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In mid-September, The Diplomat-Bucharest organized the Romanian Agribusiness Forum 2013, the third such annual conference, with the support of the US Embassy’s Foreign Agricultural Service and the Embassy of Argentina, in order to analyze prospects and find solutions for successful agriculture in Romania By Alexandra Lopotaru October 2013 – From the Print Edition            In a context where biotechnologies are making huge progress and helping more and more countries develop their agricultural structure and improve their productivity, Romania is lagging behind due to EU legal restrictions on the cultivation of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Divided into two discussion sessions and moderated by Prof. Univ. Dr. Toma Dinu, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, the event brought together stakeholders from Romania′s agricultural sector, who examined and commented on the most important aspects of the scene. The main topics dealt with were the context of global and regional biotechnology, opportunities and solutions to improve Romanian agriculture based on foreign models, and the legislative changes due to be adopted from January 1, 2014. Valentin Olimpiu Soneriu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, took the floor to say that one of the biggest challenges the agricultural sector faces at the moment is the efficient use of agricultural resources. “Conserving and ensuring sustainable agriculture is a problem to which we have to find solutions. At the same time, we need to focus on good practices in order to protect the water and soil against erosion and all sorts of degradation factors,” said Soneriu. “An extremely important element is biotechnology. We have significant potential.” Leveraging biotechnology Countries around the world dedicate much time, money and effort to developing strategies to ensure the sustainability of their agriculture. Moreover, several principles underpin a sustainable system, such as profitability over the long term, stewardship of land, air and water and quality of life for farmers and their communities, according to Duane Butcher, Charge D′Affaires of the United States Embassy. “Technology is a common thread linking the three principles. For example, biotech crops allow for the use of minimal or no tillage, thus conserving soil, water and nutrients, which in turn helps maintain the quality of our rural environment,” said Butcher. “We are all well aware of the rapid advances and near daily improvement in the tools available in agriculture. Over the past two decades these tools have enabled our producers to achieve tremendous advances in crop productivity. Crop yields have increased several-fold.” In Romania, agricultural biotechnology has lately become one of the hot topics, dividing opinion. However, everyone involved in the debate globally (from environmental and consumer advocates to scientists, farmers, and governments) seems to agree that the world′s growing population needs to be fed and clothed and that our global environment must be preserved in the process, according to Butcher. “For the United States, the most effective tool introduced to our farmers since the ‘green revolution′ of the 1970s is agricultural biotechnology. Our producers recognize its value as another tool available to modern farmers as they pursue our collective global objectives to feed, clothe and preserve our people and environment,” said Butcher. “Biotechnology has enhanced our agricultural productivity, generated economic benefits for our producers, and enabled them to produce in an environmentally friendly manner.” In Romania, agriculture faces many challenges. Global climate change is bringing severe droughts, long, hot spells and excessive rainfall in localized areas, each causing extensive damage to crops and reducing productivity. Moreover, the resources available to agriculture, such as land, water and soil nutrients, are become scarcer and more expensive. In addition, farmers are also facing competition for these resources from other uses, such as urban development and direct human consumption, according to Butcher. “In order to produce more with less in a changing environment, Romanian producers, as well as American and other producers around the world, must become more innovative, and be willing to examine every tool and every technology available to ensure that productivity is increased in a sustainable manner,” he concluded. Argentina, a role model in agriculture “Argentina and Romania, as well as the United States of America, are part of a select and small group of countries which nature has endowed with the best soils for agricultural production,” said HE Claudio Pérez Paladino, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Romania. “Given the value of this hardly renewable resource [chernozem], it is necessary to use technology in order to reduce the impact of erosion and to allow the proper conservation of soil quality, in addition to improving the productive capacity.” With a planted area of approximately 210,000 sqm, Argentina′s annual production of cereals reaches about 50 million tons. As for oilseeds, out of the approximately 52 million tons produced annually, about 92 percent is soybean and 7 percent sunflower seed. The total oilseed area is about 41,000 square kilometers. With such expertise, Argentina could be a very good example of successful agriculture for Romania. “Argentine technology is already used successfully in Moldova, a