Opportunities for improving the dairy sector in Romania

Abstract

Roemenië is een melkimporterend land. De melkveehouderij in het land is kleinschalig maar biedt perspectief. Het kennisniveau bij veehouders is nog laag. Het agrarisch onderwijs is onvoldoende ontwikkeld voor goed gekwalificeerde arbeid. Nederlandse bedrijven zijn actief in Roemenië om de melkveehouderij te ontwikkelen maar lopen tegen dit lage kennisniveau aan. Dit rapport beschrijft de ervaringen van kennisoverdracht naar veehouders en adviseurs in het centraal gelegen Transsylvanië. Romania is a milk importing country. Dairy farming in the country is small-scale but offers good prospects. The level of agricultural knowledge among farmers is still low due to insufficient agricultural education. Dutch businesses are active in Romania to develop dairy farming but are running up against this low level of knowledge. This report describes the experiences of transferring knowledge to farmers and advisors in central Transylvania.

Welfare of dairy cows

“…Comparing EU countries, there are marked differences in average herd sizes. In Romania, for example, where dairy farming mainly serves the family supply and only a small share of the total milk production is delivered to dairies (Zaalmink et al., 2020; European Dairy Association, 2021), herd sizes are commonly below 10 dairy cows. In countries where milk is mainly supplied to dairies, such as The Netherlands or Denmark, average herd sizes are markedly higher (with 97 and 180 cows per farm, respectively, in 2016).…”

“…According to the research report by Zaalmink et al (2020), 84% of Romanian dairy cow holdings can be considered as backyard farms keeping only one or two cows. Approximately only 25% of the milk produced is delivered to processing industry; the remaining part is either used for on-farm consumption or direct sales (Zaalmink et al, 2020). In 2013, the prevalence of tie-stall systems was estimated to be 75% in the middle sized and large farms and 90% in the small-scale farms in Romania (Popescu et al, 2013).…”

“…According to the research report by Zaalmink et al. (2020), 84% of Romanian dairy cow holdings can be considered as backyard farms keeping only one or two cows. Approximately only 25% of the milk produced is delivered to processing industry; the remaining part is either used for on‐farm consumption or direct sales (Zaalmink et al., 2020).…”