Organic farming has become an important alternative to conventional farming, mostly because of environmental sustainability issues, and has long-term positive benefits over soil, water, air and climate change, biodiversity, prohibiting the use of genetically modified organisms, and encouraging the development of ecological services. In Romania, the organic food market follows a positive trend, although the consumption rate is still very low compared to the European Union; therefore, it is necessary to identify the main barriers in consumption but also the factors influencing the increase in demand for this category of food products. In order to accomplish these objectives, a survey based on a questionnaire was conducted in the North-West Development Region of Romania, the second most important Romanian region from an economic development perspective. Five hundred and sixty-eight questionnaires were distributed in 2016. The collected data were danalyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The results indicated that the most important barrier in consumption was price, followed by perishability and availability. High prices, mistrust, and lack of proper promotion for organic food are the influencing factors for organic food.

Tourism represents a viable alternative for economic activities in rural areas, and improves the living standards of the communities. The aim of the paper is to assess residents’ perceptions towards tourism destination quality in the North-West Development Region of Romania using the following items: natural attractions: cultural and social attractions; accommodation; food; availability of transportation to destination area; quality of information and communication; hospitality of host community; feeling of security and safety. A survey was conducted to collect the data and a total of 433 questionnaires were validated and analyzed. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Principal component analysis, ANOVA, Scheffe multiple range test) were used to analyze the data. Results show that there are statistically significant differences in residents’ perceptions between counties. Two of the components of destination quality (general infrastructure and tourism potential) are affected by the gender of residents, while the level of education has no significant effect. A weak and indirect correlation was found between the age of residents and their perception towards a quality destination. This study makes two contributions to the existing literature. First, a questionnaire was developed based on the QUALITEST tool adapted to the realities of the research area. Second, we analyzed the perception of residents towards a quality destination in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics and county of residence. Understanding the implications of tourism development from the residents’ point of view helps to increase knowledge about the factors affecting the long-term, sustainable success of tourism destinations.

An increasing market demand concerning lavender essential oil is reported. Identification and characterization of the main compounds of this oil is needed, in order to identify chemotypes. This information is useful for further uses of the produced oil. Essential oil extracted from two Lavandula angustifolia L. varieties, cultivated in different areas of Transylvania, Romania, was analysed from the point of view of qualitative and quantitative composition, using gas-chromatography. Basic statistics was used for calculation of essential oil compounds means and dispersion parameters, while the profile of the essential oil composition was emphasized using Box-Plot diagrams and cluster analysis. Nine compounds, in different amounts were quantified, and two chemotypes, corresponding to ‘Mailette’ and ‘Vera’ varieties were established (linalool, and linalyl acetate, respectively). Differences in essential oil composition are recorded in ‘Vera’ variety corresponding to ‘Vera’ linalyl acetate chemotype, function of specific condition of lavender cultivation area.

The purpose of the research is to shape the main bene its and motivations of Romanian beekeepers, which manage a beekeeping farm and implement the diversi ication strategy. Interviews were performed with 20 managers of beekeeping farms from the North-West Region of Romania. Results point out that the main advantages of the production diversi ication strategy are the ability to respond to the opportunities that arise on the market, the involvement of farm owners and employees in different activities related to production throughout the year (they can live at the farm and work during the winter season), as well as professional satisfaction. The diversi ication strategy determine the competitive advantage of beekeeping farms and lies in the unique combination of different products speci ic to each farm, which differentiates it from its competitors.

In the case of food products, the concept of country of origin is frequently present because of the shorter time spend by the consumer during the evaluation of alternatives phase. The aim of this study is to determine the in luence of country of origin attribute over the consumer in the case of food products by comparing to attributes like brand, price, package and ingredients. A study was conducted among the people from Cluj-Napoca in 2013, on a sample of 277 people. The instrument used was the questionnaire which had four parts. A major objective of this study was to investigate if the results obtained by Dosen (2006) in his study will be the same among the Romanian consumers. The irst hypothesis considers that the brand is more important in the buying decision-making process than the country of origin. The second one refers to price as being more important than the country of origin. Results indicate that price is more important than all the attributes mentioned: country of origin, ingredients, brand, and package. Country of origin is more important than brand and package. Brand is more important than package. In the present study brand is not more important than the country of origin and price is more important than the country of origin. It can be concluded that the country of origin is an important attribute when referring to food products, but price is the most important one. Package is the least important attribute, so not so many efforts must be spent for it.