country that has the same type of soil as Romania. At a more fundamental level it is used in Russia and Ukraine,” said Paladino. “In addition, at this time, the two governments are working on a Memorandum of Understanding between Romania and Argentina in order to establish channels for the implementation of cooperation projects in agriculture, enabling organizations to attract farmers and providing technical assistance to farmers of different levels.” Moreover, the Ambassador suggested a simple solution for farmers who are obliged to sell below market value because they do not have storage facilities. “There are simple options for this problem – using silo bags. This is a white plastic bag, with a three-layer UV filter. The most used size is between 60 and 75 meters wide, and 2.75 meters long. Each bag of this type can store 200 tons of wheat,” he concluded. ‘Produce more with fewer resources′ Dominique Zygmont, Head of Corporate Affairs for South East-Europe at Syngenta, started his presentation not by outlining recent agricultural issues, but by analyzing those that are to come. According to him, by 2050, 9 billion people will live on the planet, causing a strong increase in demand for food. “Another 2 billion people will want to eat. In addition, they will eat differently. As developing countries become wealthier, they will change their diet, eating more meat products,” said Zygmont. “Moreover, climate change is reducing the availability of both water and land. So, basically, we need to produce more, with fewer resources on less land.” Given the fact that nowadays people increasingly live in cities rather than in the countryside, Syngenta′s Zygmont believes that agriculture will not be able to develop further if the farmer is not put in the spotlight. “A year ago, we announced a new strategy for our company: to develop fully integrated global tenders for all types of crops,” said Zygmont. “We need to make sure that the community profits from agriculture, because, otherwise, people will continue to move to the cities and fewer and fewer people will be available to do agriculture.” In order to increase agricultural productivity, Syngenta has developed various tenders such as seedless watermelon (this year available in Romania) and hybrid rice, with a 20 percent increase in consistency, 70 percent more roots and 30 percent more water and nitrogen efficient. “The farmer will make a bigger profit if using a hybrid form,” said Zygmont. “In Romania, this type of product will be introduced most likely in 2015.” Monsanto to focus on irrigation Responsible for the production of rapeseed and corn in Romania, Monsanto has been active on the local market for 15 years. In 2007, however, the company started to turn its attention to land irrigation. Romania′s agricultural surface is 9.4 million hectares, but in 2012, only 141,244 ha were irrigated. “2012 was a very dry year, but we all remember the drought from 2007 that affected agricultural producers,” said Eugen Diaconu, Field Operation Lead at Monsanto Romania. “Since then, we have decided to focus on irrigation, because we realized that without this segment we will not be able to produce the seeds we export today to 15 countries.” As a result, the firm developed an irrigation project through which it helped farmers develop their business: improving public irrigation systems. “Monsanto has renovated such a system in eastern Romania, Iasi County, Tabara-Badarai,” said Diaconu. “Before the 1990s, Monsanto Romania started seed multiplication in eastern Romania, due to the favorable climate, fertile soils and the pool of professional farmers based in this region.” The irrigation system was built in 1982, but its last use was in 1989. It served about 5,300 hectares. Last year, the local company invested more than USD 3 million in this project, along with its partners. “Monsanto′s direct investment was worth USD 1.4 million, which means basins, underground major pipes, pumping and automation system and building an electricity network. Monsanto also invested in both the implementation of the GPS Autopilot technology and in the meteorological electronic stations integrated system,” added Diaconu. Through this project, the company managed to increase seed production by 12 percent, increase farmer income by 10 percent and create both 800 temporary and 30 full-time jobs. “Moreover, farmers have the opportunity to use these systems also for other crops planted on their farms,” said Diaconu. New discoveries on biotech plum For 18 years, 16.7 million farmers have been planting biotech crops in 29 countries. Dr. Ralph Scorza, Research Horticulturist and Lead Scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture, underlined the importance of biotechnologies in agriculture and described how they can be used not only on regular field crops, but also on others. For instance, biotech herbicide tolerant sugar beet was grown on 500,000 hectares in the USA and Canada at a 97 percent adoption rate and about 420,000 hectares of biotech alfalfa was planted in the US in 2012. “It′s hard to imagine squash as a biotech crop, but 2,000 hectares of biotech virus-resistant squash was grown in the US,” said Scorza. “There has been penetration from the field crops to other crops that we are less familiar with.” Covering 160 million hectares all over the world, the biotech crop generates many advantages for both farmer and consumer, according to Scorza. The farmer′s benefits from using such a product are the increasing yield, an improvement in protection