site.btaUPDATED Farmers End Protest Actions

Farmers will stop their protest actions, National Grain Producers Association Chair Iliya Prodanov said here on Friday, adding that understanding has been reached on the main points in the declaration that they had submitted in advance. Prodanov talked to the media at the Council of Ministers after a meeting with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Agriculture and Food Minister Kiril Vatev.

Prodanov specified that an agreement between the industry representatives and the Prime Minister will be drafted, which is to be approved by all parties concerned.

Bulgarian Agrarian Chamber Chair Kostadin Kostadinov added that it had been agreed that last year's tax rates should be kept for the sensitive sectors and that an agreement had been reached on a proposal to initiate legislation reviewing the relevant laws.

Tsvetan Tsekov of the Fruit and Vegetables Branch Chamber said that on Friday they had outlined a longer-term vision for the development of Bulgarian agriculture by new laws ensuring "the integrity, development and revival of Bulgarian agriculture so that it can be sustainable in the coming years, during which it will certainly face a number of challenges".

Addressing the media, Prime Minister Denkov recalled that the funds are provided from the budgets of the Agriculture and Food Ministry and State Fund Agriculture, i.e., it is not required to take funds from other sectors. "There is no need to seek funds from other sectors or update the budget," he said.

The negotiations also discussed that the smallest producers, who farm up to 300 hectares of land, would not have to prove their losses, Denkov explained, adding that in order to receive financial support, larger farmers will have to provide an income statement, proving that they are running at a loss.

The smallest farmers will receive the most, then the medium-sized ones and the largest will receive the least. There will be an aid ceiling, which will be fixed when the full picture is obtained, he also said.

Later on Friday, the Council of Ministers said in a press release that the agreement between the government and the farmers will be signed on Monday.