Swine Breeding in the Villages of Vâlcea County, Oltenia (Romania)—Tradition or Necessity?

Camelia Teodorescu, Marin Burcea, Ana-Irina Lequeux-Dincă (), Florentina-Cristina Merciu, Adrian-Nicolae Jipa and Laurenţiu-Ştefan Szemkovics
Additional contact information
Camelia Teodorescu: Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 1. Blv. Nicolae Bălcescu, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
Marin Burcea: Faculty of Administration and Business, University of Bucharest, 4-12 Regina Elisabeta Av., 030018 Bucharest, Romania
Ana-Irina Lequeux-Dincă: Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 1. Blv. Nicolae Bălcescu, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
Florentina-Cristina Merciu: Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 1. Blv. Nicolae Bălcescu, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
Adrian-Nicolae Jipa: Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 1. Blv. Nicolae Bălcescu, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
Laurenţiu-Ştefan Szemkovics: National Central Historical Archives, 49 Regina Elisabeta Av., 050013 Bucharest, Romania

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-31

Abstract: Food supply has been a constant source of concern for mankind. In the present context, with food security a priority of European and national policies, an analysis of pig farming in a representative NUTS2 administrative level of Romania that emphasizes the proportion of households raising at least one pig and the main factors influencing farmers to adopt or give up swine breeding could allow a much clearer understanding of this phenomenon that lies at the border between cultural tradition and socio-economic necessity. This study uses mixed methods that complement each another to help reveal this complex phenomenon in the analyzed territory. Cluster analysis shows the concentration of swine breeding and maps its spread in terms of both subsistence and larger farms, and qualitative interviews prove the motivation of farmers to continue in this occupation. As a primary result, the study visualizes the spatial distribution of pig farming in the rural environment of Vâlcea county, Romania, from a diachronic perspective in the post-communist period. It also reveals areas of differing concentrations of both very small-sized farms, which prioritize meeting their own food needs, and larger farms, which prioritize commercial production to supplement their revenue streams. Both categories, but particularly the latter, are of particular interest in a period in which the socio-economic environment after 1990—marked by economic restructuring, unemployment, population migration, the economic crisis of 2008–2010, the pandemic of 2020–2021, and the most recent energy crisis—periodically highlights the importance of rural areas in ensuring food security and sufficiency at both the local and regional levels.

Keywords: animal breeding; economic crisis; local culture; rural economy; cluster analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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