site.btaCaretaker Agriculture Minister Pledges Action to Stabilize Key Structures in Agrarian Sector

Ivan Hristanov said the government would take all possible steps to stabilize key structures in the agricultural sector during a meeting with trade union organizations at the Agriculture and Food Ministry, the ministry said in a press release on Monday.

Hristanov said that the ministry’s team was actively analyzing the condition of the country’s hail suppression system, state forestry enterprises and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, with the aim of proposing concrete solutions as quickly as possible. He said that everything possible within existing limitations would be done, including measures through Council of Ministers decrees, adding that he did not believe employees should have to work for low pay.

According to the Minister, low salaries and the perception of work in state institutions as seasonal employment make it difficult to attract specialists and researchers. Regarding the state forestry enterprises, he pointed to their difficult financial situation and the need for recovery plans. He added that he had already requested an analysis of cash flow data and planned to hold additional meetings with the enterprises’ directors.

Hristanov also highlighted staffing problems at the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, where more than 900 positions have been replaced, creating challenges for effective work and eroding public trust. He said a detailed analysis of the situation would be completed by the end of the week and pledged stronger preventive action against diseases such as sheep and goat pox.

The Minister further commented on uneven funding for state enterprises and imbalances in oversight activities at the Executive Forest Agency, stressing that dialogue with industry representatives would continue and that the ministry remained open to proposals.

Trade unions, for their part, drew attention to low wages, the heavy workload of employees and the need to restore the Sectoral Council for Social Cooperation at the Agriculture Ministry, highlighting the responsible work carried out by staff under risky conditions, the ministry said.

At the end of February, Hristanov said he would work to restore trust in the Agriculture and Food Ministry. At the time, he said that the long-term goal was for the ministry to become an institution with “unprecedentedly high public trust” within three months, free from suspicions of corrupt practices.