INTERNATIONAL WATERS
EXPERIENCE NOTES

http://www.iwlearn.net/experience








2006-010

How Codes of Good Agricultural
Practices Contribute to Nutrient
Reduction




Abstract: The overall project development objective has been to increase significantly the use of
environment-friendly agricultural practices in the project area and thereby reduce nutrient discharge from
agricultural sources in Romania to the Danube River and Black Sea. The issue was strengthening
national policy and regulatory capacity regarding water protection against pollution with nutrients
originating from agriculture. The project addressed the through two activities: (i) providing technical
assistance (training) to the Romanian Ministries related to the application of the EU Nitrate Directive; and,
more specifically, (ii) preparing, editing and printing the Code of Good Agricultural Practices, coupled
with (iiii) testing and demonstration of environment friendly agricultural practices. This experience is
central to implementing nutrient reduction in transboundary waters.





Tracy Hart, thart@worldbank.org
Romania: Agricultural Pollution Control Project
1

---

How Codes of Good Agricultural Practices Contribute to Nutrient
Reduction

Experience of the GEF sponsored

Romania: Agricultural Pollution Control Project
GEF Project ID: 1159, World Bank PMIS: P066065

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
and phosphate to Danube river to be reduced by

10% by 2006.
The overall project development objective has

been to increase significantly the use of
The global environmental objective of the
environment-friendly agricultural practices in the
Project has been to reduce, over the long-term,
project area and thereby reduce nutrient
the discharge of nutrients (nitrogen and
discharge from agricultural sources in Romania
phosphorous) and other agricultural pollutants
to the Danube River and Black Sea. In support
into the Danube River and Black Sea through
of this objective, the project has assisted the
integrated land and water management of the
Government of Romania to: (i) promote the
Calarasi region and ecologically sustainable use
adoption of environment-friendly agricultural
of natural resources in two agricultural polders.
practices by farmers' associations, family farms
The project is the first of its kind under the
and individual farmers in the Calarasi Judet
umbrella of the Black Sea/Danube Strategic
(county); (ii) promote ecologically sustainable
Partnership - Nutrient Reduction Investment
land use and management in the Boianu-
Fund under which riparian countries are eligible
Sticleanu Polder, and ecological restoration of
for Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding
the neighboring Calarasi-Raul Polder to act as a
for projects that would control or mitigate
filter and reduce nutrient discharge to the
nutrient inflow to the Black Sea. The project was
Danube; (iii) strengthen national policy and
one of the Bank's early efforts in mainstreaming
regulatory capacity; and (iv) promote public
environmental considerations into agriculture
awareness and mechanisms for replicability.
and has served as a model for similar operations
The project, envisaged as a demonstration
to be replicated in the other littoral countries
activity in the Calarasi county in the southern
under the umbrella of the Strategic Partnership
part of Romania, along the lower Danube, has
Program.
provided replicable lessons for introduction of

similar practices in other districts of Romania as
Project activities are directly linked to the
well as other Black Sea riparian countries.
"Strategic Action Plan for the Protection and

Rehabilitation of the Black Sea" (BSSAP),
Project impact, output and performance
formulated with the assistance of the GEF.
indicators have been developed to provide a
BSSAP has identified nutrient discharge from
baseline and targets for project monitoring and
agricultural sources as the most serious problem
evaluation. The success of overall project
facing the Black Sea. By improving manure
impact has been measured in terms of adoption
management and agricultural practices, and by
of practices for reducing nutrient discharge,
sustainably managing two high priority former
namely: (i) percentage of households with
floodplain areas, the project has also
livestock in project area adopting improved
complemented the Danube River Pollution
manure handling facilities ­ targeted to move
Reduction Program and has assisted the
from baseline of zero to 45% by 2006 and 65%
Government in meeting its international
by 2010; (ii) percentage cropped area coming
obligations under the Bucharest Convention. In
under nutrient management systems including
addition, project activities have helped the
crop rotation, crop nutrient management with
Romanian government in honoring its
soil testing, and use of organic manure ­
commitments under the Odessa Ministerial
targeted to reach 30% by 2006 and 65% by
Declaration on the Protection of the Black Sea
2010; (iii) percentage of cropped area employing
and the Danube River Protection Convention, as
environment-friendly practices ­ target of 65%
well as have assisted to move Romania towards
by 2010; and (iv) trends in water quality
EU accession by addressing European Union
indicators at designated sites ­ flow of nitrogen
Directives: 91/676/CEE ­ Directive regarding
2

