In a country where farmers make up 23 percent of the workforce and 18 percent of the population – by far the largest share of any EU nation – Georgescu’s agricultural and food policies are crucial. His 17-page manifesto is titled “Food, Water, Energy: A Return to the Roots of the Romanian Nation” and offers a sweet shot of utopian feel-good measures for rural areas.

“He has the same ideas as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” said Cristian Pîrvulescu, a political science professor at Bucharest’s main university, referring to the former U.S. presidential candidate who joined Donald Trump’s successful campaign and won the nomination The next generation was rewarded by the Minister of Health.

Like RFK Jr., Georgescu represents a “radical environmentalism” that transcends the usual left-right divide and draws on anti-globalist tropes shared by extremists on both sides. He attacks intensive agriculture with its “toxic” agrochemicals and its “polluting and inefficient” production and instead promises to “support peasant farming and traditional, organic farming.”

“Synthetic insecticides and pesticides will be replaced by ecological alternatives and long-lasting chemicals will be replaced by active ingredients from nature,” it says in its manifesto. This will “preserve forests and clean rivers, save bees and ensure clean, high-quality food,” his screed promises.

The university professor adds that “protecting the soil is crucial,” as “soil is Romania’s most important strategic resource.” This all costs money and the state should stand up for its farmers by “capitalizing small producers, supporting local markets, (and) building a network of community and cooperative banks” to finance an agroecological revolution.

Make farming great again

The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), its pot of subsidies for agriculture, should be redirected to small farmers (who make up over 90 percent of Romania’s farmers), and the country’s system of large-scale, small-scale production “should become a model to follow.” can be followed.” in the Balkans and in Europe,” demands Georgescu.