New Vision of Reformed European Agriculture and Its Influence on Agricultural Policy in Bulgaria

V. BLAZHEVA

Abstract: This paper focuses on the upcoming challenges in Bulgaria’s agrarian sector in the context of the EU Common Agricultural Policy in the new reference period 2014-2020. In this regard the success achieved over the last fifty years should continue. After 2013 the reform will focus on key challenges such as feeding the population, sustainable use of natural resources and economic development of Europe’s rural areas. By 2050 the world production of food needs to be doubled to feed the estimated 9 billion inhabitants of the planet. Climate change and biodiversity loss necessitate minimizing the impact of agriculture on environment, at the same time preserving the production of food. The above stated gives rise to the need to produce more using less raw materials. Agriculture contributes to social, cultural, economic and environmental development of European regions. The anticipated future challenges require investment in training and knowledge dissemination (in agricultural sector, adequate to the modern economic conditions.

Keywords: Bulgarias agrarian policy; EU Common Agricultural Policy; feeding the population; natural resources; rural areas

Date published: 2018-03-21