The study analyzes the awareness of the effects of climate change on agriculture and the measures that should be implemented in this regard from the farmer’s perspective, taking into account the financial and promotional measures supported by the European Union for farmers. Thus, the study tracks the level of openness of farmers to implementing the measures that European policy makers will take in the coming period. Taking into account the fact that agriculture plays a particularly important economic role, due to the share of agricultural products in Romania’s total exports, particularly in plant production, a quantitative survey was carried out among Romanian farmers, using a questionnaire as an instrument, with a total of 407 respondents. The farmers interviewed undoubtedly recognize that the problems they face are caused by the effects of climate change and are willing to adapt, seek and implement the necessary solutions. The most problematic climatic phenomenon identified by farmers (71.5%) is drought, with negative effects on their activity. At the same time, 54.15% of the respondents believe that the effects of climate change are affecting their business through lower yields. Although the farmers interviewed are willing to implement solutions to combat climate effects, 80.34% of them are not considering revising cropping patterns, giving more importance to market demand than to practices that protect the environment. In conclusion, as long as farmers feel and understand the effects of climate change, it cannot be a myth, especially if they are willing to adapt to these challenges.
Throughout this paper, the theoretical concepts from the above areas were combined with the analysis and interpretation of statistical data from the same areas of interest, resulting in a detailed analysis of how the agricultural labour force influences the yields of the five most important crops in the Romanian agricultural sector, namely, wheat, maize, sunflower, rapeseed and soybean. The analysis was carried out within the eight NUTS-listed development regions. A bibliometric analysis of the importance of the academic environment for agricultural labour force research was previously carried out using VOSviewer software. The content of this document aims to determine the impact that the agricultural labour force has on the productivity of the five main crops cultivated in Romania over large areas during the period 2015–2019, where, although the population employed in agriculture has decreased, the yields of these crops have increased due to the technological development process started in agriculture. As of 2019, only 9% of the total Romanian population is represented by the population employed in agriculture and 39.41% and 61.37% of the total area of the country are represented by arable/agricultural area, respectively.
The Farm-to-Fork strategy was the starting point for this study. Farmers in Romania and other member states expect a decrease in agricultural production in the main crops, due to the reduction of the quantities of fertilizers and pesticides allowed to be used. The article aims to highlight these quantities currently used, as well as the correlation with the realized productions, before the application of the mentioned strategy. The sunflower farming system was the object of the analysis, for which purpose the cultivated areas and the productions obtained in Romania were studied and compared to those in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary and Poland. It was found that in Romania, in the period 2010–2019, small amounts of fertilizers and pesticides were applied. Romania occupies the last position among the countries under analysis, both in terms of fertilizers and pesticides. To obtain a ton of sunflower in Romania, the nitrogen fertilizers used were 19.2 kg N active nutrient, with a negative deviation of −45.5 kg N active nutrient compared to Germany. The P2O5 phosphorus fertilizers used in Romania represent 7.48 kg of the active phosphorus nutrient with a negative deviation of −13.09 kg/ha compared to Spain. Potassium fertilizers used in Romania comprise 2.68 kg of active potassium nutrient used to obtain a ton of sunflower and have a negative deviation of −22.66 kg/ha compared to Poland. The pesticides used in Romania for sunflower cultivation represent 0.35 kg total pesticides used per ton and have a negative deviation of −2.48 kg compared to Spain, the largest consumer. In the event that a unit reduction of 50% for pesticides and 20% for fertilizers is applied, according to the Farm to Fork Strategy, the impact will be unequal on the productions obtained, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
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