THE ASSOCIATION AND COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE - IMPORTANT FACTORS IN THE REVIVAL OF THE SMALL FARMERS

It is well known that the agriculture has an important role in achieving economic and social balance in our country, but in Romanian rural communities, more than in other communities from the EU countries, the small and medium farms have a greater role in achieving this balance, especially socially. Although, small and medium farms are holding more than half of the farmland in our country, they are economically inefficient because of the lack of advanced techniques and technologies and of its inability to provide financial support. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need of the association and cooperation to encourage primarily small farmers and to show the key problems which cause the regression and stagnation of the Romanian producers association process. The article brings to the fore, the importance of the association and cooperation in the development of the small and medium farms, and especially the positive impact which it has on the exploitation of their production in the economic context of relaunching the small and medium farms and their economic growth.