Romania’s small-scale farmers need information and technical assistance to achieve an integrated use of all the Rural Development Programme measures available to them. ADEPT has identified various urgent needs: improved access to information, including though internet skills for key individuals (such as farmer associations): coordinated delivery of information on eligibility for funding schemes; improved capacity to implement projects after approval.

Fundatia ADEPT has been working to solve these problems by forming information groups for farmers, packaging information in usable forms, and training in implementation. The impact of this integrated information project has been remarkable. Fundatia ADEPT has yielded increased local incomes of over €2m per year in the Tarnava Mare area, having a great impact on local prosperity. In addition, Fundatia ADEPT is cooperating closely with the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, advising on the current and future Rural Development Programme based on practical experiences: and has even had an influence on the design of the Cooperation Measure in the legislative proposals for the EAFRD post 2013, with a view to promoting replication of the action across the EU.