Romania launches manure collection platform for small-scale farmers

The platform is part of a long-term initiative to reduce the pollution of soil and water

This week, the Romanian Ministry for the Environment, Water and Forests announced the launch of a new platform for farmers living in the Drăgăneşti commune in the region of Prahova. The initiative is part of Romania’s push to enable more sustainable farming practices, called the Nitrates Directive.

Digitalising small-scale farming

Because the country has a lot of small-scale farmers, managing waste in a sustainable manner, especially animal dung has turned into a priority. At the same time, for those involved in agriculture, natural manure can be a valuable resource, that can boost production while stimulating local circular trade.

Farmers can request the manure to be collected from their property before being redistributed for farming. The initiative aims to reduce the pollution generated by unused manure and to measure captured nitrogen. The desired effect, according to an official statement, is to reduce the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and the Black Sea.

Eutrophication is a process where a certain environment can become oversaturated with nutrients, which can lead to harmful algae blooms, dead zones and massive fish death. 

The platform in Drăgăneşti cost the ministry around 2 million lei (around 400,000 euros) and 95% of the investment was given out by national authorities. The rest was covered by Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control, as part of the local contribution.

Apart from the platform, the funding also provides specialised equipment for extracting the manure: a tractor, two trailers, a front loader, a compost spreading machine and an emptying tank.

Slowly scaling manure platforms

Manure platforms have been slowly gaining popularity throughout Romania since 2008, where for the first 10 years of the project, the government was able to establish 86 of these in rural communities with small-scale farmers.

Now, as the project is maturing and going into its second stage, the Ministry of the Environment plans to deploy 86 more. This sustained effort for reducing agricultural pollution in Romania would then be able to provide value for both animal farmers and agricultural farmers throughout the country.