site.btaAgriculture Minister, Branch Bodies Mull Action to Boost Bulgarian Milk, Meat Production

Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev met with branch organizations from the livestock sector to discuss changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan and measures to increase Bulgarian milk and meat production, the press center of his Ministry said here on Saturday.

The talks were attended by Deputy Agriculture Ministers Alexander Yotsev and Deyan Stratev, representatives of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and agricultural scientists.

"Measures in the sector should be based on analyses of how the increased production will reach the market," Vatev noted.

During the discussion, the breeders from the dairy and beef cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat breeding sectors presented their positions on the Agriculture Ministry's proposals for amending the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

Farmers formulated concrete mechanisms to increase productivity and improve breed composition in the country. They also presented their concerns related to current market challenges, including low farm gate milk prices and increased production costs.

Vatev informed the sector that a working group which will draft a law on trade in agricultural commodities has already been formed. He also briefed farmers on the forthcoming amendments to the Law on Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land that aim to give priority to livestock farmers and fruit and vegetable producers to receive land from the state and municipal land fund, as well as plans to facilitate access to water for farms. “We are looking for an increase in production and a concrete market result,” the Agriculture Minister explained.

Earlier this week his Ministry presented to the parliamentary Agriculture Committee a draft for reallocation of the funds provided for interventions in the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. The aim is to achieve a fairer distribution of direct payments in favour of production areas, eco-schemes, sectoral interventions and investments to support small and medium-sized farms in the production of Bulgarian fruit and vegetables, milk, meat and honey, which have suffered serious damage in recent years and have declined alarmingly as a share of agricultural production. MPs asked for a review of the proposed changes by the Agriculture Ministry.