site.btaExhibition of Local Farmer Products Opens in Kardzhali

An exhibition of local dairy and farm products from the region and the country is held here on Friday and Saturday, said the Bulgarian Farmers Union, which organized the exhibition with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the State Fund Agriculture. The idea of the exhibition is to establish direct contact between producers and consumers and to help small producers to exchange experience and practices with each other.

"These are small farmers and small agricultural producers who generally work on a family basis, their produce is less in quantity and it is almost impossible for them to reach the store network. This means that they have almost no chance of decent pay for their production", said Bulgarian Farmers Union head Georgi Stoyanov.

He emphasised that producers have a great interest in the exhibition precisely because of the direct contact with customers. He also specified that not every farmer is a final producer, which is why such an exhibition provides farmers a possibility to meet like-minded people with the idea of upgrading their produce towards a final product. "For example, some animal breeders could make a mini dairy together, some meat breeders could make a sausage shop together. There are many possibilities", said Stoyanov.

According to him, there have been actions by the State recently to keep pace with the novelties, changes and needs of farmers, as well as by the European Commission to correct, simplify and reduce the administrative burden. "It's boiling everywhere. These people would not leave their jobs to protest so easily. There are problems, like reducing the administrative burden or creating programs that are closely oriented to the needs of farmers," said Stoyanov. 

He noted that the number of agricultural producers in Bulgaria is decreasing every year, dropping from over 300,000 producers ten years ago to just over 60,000 now. "Not to mention that in regions like Kardzhali, the agriculture is specific and the livelihood is mainly animal husbandry. So what will happen to these people if they are not given special attention? How will we keep them here if they do not have a livelihood?", asked Stoyanov. Stoyanov said that a step in the right direction has been made, pointing to the newly created Advisory Council, which will pay special attention to the mountainous and semi-mountainous regions. "Bulgaria is a small country, but it has its own particularities, so solutions should be sought in dialogue," he added.

Kardzhali is the second of six towns in the country opening an exhibition for local produce. The first exhibition was in Stara Zagora, where the organizers reported success with a largely sold-out production.