Off-farm Employment and Agricultural Sales: Evidence from Romania

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of off-farm employment on the process of commercialisation of agriculture in Romania. The descriptive and correlation analysis reveals the existence of an important relationship between off-farm employment and agricultural sales. High off-farm employment is correlated with low number of households selling agricultural products and with high amount sold per household, suggesting specialisation and commercial farming in the regions with off-farm employment. Non-agricultural employment has an indirect impact on agricultural sales as well, through increased labour productivity in agriculture and through easing access to credit. Moreover, commercial farms undertake substantial investments in agriculture, thus furthering commercialisation.