About us


THE BIO – ROMANIA ASSOCIATION

The Bio – Romania Association is a Romanian non-profit, non governmental, apolitical and independent legal entity. The association was formed in September 2008 under the Government Ordinance no. 26/2000.

Bio – Romania was formed by merging the 18 founding members: associates, cooperatives, companies, manufacturers, exporters, academics and personalities from the field of organic agriculture.

The Association advocates for sustainable development of agriculture and rural space, education, information and consumer awareness of the benefits of organic farming for both human health and natural health by promoting the consumption of certified organic foods.

On short term, the Association is campaigning to create favorable economic conditions for Romanian farmers who practice organic farming, in similar terms with the help received by organic farmers from other EU states.

The founding members of the Association are: 

1)        The Association of Organic Farmers in Romania „BIOTERRA” Cluj –  is one of the first organic associations in Romania, with over 2000 members, a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) based in Brussels;

2)        Ardeal’s Mitropoly - Since the mid-nineteenth century, under the leadership of Andrei Saguna, the Mitropoly of Transylvania was established in Sibiu. The Mitropoly has proposed the conversion of the owned agricultural land to organic farm land and organic production of foods in Convent.

3)        BIOCOOP – SIB, First Cooperative of capitalization of certified organic products, and the first organic store in Romania in the Cooperative system, it includes over 30 members from Sibiu.

4)        ESCAR PROD S.C.A Brasov – snail meat processing and marketing, it uses raw material produced in organic farms in its processes. Has over 350 members throughout the country and has the largest processing plant in organic snails in the world.

5)        NATURALIA IMPEX S.R.L. Ilfov – marketing organic products and promoting a healthy lifestyle. The company holds its own silo, pastry bakery, all organic. Has developed a chain of stores in Bucharest and has distribution of its bakery products in the SE area of the country.

6)        BIOSERVICE S.R.L. Cluj;

7)        Research Station for Agricultural Development Caracal;

8)        The Ecological University of Bucharest;

9)        Foundation „Patriarch Abraham” Bucharest;

10)   SHALOM BIOFOOD S.R.L. Otopeni;

11)   University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest;

12)   AUGER PETRUS S.R.L. Calarasi – is holding over 1200 ha of organic farmland;

13)   Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Bucharest;

14)   SC ECO MARKET Transylvania S.R.L – Romanian company, active in export trade and organic products. The company has focused primarily on wholesale trade in raw materials and semi-processed certified organic food.

15)   Mănăstirea Boroioa – from Suceava County, owns 50 ha in conversion farmland;

16)   „Valea Asăului” Association (Bacău)  - producers of cow milk, diet cheese, kneaded cheese, ewe – cheese, butter and cream. This represents 50% of the domestic market.

17)   „Ştefan cel Mare” Commune Călăraşi county – with over 50% of commune’s surface ecologically certified.

18)   SC INTEGRO MANAGEMENT CONSULT S.R.L;

19)   Agroexim Tulcea – is a member of the Association and represents over 50% of the grain export market in Romania and participates every year at the international fair for organic products Biofach – Nuremberg. More than 50% of export contracts signed are obtained through participation as an exhibitor at this annual fair organized by Bio – Romania.

20)   LTA MONDIAL – is the only producer of organic sunflower oil, distributed on the Romanian market, also exhibiting at Biofach Nuremberg. The company is specialized in the production of cold pressed vegetable oils from sunflower, refining, bottling, packaging and marketing.

21)   CH. Pietrosărații or „Franco – Romanian Domains”  - is representative for the wine sector of the Association of Bio – Romania, with 50% market share. The owners are French, Belgian and Romanian. „Crai Nou” is the range which includes organic wines made with grapes from Romanian vines.

22)   Teocris Deva – it activates in the domain of bread manufacture and organic bakeries, internally and externally. Together with Naturalia Impex it  holds 80% of the internal bread manufacture market.

