site.bta8th International Conference on Organic Farming Opens in Plovdiv

The 8th International Conference on Organic Farming: Challenges and Trends is taking place in Plovdiv on June 25 and 26.

The participants discuss the development of organic farming in Bulgaria and its projected trends, the retail market for organic foods in Bulgaria and consumer moods, organic foods in Bulgarian supermarkets and the experience of retail chains, and the latest trends in organic product sales.

Opening the event, Bulgarian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Tanya Georgieva singled out the market and the way organic products can reach it faster and easier as "the principal challenge that faces us" and "a priority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food".

Georgieva added that her Ministry is backing organic farmers, pointing out that EUR 410 million have already been set aside for their sector in the new programming period ending in 2027. "I want we go that far as to run short of funding because we have spent it in the most reasonable way," she commented.

"For many years now, we have been tackling problems in organic farming hand in hand with the Ministry, but the issues start to be addressed one by one. People are becoming ever more mindful about what they put on their table," Bulgarian Organic Products Association President Albena Simeonova said at the opening of the conference. She called on consumers to seek out pesticide-free products and argued that children should subsist on organic products. "Organic products will revive our villages, they will take care of people's health and will thus enable us to take care of the environment," Simeonova pointed out.

At the Plovdiv event, Romania shared its experience in the introduction of organic foods in public-financed mass catering, and Greece presented the use of organic products in the public sector.

Bulgarian producers' organizations talked about their experience and proposals for streamlining the School Fruit and School Milk schemes.

On the second day of the event, the Moschos Farm of Kastoria, Southern Greece, winner of the 2023 Best Organic Farmer Award of IFOAM Organics Europe and of the European Commission, will present its experience.

The participants in the conference will discuss State aid for organic farming in Bulgaria, summing up all interventions in which organic farmers can apply and the new rules for the 2024 campaign. Frequent mistakes in applying organic schemes and interventions in the 2023 campaign will be presented as well.

The final panel will focus on EU advisory services policies and assistance to organic farmers, European platforms with training materials on organic farming, and advice to organic farmers provided by the National Agriculture Advisory Service.