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• Revisited Romania's 1990s group farms and agricultural associations to see if still active. • Analysed sample of old groups (active and non-active) and new post-2005 groups. • Groups dissolved due to aging members, youth outmigration, conflicts, or bankruptcy. • Groups survived with modern machines, EU and Government funds, young members to takeover. • Active old and new groups are mainly in livestock breeding, not crops alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a comparative study of farm households from poor rural communities in Kyrgyzstan and north-east Romania this paper explores the intricacies of a variety of forms of cooperation in agriculture. The findings highlight the safety net, labour specialisation, asset-pooling and service delivery functions of different groups that enable rural livelihoods to, at times, cope and at times improve in situations of imperfect information, sluggish labour and land markets, and constrained capital markets. The research presented here indicates that small to medium forms of cooperation provide the rural poor with predictable livelihood strategies under conditions of uncertainty. Specifically, cooperative action, in the form of groups, substitutes for imperfect markets. Despite the push for decollectivisation and privatisation across transition countries there remains a place for encouraging group initiatives, at least for the medium term, on the grounds of both poverty alleviation and agricultural growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the reasons of the continuing advocation of placing land in cooperative forms of farming by the Romanian farmers. Provision of more benefits over private farming strategies; Revelation of substantial production advantages at certain levels of resource access; Ability of family societies to efficiently utilize inputs between specific input ranges.

Examines the ramifications of farm associations to farmers in Romania in terms of productivity and equity. Implications of Romanian land privatization strategy on farming efficiency; Factors affecting organizational choice and production; Why Romanian farmers find it difficult to move from farming associations to individual farming.