23)   Apicola Deva – manufacturer and marketer of organic apiculture products: honey, pollen, etc. Active member of the Beekeepers Association in Romania, which currently has over 800 affiliates.

24)   Stupina Szasz  – producer and marketer of acacia honey, lime and poly flora.

25)   Stupina Onea – besides producing organic honey, the firm also produces honey in traditional clay pot, a product certified by MARD.

26)   Apidava - Production and marketing of honey, acacia honey, natural honey, multi-flower honey, linden honey, thyme honey.

27)   A.F. Tivadar Petru – Mr. Tivadar  Petru is a beekeeper who owns more than 300 families of bees and beekeeping has turned into a business of which his family lives.

28)   Ecoforest, specializes in producing, processing and marketing of organic products (nuts, coconut oil, organic feed, organic cheese, organic plum, green fruit), a member of the Association and participating for the first time at Biofach 2011 – Nuremberg. The company represents the organic fruit sector with share of 50%.

29)   Cortina Bioprod holds the first poultry farm from Romania that produces certified organic eggs and poultry. Representantive in its sector with a share of 50%.

30)   Multiagra SRL (Botoșani) with a market share of 50% has two farms, a crop farm (wheat, corn, rape seed, soybean, sugar beet) and a zootechnical farm.

31)   Biologist – Petre Mihail Alexandru Papacostea;

32)   Dudescu Gheorghe – President of Honour;

33)   Pavel Chirilă –Vicepresident of Honour

34)   Mr. Pierre Rabhi – Member of Honour;

35)   Dan Puric – Vicepresident;

36)   Bogdan  Dumitrache – Vicepresident;

37)   Mierlea Sorin – Prim Vicepresident.

 

Currently, the Bio – Romania Association, through its direct members and association members has over 80% of the organic products market in Romania.  Since the time it became an organization it was established to become an association able to represent and uphold the interests of all operators engaged in promoting organic farming and organic products.

The Association tries to identify the operators who are from the same area, supporting them through counselling, creating professional organizations by areas of activity (crop and animal production, processing, marketing, consulting and promotion). This created an organization able to propose, discuss, negotiate and harmonize the interests of all members with the ultimate goal of development of organic farming and healthy organic food, environmental and consumer protection.

Some short-term goals have been achieved by obtaining subsidies for farms in conversion in 2010 and 2011 and for the first time obtaining financial support for organic farming for more than 250,000 ha, in amounts between 153 and 400 Euro / ha.

Representativeness of the organic farming sector is given by the members of the Bio – Romania Association, which is about 80% of  the domestic market share.

The Bio – Romania Association enjoys the support of a large number of organizations, private and national bodies from Romania and European countries with tradition and wide experience in organic farming.

Among the organizations and institutions that support the initiatives of the Association include: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business (by Mr. Costin Lianu – Dpt. of Trade) University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Iasi, Ecological University of Bucharest, Romanian Society of Comparative Oncology, the National Association for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies from Romania (ANPCPPSR), National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), National Environment Guard, the National Village Museum „Dimitrie Gusti”, County Councils, Prefectures, Etc.

In the online environment we have as partners: Dolceta (Online Consumer Education), EcoMagazin, WordPress, EcoSemnal, the National Village Museum „Dimitrie Gusti”, Association for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies from Romania by o9atitudine campaign, etc.

The supporting  international organizations are: The BIO AUSTRIA Association, Biokreis Germany, ORA Association (Organic Retailers Association) afiliated member of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), etc.

The Bio Romania Association is also a member of the National Federation of Agricultural Producers in Roma (FNPAR), as vice president, responsible for Ecological Agriculture, representing the Romanian sector at Copa&Cogeca (Copa is over 13 million farmers and their families while COGECA represents the interests of 38 thousand agricultural cooperatives).

