To be a farmer in Romania you need...
Fundaţia pentru Dezvoltarea Agriculturii
We have the DNA of an NGO, the vast retail & marketing know-how of a retailer, the financial power and consultancy of a business investor, and the love for Romanian vegetables of every consumer. We are a structure that brings together private environmental efforts to support local agriculture. How? Through associative models in agriculture that support common objectives. Through access to the market, advice in obtaining fund. And trough modern agricultural methods. The Foundation for The Development of Agriculture (FDAgri) is an open, collaborative platform that designs agriculture in structured type for collective impact. We bring together an ecosystem of partners who fight together for a common cause: agriculture. And they win.
FDAgri is all about the agricultural performance of local farmers. Why? To combine passion, the desire for work of the land and tradition with modern agricultural, business methods.
Mission
In order to sustain the growth of the Romanian vegetable sector through the force of small and medium farmers, we focus on 3 directions of action (1) building business models for performant local agriculture, (2) providing access to information and financing sources and (3) creating viable cooperation.
We want to increase market access and support collaboration among local farmers. How do we achieve that? By bringing education, financial support, agricultural technology, and business models that can be adapted to their needs.
Our priorities and types of solutions:
An ecosystem of partners - private investors, NGOs, local and national administrations, traders;
Advocacy and participation in the institutional decision-making process; promoting good practices and support for coherent internal strategies through dialogue between NGOs, institutional and private environment.
Educational, future-oriented investments, for teachers and potential farmers; connecting agricultural high schools and universities with advisory systems for farmers.
Consulting farmers; assisting them in the process of accessing public -(grants, European projects) or private funding (loans, leasing)
Developing business models for a viable cooperation. Scaling counseling services for farmers in farming areas with high potential for growing vegetables
Work Principle
From individual potential to systemic change of the agricultural sector
Our desire to build agriculture’s solid development is reflected at a strategic level also on our working model, that we implement at FAgriD
Developing and testing models (solutions to problems) in a real environment (for impact validation)
Solution scaling (model replication) in multiple diverse communities (geographic regions), to validate the systemic change
Preparing for scaling models which demonstrated they generate the expected impact
Vision
We believe in the LOCAL FARMERS’ POTENTIAL and that of the vibrant rural communities.
In FDAgri, Romanian agriculture receives models for healthy development. Moreover, every local farmer has the tools to develop a strong local business.
Future Programs
Romania has the most fruits and vegetable farms in the European Union. However, a third of the vegetables consumed in Romania come from imports and the processing capacity of Romanian vegetables barely reaches 50%. Romanian agriculture needs support in reaching its true potential.
In this context, we, at FDAgri, will focus on the systemic development of agriculture. For a major impact with benefits among small and medium-sized farmers, the resources invested will focus as a priority on the national vegetable sector for a minimum period of 5 years. In the coming years, we are aiming to extend the programs to other agricultural sectors.
