STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH NON-REFUNDABLE FUNDS

This paper analyzes the distribution of projects financed under the measure DR 30 – Installation of young farmers during the period January-December 2024, with a focus on the implementation of criterion 6.3 (modern technologies, renewable energy, automatic irrigation). The study highlights regional differences in accessing the measure, as well as the main benefits and difficulties encountered by farmers. The sources of information are the database from Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR, selection of reports and the questionnaire applied to farmers, and the methods used are descriptive analysis, the chi-square test as well as statistical interpretation and correlation of results. The results show that most projects were financed in the North-West (1,612 projects) and South-Muntenia (422 projects) regions, while Bucharest-Ilfov (45 projects) and Center (161 projects) had a low representation. Only 40.7% of farmers applied criterion 6.3, the main technologies that started to be implemented by the end of 2024 were sensors for monitoring crops (7 responses) and automatic irrigation systems (5 responses). The benefits reported by farmers included increased productivity (70%) and reduced production costs (30%). Among the major difficulties identified, administrative problems (68.8%), lack of technical support (58.3%) and high implementation costs were highlighted. Farmers highlighted the need for continuous support from authorities (55.8%) and technical training sessions (18.6%) to encourage the adoption of modern technologies. The findings suggest the need for tailored regional policies to reduce administrative barriers, facilitate access to sustainable technologies and improve technical education among farmers.