/ world today news/ Young farmers can receive 5.3 billion euros, but in Bulgaria the percentage of young people engaged in agriculture is only 6.3% of those employed in the sector.
This became clear from the results of a sociological survey conducted on behalf of the delegation of Bulgarian socialists in the European Parliament. It was presented at a conference on “How socialists can attract young people in the EU to agriculture”, which was held in the town of Sadovo on the initiative of MEP Momchil Nekov. The head of the group of Bulgarian socialists in the EP Iliyana Yotova, the mayor of Sadovo Dimitar Zdravkov, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev, sociologists, experts and farmers.
The youngest Socialist MEP presented the program and outlined the main difficulties and barriers that young people face. “Young people see farming as too risky an occupation with a high level of uncertainty. They encounter difficulties in establishing companies, financial problems, as their income depends on market trends, and access to credit is difficult. The challenge is to provide more information about the subsidies that young people can receive, the ways to apply and, last but not least, to outline the prospects for development before them,” said Nekov.
The sociological study of the “Afis” agency outlined the existing problems and their causes. Only 10% of producers sell their produce, and as many as 93.5% of those employed in agriculture do not benefit from any form of subsidy or assistance. Respondents state that there is a lack of information about programs and state aid, and a large number of them are of the opinion that administrative obstacles are high. Nearly 50% believe that a large number of farmers face the risk of bankruptcy if, for one reason or another, they do not receive the promised funds. Credit from banks is difficult and with high interest rates, the state has no policy to protect the farmer. In addition, reaching the minimum income level to participate in the program, which is 8,000 euros, is almost unattainable for young farmers.
In addition, Iliana Yotova commented that Bulgaria is one of the few countries where the program has not yet been approved and it is not clear when this will happen. When asked why there is not enough information on the financing of agricultural holdings, she shared that, despite the expensively paid advertisements, the activity of the established agricultural councils, which also have regional representatives, is not sufficient, and the state does not take any other actions to popularize the program. which could help to overcome youth unemployment and the depopulation of populated areas.
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