The branch organization of organic producers in Bulgaria - Bulgarian Association "Bioproducts" (BAB), issued a sharp statement against the plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF) for financial manipulations in the Strategic Plan for Agricultural and Rural Development (SPARD) for the period 2023-2027.
In an officially distributed statement, the experts from the association categorically object to the proposal to transfer nearly 38 million euros from key interventions aimed at investments in agricultural holdings and the processing sector with an ecological focus.
According to the BAB representatives, such an administrative decision directly threatens the achievement of the strategic goals of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the commitments under the European Green Deal. The organization emphasizes that such actions undermine confidence in institutional consistency.
The main objection of the organic producers is the lack of transparency and public analysis to justify the drastic change. They define the attempt to unilaterally redirect funds as unacceptable and contrary to European partnership principles.
The experts cite a current fi-compass study showing a serious financial shortage of 1.2 billion euros in Bulgarian agriculture. In this context, any cutting of investment funds is an additional obstacle to the modernization of the sector.
The branch organization makes specific recommendations to the MAF: to update existing procedures, maintain the budgets of targeted interventions, and restore dialogue with stakeholders before making strategic decisions.
In its statement, BAB sharply criticizes the practice of redirecting funds from the private to the public sector, defining it as "institutional discrimination". They insist that the ministry demonstrate real support for the transformation of the agricultural sector, rather than favoring projects with high administrative risk.
The topic is set to be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the Strategic Plan Monitoring Committee, the agricultural ministry reported. Industry experts are anxiously awaiting the development of this important sector debate.