The rich natural potential for agriculture in Romania is contrasting with the low level of economic performance. Progress toward sustainable development in rural areas depends on processes that lead to increased valuation of the natural resources by cropping and livestock breeding, capturing more value by growing the number of processing stages performed at national level for food production, improvements in the distribution of benefits with special focus on rural population, harnessing the benefits of stewarding natural ecosystems that play a key role for the overall wellbeing of the population, diversifying the structure of economic activities, and encouraging entrepreneurial involvement. European policies of rural development are supporting most of these processes, but within the national context there encountered specific challenges born by the low level of maturation for property relationships, fragmentation of land ownership and cropping plots, cultural patterns that create strong resistance to change, and lack of financial resources. The paper highlights several aspects in order to assess at what extent the Romanian agriculture is making progress toward European requirements.