SAC International

This project contributed to Romania’s future integration into the EU by developing policies that aligned with EU laws and norms.

Project objectives were to:

• Strengthen the policy formulation capacity of the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests (MAAP)

• Strengthen the policy implementation process in MAAP including its decentralised services and other involved agencies

The project supported the establishment, within the MAAP, of a formalised high-level committee on EU and Agricultural Strategy. This Committee drew together the national agricultural policy making agenda and the adjustments required by Romania’s objective for EU accession. The project strengthened:

• Policy objective setting on the basis of realistic analyses of the development requirements of the sub-sectors of the Romanian agri-food economy

• Appraisal of alternative policy options and the identification of those which would support EU accession through their compatibility with the acquis communautaire

• Policy decision making process

The project also strengthened the capacity of the decentralised services of the MAAP and other agencies to implement integrated agricultural and rural development policies in accordance with the requirements of the acquis communautaire. Furthermore, the project supported the ability of the MAAP to monitor and evaluate those policies and feed the results of the evaluations back into the policy formulation process.

A major output of the project was the publication "Agricultural and rural strategy for accession to the European Union." This booklet summarised policy measures to contribute to the implementation of the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) and to the absorption of financial assistance available from SAPARD. In addition, guidance was given on the institutional building needed to provide agricultural statistics, including the support required for implementation of the Farm Accounts Data Network (FADN).