from insects and disease and crops′ increased tolerance to heat, drought and other environmental stressors. Consumer benefits include increased protein, healthier oils and reduced exposure to agricultural chemicals. “In addition, we can conserve soil and energy, reduce greenhouse gases and reduce the need for new agricultural land,” added Scorza. According to his calculations, if the adoption of the currently available biotech crops in the EU were 50 percent, pesticide use would decrease by 14.5 million kilograms per year, with a possible reduction of 7.5 million hectares sprayed. “Moreover, 20.5 million liters of diesel would be saved and 73,000 less tons of carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere,” he added. Biotechnology can also be applied to fruit: Scorza presented his research on the ‘HoneySweet′ plum. Tested in Europe for over 15 years, including in Romania, the new breed is PPV (Plum Pox Virus) resistant, thereby avoiding fruit deformation, premature fruit drop or leaf chlorosis. “In Romania, PPV infection in plums stands at about 70 percent,” said Scorza. “There is no cure for this disease, but we have managed to create resistance to it. We have worked for 14 years to find the right gene and test it in different fields. ‘HoneySweet′ is being made freely available in the US, but those outside the US wishing to exploit ‘HoneySweet′ have to obtain the required regulatory clearances,” he concluded. Biotech soybean product with no TFA As a result of biotechnology, PlenishTM high oleic soy is the first soybean product with consumer nutrition benefits developed by DuPont Pioneer, according to Macy Merriman, the company′s Senior Government Affairs Manager for Europe. The product has a very low level of saturated fatty acid (SFA) and no trans fatty acid (TFA), an element that increases the risk of human heart disease. “Trans fatty acids appear, when the oil is hydrogenated, to remove some unstable fatty acids,” said Merriman. “It is very important to have healthier diets by improving the quality of nutrition and reducing the fatty acid content in popular foods.” PlenishTM improved the fatty acid profile, maintaining the level of oleic acid at 75 percent, which is the highest content in soy and similar to olive oil. Furthermore, the product has 20 percent less saturated fat than commodity soybean oil. Currently, the product is available just on the US market. “PlenishTM is approved for cultivation in the US and Canada and approved for import in all major soybean markets, except the EU. Although we don′t rule out the idea of being accepted in Europe, currently no market for PlenishTM is expected here,” said Merriman. “The EU is an important market for US soybeans. Rapid EU approvals are needed to demonstrate that the EU system works, that it facilitates the development of safe, modern innovations that can bring benefits across the value chain, from farmers to consumers,” he concluded. Debate continues after the first session The first session raised a lot of questions and primed the audience for contribution. Several guests wanted to weigh in either on the current agricultural situation, or from the biotech perspective. “I think the greatest problems of humanity, now and especially in the future, are determined by the resources of water, soil and biodiversity, especially in the context of global climate change,” said Acad. Cristian Hera, Vice President of the Romanian Academy. “New water recovery technologies must be discovered in order to obtain a larger amount of dry matter through each millimeter of water placed in the ground by irrigation.” Moreover, prof. univ. Dr. Mihai Berca talked about the importance of the agricultural scene and underlined the fact that sustainable agriculture requires the use of as few resources as possible for the same product, “with respect for the environment”. Furthermore, Valeriu Tabara, the former Minister of Agriculture, commented on both the climate change that will affect the resources and the pests that have major consequences for the health of maize crops. “Pests have caused greater losses than the drought in terms of quantity. Coming with large amounts of pesticides is out of the question,” said Tabara. “It′s a very big issue and I think we can only solve it with these biotechnologies.” In addition, Marcel Cucu, member of the board of directors at LAPAR, argued that farmers should be more vocal and active in promoting research results on the benefits of biotech crops. “Speaking about biotechnologies, I believe Europe still has a lot to learn. We should try to promote these important results more,” said Cucu. Iuliana Ionel, scientific secretary at the Institute of Agricultural Economics, added: “A national campaign should be launched in order to inform consumers properly, especially young people, about genetically modified organisms. They should know that they have eaten a lot of animal products fed by GMOs and nothing has happened to them.” Farmer support in the context of the new CAP Between 2014 and 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will focus on rural development, helping attract investments in rural areas and leading to the creation of new jobs and thus to the development of rural areas. “An important aspect we need to highlight is the irrigation system. We have to take into account the fact that Romania had 3 million hectares arranged for irrigation and currently we have only 800,000 hectares economically viable. This is why the irrigation program is supported by the rural development