1% of enterprises active in Romania in the agri-food industry used industrial robots in 2018, while the European average is 7%, informs INACO (Initiative for Competitiveness).
The report published by INACO on February 6, 2020 indicates that 75% of agri-food companies in Romania believe that they do not have the necessary expertise to use digital technologies. In addition, only 38% of them are trying to develop digitally, even though we are in the midst of industrial revolution 4.0.
In addition to Romania, also in Cyprus, Hungary and Slovakia the degree of robotization is 1%, while at the opposite pole are countries such as Sweden (31), the Netherlands (22), Denmark (16), Slovenia (10 %) and France (9%).
The share of gross added value in GDP places Romania's agriculture in first place in the EU. Our country is the 8th agricultural power in terms of sector value in the EU, but the low level of technology condemns us to the last place in terms of labor productivity.
Large companies in the agri-food industry use technologies such as:
• Autonomous tractors or combines, without a driver, overseen by a single operator who coordinates dozens of agricultural machines in the field from a computer
• Robots that pick the fruits: strawberries, cherries, oranges, etc.
• Robots that increasingly replace physical and repetitive effort, risky activities or that require maximum precision
• Robots in animal husbandry that constantly supervise animal flocks, self-supply with energy through solar panels
• On dairy farms, for example, new technologies are emerging, such as the smart collar belt, developed to track the health and fertility of cows. This device can be integrated with a smart phone or laptop to track the behavior of the animals, which helps to provide timely treatment or feed.
The speed of recovery of digital gaps in the period 2014-2019
Estonia is the only country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-8) that has a Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) above the EU average
In Romania, 18 industrial robots operate per 10.000 employees, 6 less than the European average (2017)
The solution proposed by INACO to increase the degree of digitization in Romanian companies is the following:
• Creation of a Working Group for Future Agriculture (GLAV) at the level of the relevant ministry
• Creation of GLAV sub-groups at regional level
• Creation of smart educational digital laboratories (SMART Lab) in all agricultural schools in Romania.
Currently there are only four SMART Labs, three in Bucharest (Smart Lab Titu Maiorescu, Sector 1, Smart Lab Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Sector 3, Smart Lab Grigore Moisil, Sector 6) and one in Ilfov (Smart Lab Măgurele).
INACO (Initiative for Competitiveness) is a non-profit community of managers, consultants, analysts, experts in the economic field, connected to the network of specialists in the state and private economy in Romania.
Report coordinators: Andreea Paul, associate professor Ph.D. at the Faculty of REI, ASE; President of the INACO Association - Initiative for Competitiveness
