Grape growers and wine producers, who have declared their desire to participate under the Wine Vines Eradication Scheme, have already received letters of notification from the Paying Agency and t can now apply for funding by 1 February in the Central Office of the " Agriculture " Fund.
The European Commission determined the budget amount of EUR 321,903 for the 2010/2011 wine year in Bulgaria. The measure aims to adjust the conditions for growing grapes in the country to those applied within the community.
By 15 March 2011, candidates under this program will be invited to sign a contract with the SFA. Premium for eradication will be granted for fruit-bearing vines, which are registered under the Wine and Spirits Law as a vineholding. The premium will be paid once to the approved area on the basis of average yield (in hectoliters) per farm for the preceding three years.
From 16 August to 15 September last year, a preliminary acceptanceof documents under the Wine Vines Eradication Scheme was carried out in the Paying Agency. The application acceptance was designed to give information about the number of people wishing to join the scheme as well as information about the preparation of estimates of the amount required for the draft budget under it.
Requirements are related to the size of the vineholding which could not be less than 0,1 ha and the the quantity of fruit produced in the vineyard declared to the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine for the past three years.
The premium will be paid to vineyards, which are maintained well over the past three years, as its users have an obligation in the next three years to meet the requirements and keep the land in good agricultural and environmental condition.