Digital Farms Cut Input Use 18%, Water 35%: Dutch Tech Push Targets Romania

Digitalised farms in Romania can cut input use by up to 18%, reduce irrigation water consumption by 35% and lift crop yields by 30%, according to figures presented at AgriTech Talks, a Dutch-Romanian agri-tech event held on 27 October 2026 in Bucharest. The numbers frame a stark gap: in 2024, roughly 19% of Romanian farms were digitalised, against 57.5% across the European Union.

Andrei Chiriac, President of the Agrinnovator Digital Transformation Think Tank of the Romanian Farmers' Club, presented the data. His message for growers was direct: digital transformation is not only about access to technology, but about knowledge, skills and the capacity to turn innovation into measurable business results.

What does the event change for Romanian growers?

The gathering, organised by the LAN-team (the Netherlands Agricultural Network) in Romania, marked the close of a two-month embassy campaign, "NL AgriTech: Smarter. Together", which showcased smart-tech solutions from 28 Dutch agrifood companies. It also launched a new Dutch PIB initiative (a public-private partnership programme run by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency) called DigiFruit, dedicated to digitalising Romania's fruit-growing sector.

The campaign featured thirteen individual companies plus the fifteen companies of the DigiFruit initiative, presenting technologies already in the field rather than prototypes. Applications ranged from precision farming equipment, irrigation systems and digital agronomy to autonomous machinery and advanced greenhouse technologies. Several showcased solutions came with testimonials from Romanian users, showing how imported technology can be adapted to local farming conditions. A six-and-a-half-minute video compiling the campaign stories premiered at the event.

For Romanian farmers, the practical stakes are the margins. Digitalisation, on the data presented, correlates with:

• up to 18% lower input use;
• 35% less irrigation water consumption;
• 25% lower carbon emissions;
• 20% greater machinery efficiency;
• 30% higher crop yields.

Who is building the skills pipeline?

Agrinnovator is running several initiatives to close the digitalisation gap: a digital transformation guide, an Agricultural IT Specialist training programme targeting 1,000 participants, contributions to drone legislation and the development of a Digital Farming Academy.

The scale of the opportunity reflects the two countries' positions. The Netherlands, despite its small territory, is the world's second-largest agrifood exporter after the United States. Romania ranks as the EU's seventh agricultural power, with considerable room for digital development.

The panel discussion went beyond hardware. Speakers included Iulia Blagu, President of the Association of Women in Agriculture; Andrei Chiriac of Agrinnovator; Laurens Tack, DigiFruit Cluster Leader; and Marius Gavrea, Sustainable Solutions Expert at ING Bank Romania. Topics covered translating digital tools into tangible business value, viable business models, access to financing and shared priorities between Dutch and Romanian partners.

The framing throughout was pragmatic. Technology, speakers argued, should not be an objective in itself but a practical instrument helping farmers build stronger businesses, improve production efficiency and use natural resources more responsibly. Successful innovation, they stressed, requires understanding local realities, listening to farmers and adapting solutions to actual needs — a caution against one-size-fits-all imports.

Both countries face overlapping pressures: unpredictable weather, growing pressure on water resources, rising production costs, labour shortages and the need to stay competitive while protecting the environment.

What comes next?

Held in the same week as the Indagra agrifood fair in Bucharest, the event doubled as a networking venue: campaign companies and DigiFruit representatives met participants directly, opening potential collaborations. The LAN team in Bucharest says its broader ambition extends past showcasing technologies, toward lasting partnerships that strengthen competitiveness and contribute to European food security objectives. Readers can reach the Netherlands Agricultural Network in Romania at [email protected].

With DigiFruit now formally under way and a 1,000-person training pipeline in development, the pace of Romanian farm digitalisation — currently 38 percentage points behind the EU average — is the number to watch.