INVESTMENT AND INNOVATION-DRIVEN RESILIENCE OF ROMANIA’S SHEEP FARMING SECTOR AMID CONTEMPORARY GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The current operating environment of the agro-industrial complex in Eastern European countries is characterised by significant transformations driven both by internal economic processes and by external geopolitical challenges. One of the key influencing factors has been the full-scale war in Ukraine, which has substantially disrupted the traditional logistical supply chains for agricultural products, in particular grain and feed components.
Under these circumstances, Romania, as a European Union Member State possessing considerable agricultural potential and an advantageous geographical location, plays an important role in ensuring the transit of Ukrainian agricultural produce. At the same time, this places an additional burden on its domestic infrastructure and underscores the need to develop its own processing capacity, particularly in the field of compound feed production.
The development of compound feed production for sheep farming, which constitutes a traditional and strategically important branch of Romanian animal husbandry, is therefore of particular relevance. In this context, investment in the construction of a modern compound feed plant for sheep in Romania would make it possible to enhance the efficiency of the sector, ensure the stability of the feed base, and strengthen regional agri-food links, including cooperation with Ukraine.
The article substantiates the feasibility of constructing a compound feed plant for sheep in Romania. An analysis of the country's agro-industrial sector is carried out, the current state and problems of sheep farming are examined, and a review of the most popular sheep breeds in Romania is provided. It is established that, despite Romania's considerable agricultural potential and the well-developed state of its sheep farming sector, the country has an insufficient level of compound feed industry development. It is demonstrated that the establishment of a modern compound feed enterprise will contribute to enhancing the efficiency of sheep farming, reducing import dependence, and strengthening Ukrainian-Romanian economic cooperation. Such a project may also have significant socio-economic importance both for the national economy and for Ukrainian citizens temporarily residing in the country. Implementation of the project will contribute to the creation of new jobs both during the construction phase of the enterprise and in the course of its subsequent operation.