More than 500,000 farmers, representing over half of Romanian farmers, are still using hoes for working the land, Romania being the EU country with the lowest rate of mechanization in agriculture, according to Alex Jurconi, president of Pro Agro National Federation, quoted by local Mediafax.

“At least half a million Romanians who receive subsidies for agriculture are currently using hoes to work the land. The surfaces are small, the incomes generated are low, and access to inputs – seeds, plant protection solutions - is almost non-existent,” he said.

Most of the farmers using hoes to work the land own between 1 and 3 hectares and don’t have enough financial resources to pay for mechanization, according to Jurconi.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com