The new Bulgarian minister of agriculture: Grain harvest good, no food security issues are expected
Bulgarian caretaker Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev presented his team and priorities at a press conference in the Ministry.
Grain harvest and food security
"The grain harvest is good, with yields averaging nearly 6 tonnes per hectare. No critical situation is expected with the harvest, and Bulgarian will have no problems with food supply," Bulgarian caretaker Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev said on at a news conference presenting his team and priorities.
This year's wheat harvest in Bulgaria is estimated at 6.5 million tonnes.
A plan to support farm producers and food-processing enterprises is in place to address difficulties caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, he said.
The checks of grain imports continues, Gechev said, adding imports will not be banned. However, it will be required not to commingle Ukrainian with Bulgarian grain "because Bulgarian grain is in stronger demand as it is grown up to European standards," Gechev said.
Border control
Commenting on the situation at the busy Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint (on Bulgaria's border with Turkey), Gechev said that no trucks are waiting in line there now. He said also that the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has almost recovered from a recent cyber attack and 85% of the Agency's administrative services are back on track.
Regarding ongoing litigation with a private phytosanitary control operator at Kapitan Andreevo, the Agriculture Minister said that the samples of imported fruit and vegetables taken there are processed by a laboratory in Sofia. "The litigation may go on, but the State must continue ensuring checks of incoming cargoes," Gechev said, adding that the government institutions, including the ministries of interior and of justice, are addressing the issue. The Minister said he has a very good working relationship with BFSA Executive Director Hristo Daskalov and the Agency has his full support.
EU programmes
Gechev said that another priority of his work will be ensuring effectiveness of EU funding for agriculture under the Rural Development Programme and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and not just its absorption. In his words, State Fund Agriculture is working on more than 2,000 farming projects.
Further, the Ministry will draw up legal amendments to aid the work of the future regular government in processing applications for project funding to Brussels. More accurate figures and a clear action plan will be known next week.
Source: BTA.bg
Who is Yavor Gechev
Born on June 10, 1978, in Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria. Graduated from Plovdiv Agricultural University in 2001. Gechev is an agricultural engineer who earned an MA in Plant Protection Science. He also specialized in management skills, political management, and public science. Gechev started hir career as a farmer, then moved from the private to the public sector and worked his way up in State Fund Agriculture. He was also a member of parliament in the 42nd National Assembly and a deputy agriculture minister.
Source: bta.bg