site.btaAgriculture Minister, Food Safety Agency Director Urge Concerted Effort to Prevent Goat Plague

Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov and Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) Executive Director Svetlozar Patarinski called for joint efforts for the prevention of goat plague, or Peste des Petits Ruminants. They talked about the increasingly complicated situation in Romania and Greece at a hearing by the parliamentary Agriculture, Food and Forestry Committee on Wednesday. 

Patarinski talked of meetings held with the European Commission and sectoral organizations, and letters sent to the Interior Ministry, the Border Police Service and the Defence Ministry about teams in the border areas which will restrict any movement of animals. "The disease could cause quite serious economic losses," said Patarinski, adding that it is not dangerous to people.

Irrigation problems

Answering a question, Tahov said Bulgaria does not have approved management plans for the river basins for which the Environment and Water Ministry is responsible and the European Commission has initiated an infringement procedure. He also said there seems to have been poor communication between the Agriculture and Food Ministry and the EC because Sofia did not tap all opportunities to increase irrigated areas.

Tahov also said Bulgaria was not investing enough in irrigation; since the latter brings down production cost, this country cannot be competitive in a single market without it. Тhe Agriculture Ministry is planning to do a full monitoring of the irrigation systems as there is currently no such monitoring.