The National Grain Producers Association (NGPA), representing a large share of grain growers in Bulgaria, begins indefinite street protests on Tuesday, February 6, at 10 a.m. The decision follows what the NGPA concluded was an unsuccessful meeting at the Council of Ministers on February 4.
The NGPA said the protests will continue until the following demands are met:
- The five main crops in the grain production subsector (wheat, barley, maize, sunflower and rapeseed) should be included in the government aid scheme in support of farmers' liquidity to overcome the adverse economic impact of Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2024 without affecting aid to other farming subsectors.
- Legislative initiatives should be implemented to improve the conditions for agricultural activity. These initiatives should be aimed at: facilitating the conclusion of voluntary agreements for consolidated use of farm land; regulating the conclusion of long-term land lease agreements; adopting a state mechanism to regulate land lease payments, based on crop yields and selling prices; drafting and adopting laws on agricultural organizations, the agrarian chamber, and farmer cooperatives; declaring irrigation a strategic national priority and taking measures to upgrade irrigation farming (such as subsidizing water costs and relaxing the requirements for investing in water saving technologies).
- The government should take a firm stance to protect Bulgarian producers when renegotiating the EU regulation on liberalized trade with Ukraine. It should avert a renewed risk to Bulgarian grain and essential oil crop production by making sure that the regulation sets out protective measures, licensing requirements and quotas for imported crops.
- In connection with the environmental requirements in agriculture arising from the Green Deal, the Bulgarian government should work at the EU level to relax the green rules in the strategic plans for the development of agriculture and rural areas, which should include achieving a derogation in 2024 from the requirements about GAEC 7: Crop rotation and diversification, and GAEC 8: Minimizing the share of arable land designated for non-production purposes.
- The government should push for equalizing the subsidies and the support for grain producers across the EU.
/VE/
