A survey recently carried out on a representative sample of agricultural small-and-medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Romania is reveling interesting facts about the use of European and national subsidies by agri SMEs in this country.
Only 30% of farmers managed to obtain European or national funding
According to this survey, only 30% of farmers managed to obtain European or national funding this year, while 70% did not access any type of support, either due to bureaucracy, complex eligibility requirements, or a lack of human and financial resources to prepare projects, according to the 2025 White Paper on Agriculture, recently launched by IMM Romania (SME employers’ confederation) and which incorporates the results of the survey. The situation is particularly difficult for small producers, who need specialized advice and training to manage the project stages and related administrative requirements.
Most funds were used for modernisation of agri equipment
Data analysis shows that Romanian farmers directed most of their investments towards the modernization of agricultural equipment and machinery. This was mentioned by 71.75% of the respondents who participated in the research. This high percentage shows that technological modernization remains the main priority for the agricultural sector, being essential for increasing productivity, reducing costs, and improving energy efficiency. Investments in mechanization are actively supported by the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027, in particular through measures aimed at small and medium-sized farms.
Business management, software, accounting, marketing and consultancy services important as well
According to the source cited, a significant percentage, 43.25%, was directed towards investments related to farm and agricultural business management, such as the purchase of management software, the modernization of administrative spaces, accounting and marketing services, or consulting for European projects. This reflects the gradual professionalization of agricultural management and the growing concern for internal process efficiency and administrative compliance.
Digitalisation - growing in importance
Digitization ranks third, with 25%, marking an upward trend in the adoption of smart technologies in agriculture. Farmers are beginning to use sensor monitoring solutions, GPS systems for agricultural work, mobile applications for resource management, and smart farming technologies. Even though the percentage is still modest compared to the EU average, it signals a gradual transition to precision farming.
Investments for “survival”
Another interesting aspect is that 12% of farmers have directed funds towards maintaining current activity (survival) - an indication of the economic pressures felt in the context of rising production costs and increasingly difficult climate conditions. Support measures to strengthen the financial resilience of farms are in high demand.
Investment in soft skills – still low
Vocational training and human resources development (9.75%) and research, development, and innovation (8.75%) are areas where investment is still limited, although essential for the long-term modernization of agriculture. These results underline the need to expand training, innovation, and technology transfer programs so that farmers can fully leverage the potential of digitization and sustainable practices.
Balanced development requires both tangible and intangible investments
Overall, the structure of investments indicates a predominantly technological orientation, focused on modernization and mechanization, but also a gap between tangible (equipment) and intangible (knowledge, innovation, training) investments. For balanced development, future public policies could be aimed at combining these two dimensions - technology and human capital - into a model of innovative, digital, and competitive agriculture at the European level.
The White Paper on Agriculture recently launched by IMM Romania (SME employers’ confederation) was produced making use of a questionnaire-based survey of 439 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises from all development regions of Romania and all age categories. The authors consider the selected sample as representative of the agricultural SME sector in Romania.