---

water protection against pollution with nutrients

originating from agriculture; and 96/61/CEE ­
The Code was approved in an extraordinary
Directive related to the prevention and the
meeting of the Inter­Ministerial Committee for
complete reduction of pollution.
the Protection of Water Resources against

Nutrient Pollution, chaired by Mr. Florin Stadiu,
ISSUE AND EXPERIENCE
State Secretary.. Specialists from different

ministries, institutes, and local agencies, were
The issue to be addressed was to strengthen
invited to participate in the meeting, and
national policy and regulatory capacity
suggestions regarding the dissemination of the
regarding water protection against pollution
Code were retained.
with nutrients originating from agriculture.


The first version of the Code of Good
This issue was addressed through two activities:
Agricultural Practices was edited and printed in
(i) providing technical assistance (training) to the
two volumes - 4,200 copies in Romanian and
Romanian Ministries related to the application of
500 copies in English. The Code was
the EU Nitrate Directive; and, more specifically,
distributed, free of charge, through the MAFWE,
(ii) the preparing, editing and printing of a Code
to the local branches of the agricultural and
of Good Agricultural Practices, coupled with
environmental agencies, for the benefit of
testing and demonstration of environment
interested farmers. Based on this first edition of
friendly agricultural practices
the Code of Good Agricultural Practices, the

PMU team, in collaboration with USAID, issued
With regard to providing technical assistance to
in 2004 15,000 additional copies of "Guide of
the Romanian Ministries relative to the
Good Agricultural practices for the small-size
application of the EU Nitrate Directive, the
farmers from the nitrate vulnerable zones in
concern was that the local implementing
Romania" in Romanian, also distributed to
agencies (at county level) might be unable to
farmers.
attract and retain qualified staff. The solution

was to build adequate professional expertise for
The Code was then edited in 2005 for a second
the local agency staff involved in the
edition release, in order both to incorporate
implementation and monitoring of the provisions
feedback received from the stakeholders
of the Nitrates Directive. This was achieved by
(farmers, farmers associations, agricultural
providing them with training and career
institutes, Romanian Academy for Agricultural
development benefits consisting of certificates
and Soil Sciences, relevant Romanian
endorsed by the Ministry of Education and
government ministries etc.), as well as to reflect
Culture, which attested to their quality. In the
changes incurred in the Romanian and EU
period September-October 2005, the project
legislations, including considerable legislative
organized three training sessions, delivered to
changes in the agro-economic policy at the EU
staff from three county level institutions, grouped
level,
by region. 153 specialists from all counties in the

country were trained. The sessions proved to be
At the same time, in order to respond to the
a great success, as evidenced by reception of
National Program for Agro-Environment and
numerous requests for continuation and for
create the premises for the access of the
extension toward other institutions involved in
farmers and farmers' associations to the
the monitoring and/or application of the Nitrate
compensations offered within the E.U. programs
Directive (DADR, PHD, EPA, etc.). All trainees,
for those complying with good agro-environment
whom were declared as admitted after the
conditions, the use of a "Code of Good
individual examinations, received diplomas
Agriculture and Environment Condition
endorsed by the Ministry of Education and
(CGAEC)" and a "Code of Best Farming
Research.
Practices (CBFP)" have both been called for and

prepared.
Secondly, the Code of Good Agricultural

Practices was prepared during the period 2002-
In this respect, the MEWM requested the
2003 under the leadership of the Ministry of
Project's support for consulting services
Agriculture, Food and Forestry (MAFF), with the
regarding the review of existing documentation
full collaboration of the Ministry of Environment
and elaborating on the three above mentioned
and Water Management (MEWM).
documents. The contents of the codes were
3

