16.4.2007

Rents on Farm Land to Increase Next Year

Bulgarian farmers will receive nearly 400 million euro worth of subsidies in 2007 by only submitting applications at the Payments Agency, regional municipal agriculture offices or regional payments agencies. Burhan Abazov, Bulgaria's Deputy Agriculture and Forestry Minister explaines how people can apply for the aids and what requirements they have to meet.

- Mr. Abazov, how many farmers have applied for EU subsidies until now?
- We have registered some 62,000 farmers cultivating more than 3 million ha of land so far. The EU has envisaged to allot subsidies for the cultivation of 3.8 million ha of land in Bulgaria. Farmers will receive about 100 levs per ha of arable land that will be transferred to them after November. Until now we have received around 32,000 applications for a total of 1.7 ha of arable land but I am sure that the entire quota of 3.8 million ha will be filled before the expiration of the deadline on May 15.
- Will farmers have to return the money if they don't yield any crop?
- The money will no longer be granted according to the amount or the quality of produce. Farmers will receive subsidies for the size of the land they cultivate. Even if they do not yield any crop they will still receive financing provided they have taken care of the land. However, we will conduct constant inspections to ensure that the lands are tilled. If a farmer has taken a commitment to cultivate certain lands but fails to do it he will have to return the money that he has taken up to the moment. We did not devise this system. We have copied all control patterns and regulations from the EU.
- Could you forecast by how much rents on land will increase in Bulgaria?
- I cannot make a precise prognosis but I think that rents will go up. Besides, the EU grants subsidies to people who cultivate the land and not to the actual owners, which will be another incentive to borrow lands.
- Have rents gone up after Bulgaria's accession to the EU?
- No, but I think that this trend will start emerging next year after the first payments under the EU programs are transferred.


Juliana Uzanicheva
http://standartnews.com/