of legislation. In this sense, standardization at national level of the interpretation of the
application procedures / rules is an urgent necessity.
Staff counselling in the territory on the unitary
application of norms and procedures
is recommended.
The Transylvania MAP members recommend
the simplification of the normative framework
concerning
the integration in the agri-food chains,
its adaptation to the real conditions
and to market specificity,
as well as procedures that are easier to apply and standardized at national level.
3.3.2. Recommendations for future research agendas
 Identification of
efficient and functional mechanisms for consultancy tailored to small farmers
that should guide both current activities and strategic planning on the medium and long term. The
creation of local vectors of knowledge is necessary, systematically organized, under the form of a micro-
regional / local consultancy system in the field (for instance, under the form of a consortium between
LAGs and universities or between agricultural cooperatives and agricultural high-schools);
 The need for
structuring the information and knowledge to be transferred to actors in the
agri-food chain
, in simple and accessible language. In this case, universities can play a central role,
but the need for financing practical activities and field research was also discussed;
 The identification of
efficient mechanisms for promoting local products
(both to final consumer
and to local producers) in order to increase the degree of awareness of the importance of
consuming local products;

A better information
may prove useful both in terms of
confidence in quality schemes
and of
reducing
bureaucracy
. In this case, visits to producers / producer groups from countries with experience in
European certification and research in the form of case studies or comparative studies on the European
legislative models are particularly useful.

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Conclusions
Sustainable development implies the increase of sustainability and integration in the agri-food chains. To
improve the vertical and horizontal integration in the agri-food value chains, policies should be designed in
a way to addresses vertical and horizontal coordination in a synergic manner. The necessary measures imply
the increase of agri-food producers’ bargaining power, together with the improvement of their position in
the agri-food chain.
Transposing in practice the just and organic transition to sustainable agri-food chains to develop more
prosperous rural areas by the year 2040 is not without problems and difficulties. The main problems identified
by the members of the Transylvania MAP are related to the access to information, advisory services and the
low awareness of the importance of consuming local products, lack of confidence in quality schemes and
bureaucracy.
Based on information from the 2022 implementation of the SHERPA project, in the vision of the Transylvania
MAP members, the following actions should considered to facilitate the transition to the sustainable
integration of the agri-food value chains in rural areas:
 improving and facilitating communication and cooperation between farmers;
 improving farmers’ access to information and capitalizing on good practice exchanges;
 greater involvement of universities to improve farmers’ / small producers’ access to information,
advisory services and specialty consultancy;
 adapting messages to the understanding level of beneficiaries (farmers / small producers);
 creating local labels known and recognized by consumers;
 local, regional and national campaigns concerning the importance of consuming local products and
quality schemes;
 utilization of sustainable tourism as an effective promotion form for the consumption of local
products;
 creating a promotional strategy focused
on the cultural specificity
of the geographical location and
on
cultural values associated to
the product with geographical indication for products with protected
geographical indication;
 creating local gastronomic points for the promotion of local products;
 reducing bureaucracy, relaxation of rules (mainly through reducing / eliminating over-regulation),
together with their adaptation to local / regional specificity;
 counselling the staff in the territory on the unitary application of rules and procedures designed at
central level.
Acknowledgements
SHERPA acknowledges the MAP Transylvania members and invited guests that actively contributed to the
MAP discussions and other organisations, authors and projects which provide sources of data and
information, cited below. SHERPA is funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 862448

Page | 17
References
Tudor, M., Brumă, I. S. (2021). MAP Position Paper (Romania) - Change in production and diversification of
the rural economy. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5920907
Tudor, M., Brumă, I. S. (2020). MAP Position Paper – A vision for rural areas (Romania), https://rural-
interfaces.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MAP_Position-Paper_RO_LTVRA.pdf
Agenția pentru Finanțarea Investițiilor Rurale (AFIR) opendata. [Agency for Rural Investment Financing
(AFIR) opendata], Open Government Data Initiative (afir.info), (accesed on May 30, 2022)
AFIR. Catalogul produselor alimentare certificate [AFIR. Catalogue of certified food products].
https://cpac.afir.info/ToateProdusele (accessed on August 23, 2022)
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) (2021). National Register of Agricultural Cooperatives
for the period 2018-2020. https://www.madr.ro/cooperative-agricole.html.
MARD. Producer groups database. https://www.madr.ro/docs/dezvoltare-rurala/grupuri-
producatori/grupurile-producatorilor-recunoscute-update-01.04.2021.pdf
European Commission (EC).
eAmbrosia,
the EU geographical indications register.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-
labels/geographical-indications-register/
Institutul Național de Statistică (NIS) (2017). Repere economice și sociale regionale: Statistică teritorială
[National Institute of Statistics (NIS) 2017, Economic and social regional benchmarks : Territorial
statistics]
NIS (2005) & (2016). Farm Structure Survey
NIS. TEMPO on-line database. http://statistici.insse.ro:8077/tempo-online/.
AgroTransilvania Cluster; https://agrocluster.ro/en/home/
ROA- Roade on-line ardelenești; https://m.facebook.com/events/702563917117384
LIFE project TransilvaniaCooperation (2020-2023); https://fundatia-adept.org/projects/life-
transilvacooperation/
AgriLink H2020 Project (2017-2021);
https://www.agrilink2020.eu/category/farmers/page/3?tag=innovation-case-study
National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA). Local gastronomic points
http://www.ansvsa.ro/comunicare/campanii-ansvsa/puncte-gastronomice-locale/
https://www.viatransilvanica.com/

