Agriculture News — Bulgarian Farmers Join the Widespread Protests Against the New EU Farming Policies

Bulgarian farmers are the latest entity to join in the protests of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms.

According to a report by SeeNews, farmers in Bulgaria have responded to some of the CAP’s latest reforms by calling on the government to respond to “the total failure” of these reforms in Bulgaria’s agricultural sector.

SeeNews reported on the figures that are most relevant to the Bulgarian Agrarian Chamber (BAC) concerns in Bulgaria, notably the $82.4 million/76.7 million euro in funds put toward livestock breeders, milk processors and fruit and vegetable producers, despite the importance of other agricultural commodities like grain.

The Associated Press released photos of the farmers’ protest in Bulgaria, where Protesters gathered in Sofia, outside of the Ministry of Agriculture building, holding signs that said: There is money for Ukraine, but there is NO money for agriculture.

For those of you who do not know, the war in Ukraine has been highly politicized in Eastern Europe, especially in Bulgaria, where there’s been a high concentration of Ukrainian refugees. But not only that, Bulgaria’s GDP also relies on the agricultural sector for much of its export revenues.

Therefore, farmers play a key role in the Bulgarian economy.

It’s no wonder that they even called out Bulgaria’s Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev in a direct call for the minister’s resignation. Moreover, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov was quick to respond to the protests in Sofia by meeting with the National Grain Producers Association (NGPA) at a Council of Ministers meeting on 6 Feburary 2024.

These agriculture protests are happening all over the continent, literally spanning from Eastern to Western Europe. Although it was more noticeable in Eastern European areas in the beginning, the wrath of European farmers eventually made its way to Germany, France and Switzerland.

Last year, Bulgarian coal miners were more than just vocal about the EU’s Just Transition plan, they went as far as to block roads in protest of the decision to close a coal mining area in Stara Zagora.

This is a hot geopolitical topic, too, since all of the EU’s policies are being judged against how the governments are responding to the war in Ukraine. The EU has allowed Ukrainian imports of agriculture commodities and crop inputs which have allegedly put other European farmers at a significant disadvantage in the EU market.

Read more about geopolitical trends and agriculture news in the publication Areas & Producers.