---

approved by the Inter-ministerial Commission for
to this Romania Agricultural Pollution Control
Applying the Action Plan for Waters Protection
GEF project.
against Pollution with Nitrates from Agricultural

Sources, and the TORs for this assignment were
Specific conditions needed to replicate
prepared by the PMU.
successful dissemination of a Code of

Agricultural Good Practices might include the
The "Code for Good Agriculture and
top-down leverage of potential EU Accession (or
Environment Condition" (CGAEC) was prepared
similar regional standards-setting). In order to
in the period August-November 2005 and has
best replicate this experience, special attention
been approved by both ministries involved in its
should be paid to the bundling of a Code of
elaboration and interpretation, through address
Agricultural Good Practices with the "training of
no. 6172/22.11.2005, respectively no.
trainers" (i.e. technical assistance to relevant
1268/LAV/25.11.2005, issued by MAFRD and
local technicians), testing and demonstration of
MEWM, respectively.
the environmentally-friendly agricultural

practices to be included in the Code, as well as
And regarding the "Code of Best Farming
a component on public awareness raising
Practices" (CBFP), a testing/demonstration

program for environment-friendly agricultural
SIGNIFICANCE
practices has been implemented. The following

practices were tested / demonstrated: nutrient
This experience is central to implementing
management, shrub rows, narrow vegetative
nutrient reduction in transboundary waters. The
barriers, conservation tillage, tree planting and
Romanian government adoption of the Code of
riparian buffer strips. Additionally, a survey
Agricultural Good Practices has both signaled to
monitoring the social effects of the program,
the EU that it is working to meet EU Directive
including of the Code as well as the
requirements relating to water pollution
demonstration program, was conducted. The
reduction, as well as provided relevant
CBFP is in the process of being approved and
guidelines to agricultural extension agents and
will soon be printed in both Romanian and
farmers as to how to achieve farm-level gains in
English.
agricultural pollution reduction.


Both the CGAEC and the CBFP have been
REFERENCES
published in the Romanian Official Gazette in

order to vet and incorporate public comment.
Jitendra Srivastava


RESULTS AND LEARNING
Work: +1.202.473.8975

Email: jsrivastava@worldbank.org
The impact of the Code of Good Agricultural

Practices has been to form an explicit linkage
Romania Agricultural Pollution Control Project
between EU Directives and farm-level good
website:
agricultural practices through dissemination of a
http://www.apcp.ro/index.php?section=all&scree
easy-to-follow format, which can then be readily
n=pagina&ID=23&lang=eng#
applied by agricultural extension agents as well

as by individual farmers. This has been a
KEYWORDS
relatively small dollar-value intervention which

has received lots of publicity and resulted in
S Agricultural Good Practice
widespread farmer interest in and adoption of
S Nutrient Reduction
environmentally-friendly practices.
S Environmentally-Friendly Agricultural

Practices
REPLICATION
S EU Nutrient Directive

S Legislative Frameworks
This experience has already been replicated in a

number of other projects in other countries, e.g.

the Moldova Agricultural Pollution Control GEF
The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Project, the Turkey Anatolia Watershed project,
International Waters Experience Notes series
etc.. It is also being scaled up to the country-
helps the transboundary water management
level through a follow-up project being prepared
(TWM) community share its practical
4

---

experiences to promote better TWM.
Experiences include successful practices,
approaches, strategies, lessons, methodologies,
etc., that emerge in the context of TWM.

To obtain current IW Experience Notes or to
contribute your own, please visit
http://www.iwlearn.net/experience or email
info@iwlearn.net.
5

---