Ministry of Agriculture proposes National Additional Payments be Included in Budget 2009

National protest of grain-producers is still in progress in Sofia because national additional payments have not been included in the expenditure fund for Budget 2009. "Those are the obligatory payments which all European farmers receive as a part of the Common Agricultural policy in the EU. We insist that funds for supporting grain-production be provided for in 2009 Budget", Krasimir Avramov, head of National Grain Producers Association said. The trade association is in charge of the strikes, Focus Information Agency reported.

The farmers demonstrate against not including the promised funds for additional national payments in next year's budget. They have not received the payments of 5 leva per decare of arable land that had been negotiated for.

Meanwhile Minister of Agriculture and Food Valeri Tsvetanov stated that he had not accepted the budgetary proposal. "On yesterday's session I made three new proposals to the budget - for paying the 147 million leva of additional payments to grain producers from this year, for additional 60 million for cattle-breeders as well as a demand for 378 leva for next year's additional payments". Tsvetanov claims that the strikers have not been informed of what the ministry had done about their demands and accepts this as a lack of dialogue.

Tsvetanov said that he would not mind meeting with the protesting grain producers.

The minister claims that by the end of the current or the beginning of next year there should be administrative and political changes which are to optimize the work of State Fund Agriculture. In his words, it is meant for the capacity of the minister of agriculture and food to increase. The minister will not only bear responsibility for the work of the fund and serve as a supervisory body, but also directly manage its activities - "to improve the connection between the paying agency and the ministry".

According to date from the report of the Foreign Agriculture Service at the Secretary of Agriculture in the USA, cited by Russian on-line edition "Zerno On-line", Bulgaria had a good grain harvest this season. It is expected that next season the crop production will significantly decrease. Some Bulgarian farmers, particularly in areas less favourable to grain crops production declared they would not participate in next spring sowing, the edition reported.