TRADITIONAL FOODS AS A DRIVER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LOCAL RESOURCES UTILISATION

Nowadays there is much emphasis on rural development and reducing the gap between rural and urban areas. The disharmonious development is more and more visible in Romania as the years pass by. The present paper aims to present the importance of small producers and to provide a solution that can lead to the development of rural areas through local resources utilization. This approach has more implications, as it can be seen also as a sustainable way of development. Research methodology consists in utilization of primary data collected by the author and secondary data extracted from national databases. The main outcome of the study underlines the positive impact, from an economic standpoint, that small producers have at local level and their role in maintaining food diversity. The results should be of interest for national and local stakeholders.