Aspects of contemporary agricultural policy of Bulgaria

Rumen Popov

Abstract: In regard to its share in GDP and the employment, agriculture decreases successively, but at the same time keeps its significance of main provider of products of immediate necessity. Meanwhile, new aspects of agricultural activity appear – rational use of natural resources and balanced territorial development. Thus, agriculture requires not only definition of the general production goal – better satisfaction of public needs and some social aspects. The medim-term priorities of economic activity have also different aspects. On first place are the main directions of the transition from socialistic to market-oriented agriculture. The land privatization has led to its fragmentation and subsequent consolidation in big massives, i.e. to the formation of polar agricultural structure; considerable part of small farms play the role of social buffer and their significance diminishes gradually; the economic liberalization and the membership in WTO and the Common Economic Space define new product structure; the policy after EU accession is concentrated on European support absorption, as the big subsidies are absorbed predominantly by farms having big area; the outlined decline in the bigger part of rural areas has not been overcome. Secondly, these are the changes in agriculture and more general, in the world food chain in years up to 2050. It is necessary: to ensure a sustainable production of enough food for the Earth population; to guaranty the overcoming of instability of food system and agriculture; to reinforce the multifunctional role of agriculture in the rural areas development; to counteract successfully to climatic and ecologic changes in agriculture; to take more in consideration the social aspects of agricultural activity. In third place, this is European model of agriculture. The EU policy target is to preserve and to develop the production potential of European agriculture for the interest of community inhabitants; to support agricultural producers, which produce qualitative, valuable and various food; confirmation of the conception for the agriculture as an important factor of human activity and as a main factor for the surviving of viable rural communities On the base of analysis of the place of Bulgarian agriculture in the European one and SWOT analysis of our priorities in this sphere have been formulated complementary policy lines in some areas.

Keywords: agricultural policy; agriculture; Bulgaria

Date published: 2017-09-13