Land fragmentation and land consolidation in the agricultural sector : a case study from Romania
Rusu, Marioara
The need to improve land management is obvious in the changing environment of Romanian agriculture. Due to this, in this study special attention is paid to rural areas where land relations have profound implications for agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and the economic and social status of rural households. The recent and dramatic shift from a centrally planned to a market-based economy has emphasized the urgent need for the designing of an effective framework to promote a smooth and effective transition to agriculture land tenure relations consistent with market-oriented development. In the former socialist countries in Europe changes in land tenure have proceeded at varying pace and with different outcomes. The land markets have begun to function, although financial constraints and institutional shortcomings, cause limitations to proper process. Because land turnover is generally low, the consolidation of fragmented parcels occurs very slowly. This is a major problem for countries whose restitution programs resulted in fragmented smallholdings, or where small farms dominated the farm structure even prior to the reforms.
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