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Annex 1 Methodology used by the MAP
Responsibility: Facilitator and Monitor

Which kind of stakeholders/how many participants/groups/facilitators?
In 2022, meetings of the MAP Transylvania members took place online.
The general objective of the first meeting was to discuss, in focus group format, the thematic of sustainable
integration in the agri-food chains in the MAP territory. The meeting was attended by 6 participants (MAP
Transylvania members and other invited persons interested in the platform thematic). Opinions sent by e-
mail by other MAP members added to these. The structure of participants in the focus group, by categories
of stakeholders, was the following: 2 - science; 2 - society; 2 - policy
The team that provided logistic support and moderated the discussions was composed of:
- 1 moderator
- 3 facilitators (who assisted the moderator and the participants in the utilization of the padlet
platform - https://padlet.com/dashboard - used for structuring participants’ interventions and/or
opinions).
Following the discussions with the MAP members, the members of SHERPA support team drafted the
platform’s position paper. This was transmitted to platform members for consultation and reviewing.
The position paper was validated through an online meeting and written communication (via e-mail) with
MAP Transilvania members.

Was there any anticipation in preparation for the MAP meetings (e.g. questionnaires.
documents shared)?
Invitation for participation on MAP meetings were shared via e -mail and phone calls.
The four research questions to address the topic of discussion were presented to participants, in an e-mail
message sent a few days before the meeting, asking them to reflect upon them in advance.

Which changes did you implement to the process?
The moderator prepared, before the discussion, a list with the specific challenges concerning the discussed
thematic in Transylvania. This list was based on the results obtained in the previous two SHERPA exercises
in MAP Transylvania in 2020 and 2021. The list of identified challenges was presented to participants, these
being asked to reflect on them and add some other elements, based on their own experience. The discussion
focused on the most important four challenges, as voted by participants.

What was difficult for facilitators/criticised by members?
The need to encourage less active participants in the discussion to express their opinions verbally, not only
in writing (using padlet).

What was particularly useful/appreciated?
The non-formal setting of the discussion and the possibility of exchanging ideas and experiences.

What kind of reflections were facilitated (or not) by the methods used? Did the MAP
address any controversial issues in the exercise?
The introduction of the theme and its setting in the context of the European political debates as well as the
brief presentation of the main statistical indicators that describe the topic in the Transylvania MAP area
facilitated a better focus on the topics of the discussion.

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The lack of a short summary with the main points from the Discussion Paper was a barrier to the
dissemination to participants, who are generally non-familiar with the English language.

Ownership of results: is there any take-up of results by MAP members? Were there any
follow-ups to the meetings? If yes, by what members (policy, research, CS) and what
kind of follow up (media, publications, debate started at the gov level/fed into an
existing debate, etc)
Exchange of ideas and info was appreciated by the representatives of the political decision -makers as useful
in feeding / arguing the discussions and decisions for the measures to support the increase in the
sustainability of the agri-food value chains.
Exchange of information among the MAP members (regarding details on local initiatives and examples of
good practice) were considered as inspirational and good opportunity for a brainstorming dedicated to
improuvment of local initiatives.

Key learning re. the methodology, if any?
In order to use the on-line interaction platforms (of padlet type), it is necessary for the participants to have
logistical support and prior instructions for the use of digital tools. At the same time, for the participants who
participate in online meetings using devices other than the computer, support from facilitators is needed for
taking over (writing) the opinions in the digital platforms.
A person with discussion moderation skills is needed, who is also familiar with the topic and local context.
If you want to provide additional background information, please add an additional annex.

SHERPA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme
under Grant Agreement No. 862448. The content of the document does not reflect the official opinion of the
European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the author(s).
www.rural-interfaces.eu