site.btaFarmers' Nationwide Protests: Day Four

Bulgarian farmers continued their nationwide protests for a fourth day on Friday.

"Following the meeting with Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev yesterday, we discussed all 12 points proposed by the United Farmers National Association," the organization’s Chair, Ventsislav Mitkov, told BTA. In his words, consensus has been reached on only three points, while the rest are to be further negotiated.

Farmers blocked traffic at the bridge over the Danube between Ruse and Giurgiu for a fourth consecutive day and handed out bottles of milk to queuing motorists. Earlier, they staged a procession with agricultural machinery near the border crossing.

National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association Co-chair Dean Todorov expects the PM to offer concrete guarantees for farmers' demands during a planned meeting on Friday. He said that half a tonne of bottled milk will be handed as an apology to motorists waiting in line on Friday.

"We want a long-term policy for the agriculture sector, not piecemeal policy," said Rumyana Angelova, one of the organizers of the protest in Vratsa (Northwestern Bulgaria). She expressed her disappointment at the lack of funding from the Bulgarian State.

Angelova said that farmers are currently working under various laws and are subject to different taxation, depending on whether they are natural or legal persons. "We want uniform treatment. You cannot have one farmer paying 15% tax as an individual and another paying 10% as a legal person," she said. "Many problems have built up over the years, and this is our worst issue," Angelova noted. "The green requirements hamper our work across the board. We are not allowed to plow our land when necessary and cannot plant it when necessary," she said.

"Wild animals - goats and deer - are a problem for farmers because they destroy a lot of produce. Several lawsuits have already been filed, but to no avail," grain farmer Galin Stamatov told BTA. He added that the Agriculture Ministry is responsible for game management but no response has been received from it despite the media coverage. "We will also raise the question about what can be done to improve our protection," Stamatov said.

"Nobody wants money. Yes, the financial injection that some of the farms will receive is vital for them. But the legislative amendments we want are more important to all of us," said Georgi Radev, Chair of the Farmers Union in Sliven Region (Southeastern Bulgaria).

On Friday farmers blocked the road to the bridge over the Danube between Vidin and Calafat (Northwestern Bulgaria). Protests were also staged in the areas of Pernik, Breznik, Radomir, Silistra, Yambol, Montana, Vratsa, Varna, Pleven, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Shumen and near Targovishte. Protesters blocked traffic on key roads and junctions for five hours.