Approaching the ecological agriculture topic in the context of European Policies to accelerate the conversion to those policies is an interdisciplinary challenge. The motivation to develop this subject is based on the longitudinal observation that the ecological agriculture evolution in Romania has been very slow, despite the policies aimed to accelerate the transition from the conventional to the ecological agriculture have been supported since the 2000s. The goal of the paper is to reframe the available data to evidence the slow dynamics of the organic farms’ certification. The methods used are descriptive and numerical analysis, supplemented by a qualitative-transversal interpretation. The research work has been carried out on the dynamic analysis of the ecological agriculture progress in Romania, based on the data with the ecological certification of the specialized companies (2019–2021). The main hypothesis: the slow dynamics are caused by subjective barriers. The results confirm the slow dynamics of ecological certifications due to some limits and barriers to understand the real role and benefits from the ecological agriculture. In this context, the European Union Organic Action Plan for 2021–2030 proves to be a stimulus for the Romanian ecological agriculture.

In the current social, economic, natural and geopolitical context, there is an acute need for research on professional and entrepreneurial skills in line with the challenges and opportunities of the rapidly changing global economy. The aim of this study was to determine the skills required by employees and entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector. This research study consisted of interviews, questionnaires and focus groups on a sample of 111 employers, 288 students and 139 teachers from the North-East Development Region of Romania. The most important skills needed by higher education graduates in the agri-food sector were communication, learning and social skills, with values of 90.5, 74.3 and 70.6 points, respectively. The least appreciated skills were cultural, linguistic and mathematical skills, with values of 17.5, 36.9 and 43.8 points. For developing and running an entrepreneurial activity, the subjects appreciated communication (91.0 points), as in the case of employment-related skills, followed by economic skills (81.4 points) and learning skills (75.4 points). Additional efforts are needed to increase the relevance of practical activities in correlation with the skills required by the market, and it is necessary to strengthen the current partnerships and create new partnerships between universities and the economic environment by employing public and research entities.

The paper analyzes the link between three concepts: environmental values, ecological behavior, and satisfaction with life. Various studies indicate the links between environmental values and ecological behavior, satisfaction with life, and pro-ecological behavior, but no connection between these three concepts. The paper aimed to develop such a research direction, namely sustainability as an integrative concept. The existence of a complex conceptual model between three specific constructs is analyzed. A questionnaire to 267 students from the universities of Iasi, Romania, was applied. To identify the existence of some equations between components, PLS-SEM and PLS-MGA methods were used, through SmartPLS3.9 and SPSS 18. The final model was a reflective-formative one on two hierarchical levels, being made up of 5 latent variables and 18 observed ones. Only the existence of significant equations between knowledge of environmental values and pro-ecological behavior and between knowledge of environmental values and satisfaction with life was highlighted. The multi-group analysis: although higher values are obtained among students from the rural compared to urban, there are no significant differences. The influence of knowledge of environmental values and ecological behavior on life satisfaction among students was highlighted. The results encourage the continuation of research on a larger population, from an extended area.

The greatest challenge for Romania’s food industry is to achieve technical and economic parity with the rest of Europe. Therefore, businesses require productive employees, and labor productivity depends on employee satisfaction. This study’s primary objective was to investigate employee satisfaction in the bakery industry in order to enhance economic performance. This topic is rarely researched, but it is necessary to enhance the economic performance and work processes of this industry. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods were used, including an online questionnaire survey of 254 employees and a focus group meeting with 17 managers from 60 companies in the Northeast and Southeast regions of Romania. Total pay (5.3 points on a 1–7-point scale), amount of work (4.9 points), and number of working hours (4.8 points) were the top motivators. The average weighted value for job satisfaction on a scale of 100 points was 27.4 points. The relationship between labor costs and employee satisfaction was strong. Low levels of satisfaction are costlier for employers than high levels of satisfaction. The originality of this study lies in its determination of how strongly employees perceive each aspect of job satisfaction and its correlation to the economic performance of companies.