site.btaBulgaria and Romania Enrich EU with Fertile Dobrudzha Region, BTA Director General Says

With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, the Union gained one of Europe’s most fertile regions – Dobrudzha – said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev during a local conference held in Dobrich on Tuesday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.

Valchev explained that this is why Earth Day was chosen for the conference, highlighting the agricultural importance of the region. Citing Eurostat data, he noted that fewer than ten EU countries produce up to 85% of the Union's staple foods. Bulgaria and Romania, he stressed, are key contributors to EU food security, with Dobrudzha playing a vital role.

In Southern Dobrudzha, 98.8% of agricultural land is arable - the highest share in Bulgaria. Moreover, the food industry in the Dobrich Region accounts for 48% of local industrial production.

Valchev pointed to two major challenges for Bulgaria in Dobrudzha: increasing the added value of grain production and addressing the demographic decline. Experts say that processing grain into flour increases its value 1.8 times, and turning it into bread raises it 2.2 times. When integrated into tourism, that value could grow twentyfold.

The second challenge, Valchev said, is halting the population decline. Between 2011 and 2021, Dobrich’s population dropped by 19%, while the broader region saw a 21% decrease—even with fertile black soil and advanced agriculture. "This decline contrasts with other fertile European regions, where populations tend to grow. Bulgaria must learn from their experience to retain people in Dobrudzha," he emphasized. He also underlined the importance of education, noting the involvement of schools and universities in the conference.

Valchev stressed that EU membership is mutually beneficial: “We often hear how much money Bulgaria receives from the EU, but we must also recognize how much the EU benefits from Bulgaria and its people”.

Thanks to the National Press Club in Dobrich, opened on September 25, 2021, the city has been part of BTA’s national and European dialogues for the past four years. The press club, located in the iconic Organ Hall building (opened in 1975), has helped increase local reporting, thanks to the work of two correspondents.

Valchev also shared that BTA has now tripled the number of its national press clubs, maintaining and expanding the 14 that opened in the last 18 years, and now operates 42 across Bulgaria and abroad. “These clubs ensure that more Bulgarians are engaged in national and European conversations,” he said.

BTA’s project, “Europe in the Balkans: Together through Knowledge”, supported by the European Commission, seeks to foster knowledge exchange between people in Bulgaria, the Balkans, and the rest of the EU.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.