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HUMAN GEOGRAPHIES – Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography 7.1 (2013) 61-70. ISSN-print: 1843-6587/$-see back cover; ISSN-online: 2067–2284-open access www.humangeographies.org.ro (c) Human Geographies – Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography (c) The author ANALYSIS OF FARMING TYPES’ CHARACTERISTICS IN THE BOIANU PLAIN (ROMANIA) Iuliana Vijuliea*, Gabriela Maneaa, Elena Mateia, Laura Tîrlăa, Ionuţ Trincăb a University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania bMinistry of Regional Development and Tourism, Bucharest Romania Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the distribution and dimensional structure of the farms depending on their legal status, and the owners’ perceptions on the current status. The main research methods used in the study were: direct observation method, digital mapping, statistical analysis, surveying (semi-structured interview) and SWOT analysis. The Boianu Plain is by excellence an agricultural region. Its arable land is worked/operated by three main categories of farms: individual holdings, family farming associations and farming societies. Production obtained within individual holdings is always lower comparative to family farming associations and especially to farming societies. Partnership helps farmers to join their technical and financial means in order to increase the annual production and, implicitly, gain profit. In this respect, the farmers’ perception resulted from the semi-structured interviews is a good evaluation instrument. The most critical issue at local level is making individual farmers aware of the benefits of family association and/or farmland leasing. The SWOT analysis reveals the possibility of an efficient management as driven by the way that the existing opportunities are able to mitigate or completely remove the weaknesses. The Boianu Plain has a very good agricultural potential in a highly favourable environment, but poorly capitalized. Key words: Agricultural exploitation, Farming choice, Subsistence, Individual holding, Family farming association, Farming society. Article Info: Manuscript Received: April 5, 2011; Revised: April 23, 2013; Accepted: April 30, 2013; Online: May 25, 2013. Introduction farms functioning. Despite that the USA is seen having large units, most farms in the United States Agricultural exploitation size at global scale. The are small farms, defined since 1975 as those which problem of the rational size of the agricultural obtain at least 1000$ yearly. The US Department of holding has been a subject for scientists separately or Agriculture estimates that about 92% are small farms. inside large organizations (FAO, World Bank) for a Even there are government supported agencies that long time. On the world’s farming system sizing is a provide technical and educational support to the controversial debate. Thus, adepts of the large farm farm community, small farms are confronted with underline the rising of crops productivity for the several issues among are: limited resources (land and medium and large farm in South America (Helfand & equipment), purchasing power (small quantities and Levine, 2004), or on the palms’ plantations in South no discount), limited availability of custom field work Asia (Deininger & Byerlee, 2011). Moreover, in Africa, (Poole, 2003). many countries attempted to transform and While many small farmlands trend to be unified in modernize agriculture through large-scale farming, rental forms or associations in Africa or America, in providing subsidized credit, machinery, and land, but Eastern Europe has recently undergone from the all efforts have generally failed (Eicher & Baker, 1992). former Soviet system of collectivization and state Many debates are around small and medium sized farms to new private agrarian structures. Thus, the land has unfolded in many ways, leading to the * Corresponding author: appearance of medium and small properties, Address: : University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, 1, Nicolae depending on countries political legacy. But in these Bălcescu Avenue, 010041, Bucharest, Romania. countries after several years the plots were quickly Telephone: +4 021 315 30 74 Email: [email protected] rented back by companies with access to finance and machinery, because small dimensions of farm lead to doi:10.5719/hgeo.2013.71.61 IULIANA VIJULIE ET AL. decreasing of agricultural products in Russia, hectares. The difference between this type and a Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and the movement toward farming company is given by the smaller size and the largest holdings, corporate farms (Deininger & lack of employers (Sarris & Gavrilescu, 1996). Byerlee, 2011). The farming societies were established by the Rule Farming system changes in the post-communist no. 36/1991 and they are also known as associations Romania. Romania subscribes to the Eastern with legal status or formal farming associations. They European pattern, the Boianu Plain farming system do not have a commercial character. They have legal being a similar case to other Romanian areas. During status, some of them keeping elements of the the socialist era it was one of the countries depicting cooperative organization, but on totally new bases; the highest economic size of the agricultural now, every owner knows where his plot is located; he exploitations. The situation dramatically changed has the property right over the assets of the after the Land Reform – Rule no. 18/1991 was association (equipment, herds etc.); the society implemented, Romania becoming the country with defends the farmers’ rights in the market relationship the lowest economic size of these exploitations (Rusu, 2005; Bold & Crăciun, 2005). (Popescu, 2011). The individual holdings have sizes A significant part of the farm land in the between a few acres and tens of thousands hectares; association comes from persons, who regained their nevertheless, the great exploitations in Romania property right, but they live in the urban together hold 2.9 million ha of arable land, meaning environment, abroad or they consider themselves too 30% of the total arable land of Romania (Otiman, old to work their land (Rusu, 2005; Simion 2010). 2012). In 2007, the number of farms in Romania was Nowadays, Romania confronts the same problems. 3,931,350, about 8% lower as compared to the number The Land Reform, through the actions of restoration registered at the Structural Research in Agriculture and creation of property rights, get to Romania after 2005 and over 12% lower than the Agricultural 1990, new types of agricultural entities engaged in Universal Census in 2002 (NSI1, 2008). The number of farming. In the literature and official statistics main the individual farm exploitations (holdings) was existing names as agricultural units, agricultural 3,913,651 which is about 7.7 (%) lower than in 2005 societies (companies), farms, agricultural holdings, and 12.3 (%) lower than in 2002, and the number of etc. are used (Rusu, 2005; Simion, 2010; Vijulie, 2010, units with legal status was 17,699 which is 3.1 (%) etc.). lower than in 2005 and 21.9 (%) than in 2002 (NSI, Farm classification is a compulsory action to 2008). correct perception of the current status and The increase of the physical dimension of the mutations that occur in agricultural structures in farms in Romania represents a significant issue to be Romania (Rusu, 2005). The applied organization is solved in order to reduce the gap between Romania dependent on the legal form of organization. In fact, and the other Member States of the European Union there are two types in this respect: unincorporated (Luca et al., 2012). farms and agricultural units with legal status. Among the actions designated to increase the Unincorporated farms are represented by individual physical dimension of the farms is primarily to holdings and family farming associations. proceed on the structural reform. The following tasks After the Land Reform adoption (Rule no. 18/1991 are aimed to: to complete the process of ceding the and Rule no. 1/2000), the individual holdings were farm lands back again; to clarify the legal status of the established (Glogoveţan et al., 2011). They are difficult farm lands; to intensify the action of the National to define, although efforts in this direction were Agency of Land Survey and Real Estate Advertising in made. order to reduce the identification, measurement and The individual holding is „an economic and social registering the property rights in the Land Registry unit compound of all persons living in the same house, costs; to activate the area changing between owners related by blood or not, who regularly administer the in order to ease the process of farm lands merging available resources. Usually, these are small affairs into larger farms (Popescu, 2011). based on the family relationship and resources” (Rusu, An important action taken in 2005 (Rule no. 2005: 97). 247/2005) and applied between 2006 and 2009, which The family farming associations represent the contributed to amalgamating of the farm lands was to second type of farming with no legal status (Rusu, grant the life annuity of 100€ in case of property 2005; Bold & Crăciun, 2005). These structures were selling and 50€ if only leasing it by the owners over 62 incorporated under the Rule no. 36/1991. They do not years old. At the beginning of 2010, the life annuity have legal authority, being constituted on the basis of was repealed by Ministry of Agriculture and Rural the verbal agreement between two or more families Development (MARD),