We have concluded partnerships with institutions like the National Association for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies from Romania (ANPCPPSR), „Fundaţia Tineri pentru Tineri” Association, he National Village Museum „Dimitrie Gusti”, Reformists Youth Association, The Traditional Office of traditional and organic romanian products (ONPTER), Agricultural School Group in Suceava, Technological College „Grigore Cerchez”, „Gheorghe Asachi” College, Technological College „Petru Rareş”, Choreography Highschool „Floria Capsali”, Group School of Arts and Crafts „Dimitrie Paciulea” from Bucharest, etc.

 

Among the arbitrary priorities of the Association, we mention:

1.       Developing a Romanian Ecological Educational Project, collaborating with school, of different degrees, and Church, two institutions that are fundamental for the Romanian spirituality. This represents an effort to change the mentality of the people through an adequate education regarding the human health, the nature and the way of how to obtain agricultural products. And this always starts with the youth and the one engaged in their education. Our educational message is addressed to Romanian’s family to develop a healthy thinking about nutrition, about how to make agriculture and to respect and care environment, as gifts from God.

2.       Supporting the elaboration and implementation of the Ecological Agriculture Development Plan in Romania. One of the objectives listed in our being statute is to become a viable and responsible dialogue partner regarding the ecological agriculture field inRomania.

 

3.       Reassessing the Agro-Environment Measure from PNDR, December 2007 version and to restore the Ecological Agriculture Sub- Measure, according to the initial version. It is known that EU member states who wish to restore the ecological agriculture or to continue the ecological agriculture are receiving supplementary founds – “additional payments”. We want to provide all the logistic support required to fulfill this purpose. So we are ready to collaborate and elaborate a meeting working plan in which we would analyse and find solutions for the problems that have restrained the allocation of founds that are essential for the national ecological agriculture.

4.       Creating a transparent and dynamic collaboration environment between Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the General Direction of Rural Development and institutions and organizations that are actively involved in ecological Agriculture by establishing an Advisory Council for the ecological product, formed from appointed representatives of these institutions and organizations who have the responsibility to participate in market decisions regarding Ecological Agriculture. To ensure an excellence level in national ecological agriculture, we affirm our opening to organize a working team in close partnership with the public authorities and other governmental organization to elaborate and put in practice a “private public partnership”.

5.       Subvention the tax certification to an inspection and certification organization for the entire ecological agricultural area, as well as developping a calculation method (UVM) that will help the breeders. Earmarking the financial resources for farms, restore the Ecological Agriculture Sub-Measure (according to Art. 39(4) of the 1698/2005 Regulation, agro-environment payments for farmers may include any amounts additional, not more then 20 % for the transactional costs associated with agro-environmental package requirements fulfill).

6.       Support from MADR market to expand the ecological products:

i.        Establishing and implementing campaigns in collaboration with the big chain stores, to raise awareness among consumers.

ii.        Supporting the participation of the producers in domestic and international events.

iii.       Establishing and implementing campaigns to promote the logo “ae” and the communitarian logo.

iv.       Establishing one telephone line like”TEL-GREEN” for ecological agriculture consultancy.

 

 

We want the food from hospitals and the supplement- food for our children in schools to be healthy, clean, produced by Romanian farmers, environmental certificated.

 

The BIO – ROMANIA Association has assumed the following objectives:

  • Getting financial support from the European Union for Romanian

farmers, similar to that received by other European organic farmers.

 

This objective can be achieved by renegotiating The National Rural Development Plan by the Ministry of Agriculture and by The European Commission.

 

To enjoy similar conditions and to catch up to neighbor countries within the European Union, Romanian farming operators should beneficiate of:

 

  • Financial support from 230 euros / ha, differentially accorded for distinct types of crops as cereals, industrial crops, field vegetables, vegetables in the solar, vineyards, orchards, forage crops, pastures, bee hives per family, farm snails per hectare, etc.

 

  • 75% of investments in the agriculture field and in the one of  certified organic processing to be irredeemable, the cofinancing from the farmers to be 25%.

