site.btaOutgoing Agriculture Minister Says Comprehensive Approach to Restoring Irrigation Farming Taken for First Time in Decades

Outgoing Agriculture and Food Minister Kiril Vatev said that in the last nine months, his Ministry had defended the interests of agricultural producers, initiated the restoration of irrigation farming and affirmed state food control at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkiye. On Thursday, Vatev made a video report on his Ministry's performance as part of the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet since June 2023.

Vatev said that for the first time in decades, a comprehensive approach had been taken to restoring irrigation farming. The rehabilitation of 24 canals of the Irrigation Systems company was initiated. "Irrigation is our number one priority because without water, yields are low. Farmers' access to irrigation water should be ensured by the State instead of being subject to an authorization requirement," the Minister said.

Talking about other achieved goals, Vatev said state control over food entering Bulgaria was finally established with the launch of a pesticide testing laboratory at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. It was renovated with BGN 2 million from the state budget and was equipped with the necessary facilities. Trucks now wait just 5 or 6 hours for the testing, instead of two days as before.

In the past nine months, the Agriculture and Food Ministry worked hard to attract renowned Bulgarian scientists from around the world. "We have more than 400 of them in the most prestigious laboratories and universities all over the world. Our main goal is to connect science and practice seamlessly."

Vatev said Bulgaria continues to fight for the same agricultural subsidies for its farmers as for the old EU Member States. "We stand up for the right of Bulgarian farmers to  be protected from the unfair competition of imports from third countries," he said.

Referring to the farmers' protests across Europe, Vatev said they have three very good reasons: the ambitious Green Deal, which has made the entire EU agriculture inefficient, the unfair competition of imports from third countries, and the unfair distribution of added value along the agri-food chain from field to store.