site.btaBulgarian Farmers Need Greater Security and Less Bureaucracy, Organic Farmer Says

Doichin Ganev, an organic farmer from Vratsa Region, told BTA that Bulgarian farmers need greater stability and less red tape.

His Rachenitsa organic dairy farm is taking part in Together for Nature, a project run by the Foundation for Organic Agriculture Bioselena. The farm hosted an open day and a farmers' school for 40 children in mid-May.

Ganev said the initiative aims to promote organic products and help both children and adults understand what is healthy and natural. He has worked with Bioselena for eight years and regularly takes part in its farmers' markets.

He said educational visits for children are particularly valuable, describing how two school classes visited the farm: "They saw that milk does not come from a shelf and cheese is not made on a lathe."

The farm raises sheep, goats and cows and produces white brined cheese, kashkaval yellow cheese, and yogurt. It has been supplying the market since 2018 and now distributes across most of Bulgaria.

Ganev said the main challenge for the sector is uncertainty and rising costs, noting that farmers are constantly forced to raise wages and prices in response to inflation and fuel costs. He also called for stronger state support, particularly in reducing the administrative burden and coordinating inspections, saying multiple overlapping controls create unnecessary red tape.