“Interventions for investments in irrigation with a budget of 100 million EUR under the Strategic Plan are about to be opened. Irrigation is a priority topic for me and my team - we take into account the changing climate and drought”. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Georgi Tahov, before the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Forestry in the National Assembly. Dr. Tahov informed that from February 7, the call for irrigation infrastructure projects, aimed at irrigation associations with a budget of 10 million EUR, will start. On February 14, call for investments in hydromeliorative facilities with the beneficiary "Irrigation Systems" EAD with a budget of 90 million EUR will also be opened. The projects with which "Irrigation Systems" is ready to apply under the Strategic Plan are being prepared at the moment.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is also developing a new aid scheme - for the supply of water for irrigation. Minister Tahov specified that in preparing the budget procedure, the ministry requested 1.5 billion BGN for a 4-year period from the national budget in order to increase the irrigated areas to 2.5 million decares. He recalled that "Irrigation Systems" EAD is already rehabilitating 24 units under the "Rural Development Program" 2014-2020, of which 11 units have been completed, while work is still underway on the others.
The minister also announced that the indicative schedule for the first half of 2025 is ready and is to be announced after its approval. Payments for the "Livestock" sector will begin in February.
Dr. Tahov commented on the new instrument for social conditionality. Its introduction was postponed in view of the situation on the labour market. Everything on the topic will be explained in detail in a manual by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. A broad information campaign is planned in the 28 regional cities, which will start in March 2025. Within the framework of the campaign, all issues related to social conditionality will be clarified, including the requirements for working and employment conditions, as well as the consequences of their non-compliance. Deputy Minister Yanislav Yanchev added that no new requirements will be introduced for farmers. “The new moment is that the information on violations of labour legislation will reach the State Fund Agriculture”.
The other news that Minister Tahov announced is that the Strategic Plan includes the implementation of a risk management intervention, which is a tool for stabilizing farmers' incomes. He indicated that the total budget of the intervention is nearly 60 million EUR, of which 25 million EUR - for a financial contribution to insurance premiums and 35 million EUR - a financial contribution to the Mutual Fund. “They are in line with the policy we are pursuing and are part of our management program. This will help active farmers manage the risks related to production and income from agricultural activities that are beyond their control,” the Minister commented.
During the meeting, it became clear that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food will take advantage of the opportunity to propose an amendment to the Strategic Plan, as proposals are already being received from industry organizations, after which the Monitoring Committee will be convened. For her part, Deputy Minister Lozana Vasileva stated that “currently there are 9 opened calls under the Strategic Plan for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas 2023-2027 which worth 1.4 billion BGN. The main ones among them are municipal projects, for young, small and new farmers, for the association of groups of organizations. Another 14 calls are due to be open by the end of the year for another 2 billion BGN.”
The forestry sector was also commented on, as it became clear that the needs of the industry and the population for wood have been fully met, and the price of firewood is 20% lower than the last year. Deputy Minister Dr. Eng. Miroslav Marinov announced that “all forest areas affected by forest fires that do not resume naturally will be afforested”. In 2024 only, state forestry enterprises afforested 9,052 decares.
Deputy Minister Ivan Kapitanov announced that “the preparation for regulatory changes to eliminate the so-called “green card” is pending”. He presented the possibilities for easing the administrative regimes regarding land use and changes in the auctions for pastures from the State land fund.
Regarding the attempts to illegally import animals from neighbouring countries, Minister Tahov stated categorically that “the epizootic situation is not easy and adequate control measures must be taken”. He reminded that he had proposed veterinary specialists to be included to the inspectors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the “Border Police” in order to build control mechanisms. The Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, Dr. Svetlozar Patarinski, added that the inspectors of the BFSA are in contact with the other inspection teams and reported five established cases of violations, in which sanctions have been imposed and the legislation has been applied. He added that a full inspection of the farms in the 5-kilometer zone around the active outbreak of plague in small ruminants in Velingrad has been carried out. Next week, enhanced clinical examinations will also be carried out in the 20-kilometer zone, after which grazing of animals, sale of milk and meat will be allowed. With regard to smallpox, the restrictions have been lifted, with the exception of Sliven. “We are in constant communication with the European Commission and at the moment there is no danger of imposing export bans,” the BFSA said.
On the topic of measures against the pest of fruit species “black goldfish”, the MAF team informed that actions have been taken at the end of last year and the species have been included to the list of economically important pests. A guideline for the implementation of control measures is to be issued.