Public policies favorable to the development of associative forms in the agri-food system in Romania

Abstract

The complexity and diversity of the agri-food system, as well as the transformations that the economy and society must make towards a sustainable future in the long term, require collective actions, with an important role being played by producer organizations and agricultural cooperatives, autonomous and voluntary associations formed by several people, which represent a type of enterprise with a dual purpose, economic and social. Current agricultural cooperatives in Romania were established after the advent of Law no. 566, 2004. The pace of annual registrations of agricultural cooperatives at the National Trade Register Office has varied quite a lot, being influenced, first of all, by public policies with an impact on their development. Of these, the most important have proven to be those that regulate the fiscal facilities that agricultural cooperatives and their members can benefit from, such as exemption from various types of taxes (for buildings and land; on profit; on income; on rent, etc.). Currently, agricultural cooperatives play an important role in the agri-food system in Romania, holding almost a third of primary agricultural production and a quarter of the distribution and valorization of agri-food products, and it is imperative to maintain those public policies that are favorable to their future development.