The number of agricultural enterprises in the European Union has shrunk by one-third over the past twenty years, from 15 million to 10 million farms. And in the next twenty years, that number could further decline to around 4 million.
A new report from a European Parliament think tank states that especially small farms in Central and Eastern Europe will disappear, particularly the smallest farms of less than 5 hectares.
It is noted that Romania currently has 3.6 million farms, of which 85% are smaller than 5 hectares. Agricultural production in EU countries will become concentrated on fewer, larger farms. The general trend is consolidation and intensification and the loss of family-owned and heritage farms, the study finds.
And the common agricultural policy alone does not stop this decline, the authors analyze, for whom the current distribution of CAP funds “favours large intensive agricultural enterprises, which worsens the concentration driven by market forces.”
Only targeted and increased funding for disadvantaged areas, small farms, and young farmers could halt the decline of small agricultural enterprises, according to the authors.