December 7 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it approved Bulgaria's strategic plan for agricultural and rural development, making available to the country a total of 5.6 billion euro ($5.9 billion) in the 2023-2027 period.
Bulgaria's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan will see over 600 million euro allocated to support the country's meat, dairy and fruit and vegetables sectors currently facing difficulty, the Commission said in a press release.
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The plan will support the creation of 9,413 jobs and 650 infrastructure investments in rural areas, the Commission noted.
A special focus will be put on reducing the income gap between farmers and workers in other sectors as well as on boosting the development of for small- and medium-sized farms, while capping grants to larger farms at 100,000 euro. As many as 5,200 young farmers will benefit from financial assistance to set up their businesses.
The financing will also help targeted investments in organic farming, whereas rural development funding will help address the challenges of depopulation, poverty and an ageing population, the EU executive added.
In a separate statement, Bulgaria's agriculture ministry said that the total CAP strategic plan budget amounts to 8.06 billion euro, including co-financing.
The financial resource for direct payments is some 4.4 billion euro, while 3.53 billion euro is earmarked for investments in rural areas. Specific interventions for the viticulture sector are worth close to 99 million euro, while the beekeeping sector will receive about 25.7 million euro, with another 5.8 million euro foreseen for support to other sectors, the ministry said.
Bulgaria submitted its CAP strategic plan proposal in February, after consultations with stakeholders. A reviewed proposal, taking into account the EU Commission's recommendations, was filed for approval in late November.
($=0.9341 euro)