 

  • To stimulate the conversion of subsistence farms into organic micro farms with high performance, we suggest that applicants should receive additional points (15 points), provided only for subsistence farms seeking the establishment of an organic micro farm. In addition, the financing for projects of up to 30,000 euros to be 90 % grants, 10% co-applicant.

 

  • Based on the European Directive and on the national legislation on state aid in agriculture (improvement of product quality), the organic farming operators should benefit of:

 

Subsidizing 100% of the fee for inspection and certification.

 

Under section (7) of Sibiu Declaration adopted at the establishment of Bio Romania Association, we ask for support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Environment Business, that the State purchase organic food in order to feed children in kindergartens, schools and the sick children in hospitals, on the base of already existing models in Bulgaria, Hungary and other EU countries.

All these objectives are  part of The ROMANIAN Ecological Project, developed in partnership with The National Association for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies from Romania, through which the Romanian state must become a responsible consumer  for the environment.

 

Project Experience

“Completion of EU financial support for restructuring agriculture in Romania (CESAR)”, part 2 “socio-economic orientation services for farmers in County Alba “.

World Bank financed project

Component “Socio-Economic Guidance Services for the agricultural population” is meant to develop the ability of people to manage their farming income and assets, taking into account support programs at national and EU levels. Capabilities and mechanisms of guidance services designed socioeconomic CESAR Project will facilitate access to information necessary for solving agricultural population and adapt to challenges posed by agricultural production, household, family and social relations and economic space beyond the farm itself.

The CESAR Project under Component 2 of “socio-economic guidance services for the agricultural” MARD implemented, will be the identification and development providers socio-economic orientation (Septic) independent in Alba county, which will be recruited on a competitive basis and according to criteria adapted to regional needs assessment results, including NGOs, farmers associations and organizations and consulting companies.

The overall objective of the “completion of the EU financial support for restructuring agriculture in Romania (CESAR) ” is to facilitate the restructuring of agriculture to the market by improving farmers, their families and farm workers to manage assets and income. Within this overall objective, the project will support the Romanian Government in completing the registration of land titles to the goods in rural areas, to ensure the rights of land ownership and operation of rural land markets. The project will also assist the Government to improve guidance services to enable people to manage sustainable agricultural income and assets, programs contributing to the absorption of EU and national support.

The project has already implemented an assessment of demand and supply for the agricultural advisory services in project areas. Also, the project currently financed, development and regular updating of a Guidance Manual socio-economic base will serve as a guide book of reference for Septic agencies. After selecting the pits, the project will finance training of Septic contracted to provide socio-economic orientation with project financing and third party providers interested in providing advice and guidance in the agricultural sector. The project will provide for the procurement of goods and services to the activities of local community involvement and information.

Information and promotion actions of organic farming products in Germany and Romania

“Information and promotion of organic farming products inGermanyand inRomania” Program is a multi-year campaign (3 years) and promotion of Romanian products of organic farming inGermanyandRomania.

Products currently covered under the program are organic products of domestic production arising exclusively fromRomania:

1) cereals and organic crops

2) derived products and cereals and technical plants suproduse of green

3) organic fruit and vegetables:

4) green berries

5) bread and bakery products

6) green fodder

7) honey and byproducts

8) organic finished products

9) organic dairy and cheese (all kinds);

10) organic chicken eggs.

Program objectives are to inform and promote: Increase awareness among consumers of labeling, including the Community logo used for products of organic farming, provision of comprehensive information and awareness on the benefits of organic farming, especially in the protection environmental, animal welfare, maintenance of the countryside and rural areas development, provision of comprehensive information on the content and operation of the Community with regard to organic farming, encourage individual producers and processors and groups of producers, processors and traders Retailers who do not practice organic farming to reconvert to this method of production; Encourage consumption of products from organic farming and to encourage retailers to sell products to distributors from the organic farming sector.