program,” said Elena Tatomir, the general manager of the Directorate for Agricultural Policies and Strategies at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Furthermore, we cannot neglect the state aid aimed at farmers in order to help them gain economic stability and reinvest in their business.” Given the new legislative provisions related to farmer-supporting policies through direct payments, Tatomir sketched the ‘financial packages′ that farmers can get in the specified period to support agriculture. Firstly, direct payments will only be granted to active farmers, the objective being the exclusion of those who have no real connection with agriculture. In addition, each farmer will receive an extra payment for certain agricultural practices beneficial to the environment and helping prevent climate change. For these payments, member states will use 30 percent of the national ceiling/limited budget allocated. “A particular focus will be on young farmers, because we see the workforce aging in rural areas,” said Tatomir. “Farmers that have up to 30 hectares or more can get more financial support for the first 30 hectares than large farmers who cultivate thousands of hectares. This is as an incentive to end subsistence and semi-subsistence farming and to develop farms to produce for the market,” she added. Two other types of farmer state aid are the ‘support for small farmers′ (up to 10 percent of the national ceiling allocated) and the ‘voluntary coupled support′, a maximum 13 percent of the national ceiling allocated for crop production. “The second support can be granted for cereals, oilseeds, flax, hemp, rice, milk, sheep and goat meat and more,” says Tatomir. “Moreover, additional support for protein crops can be provided, up to 2 percent of the national ceiling allocated, in order to reduce dependence on imports in the domain.” Argentinean technologies – do they suit Romania? Argentina managed to double its total grain production in only 15 years, reaching 100 million tons in 2011, by adopting new technologies and specific practices that both minimize the environmental risk and contribute to the improvement of farm productivity. Manuel Coronado, CEO & Founder of Quality Crops International, revealed the ‘recipe for success′ in Argentinean agriculture in order to help Romania adopt it. “The two main technologies that helped our agriculture are ‘no-till′ and ‘silo bag′. The first led to higher productivity and the second helped the farmers increase their income,” said Coronado. “These technologies were rapidly adopted by farmers.” ‘No-till′ is a production system based on the absence of tillage and the presence of permanent soil cover with crops and residues. According to the CEO, conventional tillage harms the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the soil, is dependent on high inputs and is not sustainable over time. By contrast, the no-till procedure allows production without soil degradation, improves soil properties and involves a more efficient use of water. “Soil erosion reduces soil fertility, the quality of the environment and the profitability and sustainability of production systems,” said Coronado. “This technology diminishes soil erosion. We need to protect our soil, by all the time keeping the crop residue that allows the soil to form its proper consistency.” Around 90 million hectares worldwide use no-till technology, including 45 million hectares in South America and 27 million hectares in Argentina. Testing is necessary to see if the technology proposed by the Argentinean farmers is suitable for Romanian soil or not. “The adoption was very quick. Today, from approximately 33 million arable/ plantable hectares in Argentina, 27 are already in no-till. I believe there is no reason you cannot test this technology in Romania,” said Coronado. “We have established protocols for no-till experiments in Iasi, Teleorman and Giurgiu areas, and we will gather data to see if this technology is suitable for Romania or not.” The second Argentinean technology was implemented in response to a widespread storage and commercialization problem during harvest time: lower commodity prices and higher logistics costs. “The silo bag is a big plastic bag that allows harvesting even when you can′t move the production from the field because of logistical problems, snow, mud, water or the deterioration of roads,” said Coronado. Of the 100 million tons that makes up Argentina′s total cereal production, 60 million tons are stored in silo bags. The bag is 60 meters long and has a 200 MT capacity, made from virgin resin which is extruded into a three-layer film with superior UV protection and durability. “It provides anaerobic grain conservation and thermal protection, preventing an increase in temperature and thus the development of fungi and insects, common in other silos. Moreover, the grain could be stored with higher moisture,” he added. Now it remains to be seen if Romanian farmers will use this innovation or not, given the fact that it costs about EUR 2.5 per ton. Legal challenges regarding agricultural land From January 1, 2014, EU-residents and companies established in accordance with the laws of an EU member state will be entitled to acquire agricultural land, forests and forestry land in Romania with the same rights as Romanians. “This is what the Treaty of Accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union requires,” said Ana Maria Goga, Partner at Pachiu & Associates. Against this backdrop, Goga discussed two draft laws. The first one is the