Dan Grădinaru, founder of Ideea Fertil, at FERM 2025: “Only through association can we build sustainable capacities in mountain agriculture”

With hands-on experience in developing his own factory, Grădinaru highlighted the major financial challenges faced by agricultural entrepreneurs, noting that for a relatively modest production unit, he had to secure loans in the millions of euros.

Local Factories – A Dream Too Expensive for Small Farmers

“For a small factory, the amounts are huge. I ended up taking out loans in the millions of euros to maintain a relatively modest production capacity. Developing a factory in this context becomes almost impossible for a solo entrepreneur,” Dan Grădinaru stated before the FERM 2025 audience.

Speaking from direct experience as an entrepreneur who grew his business through considerable effort, Grădinaru emphasized that without real collaboration and association between farmers and investors, the dream of building a local agri-food processing network is difficult to achieve.

In his view, only large companies with access to substantial financial resources can develop industrial processing capacities that efficiently serve multiple counties.

“I believe that only a large company can establish a factory with sufficient capacity, covering one, two, or three counties. I am thinking of such collaboration, but it would require someone with significant financing. This brings us exactly to the discussion of association.”

“A Single Factory for an Entire Region – A Sustainable Model”

The founder of Ideea Fertil advocated for a strategic approach to developing agricultural processing infrastructure, particularly in disadvantaged or mountainous regions. Instead of fragmenting resources into dozens of non-viable micro-investments, Grădinaru proposes focusing on a single, well-scaled, and sustainable project.

“I think it makes more sense to have a single factory that serves all of Vaslui and the border with Bacău, rather than each farmer implementing their own project – that’s too much.”

In the same vein, he criticized the individualistic tendency of farmers trying to develop their own processing units in parallel without a solid economic rationale or a critical mass of production.

Association – The Key to Sustainable Agricultural Development

For Grădinaru, associating farmers in efficient and democratic structures is not merely an option but a condition for survival in the current economic context. He stressed the need to overcome personal egos or differences in professional training when it comes to cooperation in agriculture.

“They should pool their products, find ways to enter the market collectively, but under no circumstances should they manage. Regardless of training. I am an economist, but it really doesn’t matter what their background is.”

He went further, proposing that local or central authorities should directly support association models through active monitoring and targeted assistance.

“Prime ministers should visit farms, select a producer to oversee, and I believe that would greatly increase the chances of success.”

Franchise – An Alternative Solution for Scaling

Additionally, Dan Grădinaru mentioned that although the idea of expansion through owned factories is unrealistic for a single entrepreneur, a franchise or strategic partnership model could represent a viable solution. However, implementing such a system requires serious partners and substantial capital, which again highlights the need for a shared vision and national-level support infrastructure.

“I thought about this solution, but I believe it is only possible through a franchise or partnership with other companies. I cannot build multiple factories myself. I am 50 years old, and I guess it would take me about 50 more years…”

Conclusion

Dan Grădinaru’s intervention at FERM 2025 highlighted one of the most pressing issues in Romanian agriculture: the inability of small producers to support major investments in processing infrastructure without a functional association framework and coherent financial support.

Through his direct experience and realism in discussing the challenges encountered, Grădinaru effectively issued a call for collaboration and a reconsideration of priorities in rural development policies. Without a unified, sustainability-focused strategy, agricultural regions remain vulnerable, and local resources remain underutilized.