draft law proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture in early September, regarding the sale-purchase of agricultural land, located outside the city limits, by individuals, as well as the establishment of the Authority for the Administration and Regulation of the Estate Market. “According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this law was established in order to regulate ‘once and for all′ the sale and purchase of land by individuals and the ‘counter effects′ of the right of EU-residents and companies to acquire agricultural land in Romania,” she said. Furthermore, the draft law regulates restrictions and interdictions, some of which are not new. A specific restriction, proposed by the draft law, refers to the interdiction of a natural person to hold ownership over more than 100 hectares of agricultural lands, located outside the city limits. “A consequence of this ban will be reflected in the increase in the number of limited liability companies, established for the purpose of acquiring agricultural land.” Moreover, the law stipulates some requirements to be met by the purchaser, an individual, when acquiring agricultural land. The purchaser must prove their knowledge in the field of agriculture, a track record of conducting agricultural business for at least five years and, if the purchaser already owns agricultural land, that agricultural activities were carried out on the land. “Mainly such requirements refer to a certain expertise of the purchaser, natural person, in the agricultural field. We hope that the Methodological Norms for the application of this law, if such will be enacted, will sort out the precise meaning and extent of these requirements, as well as how the related prove shall be made,” Goga said. The draft law mentioned above regulates a preemption right at the sale of agricultural land, in favor of a series of persons, including the co-owners and neighbors. One issue Goga expressed concern for at the moment of the presentation (mid September), is whether the preemption right, as regulated by the draft law, as well as the 90-days term provided for the purpose of exercising of such right, would not obstruct the functioning of the real estate market. In the meantime, in the new versions of the draft law, proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture, such term was lowered to 30 days. The second draft law with significant importance is the First Land Book Registration of Agricultural Land and Forestry Land. This draft law has already been approved by the Senate and was under debate with the Chamber of Deputy at the time of the presentation (mid September). Under the law, the holders of title deeds to agricultural and forestry land are entitled to fulfill all requirements provided by the cadastre law free of charge. “The benefits that would be brought by the accomplishment of the cadastre at national level are of major importance. It would enhance the financing and the proper development of agricultural projects and it would contribute to the security of the civil circuit,” Goga said. “Therefore, the State should act in a very pro-active and dynamic manner for the purpose of accomplishment of the cadastre of lands in Romania and land book registration thereof,” she concluded. Opinions shared after the second session Not everyone was in agreement with the law governing the sale-purchase of agricultural land that will be enacted from January 1, 2014, and several spoke up against it. “This law is a fallacy. The system proposed by the Minister of Agriculture will dampen sales and land exchanges by introducing state interference in the process,” said Gheorghe Nedelcu, president of AMSEM. Valeriu Tabara, former Minister of Agriculture, also disapproves of the legal framework, stating that Romania is the country with the largest area of alienated land in Europe. “This law will be bad for all agricultural structures in Romania,” he added. On a different topic, the former Minister of Agriculture said that the world tends to move towards what is new and that biotechnology will be the key to success in agriculture in terms of food, raw materials and energy. Close to the end of the conference, Dr. Lucian Buzdugan, the general manager of Agricost, discussed the importance of the soybean crop in Romania, which is lacking today. The plant was cultivated before 1989 on nearly half a million hectares and by 2007 on nearly 200,000 hectares. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic fall. “From a vegetable protein-exporting country, Romania has become an importer. Today, soybean is no longer cultivated,” said Buzdugan. Agricost′s GM also stressed that soy is an economical plant for farmers, helping them reduce their costs. “It′s a beneficial plant for the environment which leaves biological nitrogen in the soil. This reduces groundwater nitrogen losses and therefore farmers′ costs,” said Buzdugan. “Another crop that fits Romania, besides soy, is the plum.” Other active participants during the conference included Ion Cioroianu, the president of Romanian Farmers′ Association, Dimitrie Musca, general manager at Agroindustrial Plant Curtici, Elena Marcela Badea, Professor and main researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry, the Romanian Academy, and Antonia Ivascu, general secretary of AISR.â–   Romanian Agribusiness Forum 2013 was supported by the gold partners of The Diplomat-Bucharest: Monsanto, Syngenta, Pioneer, Pachiu & Associates, Agrium and BRD – Groupe Société Générale SA. Continue reading →