Organic Farming in Bulgaria (1990–2012). Sociological Interpretations
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Svetla Stoeva • Petya Slavova Dona Pickard • Zdravka Georgieva Organic Farming in Bulgaria (1990–2012) Sociological Interpretations “St. Kliment Ohridski” University Press Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA (1990–2012) SOCIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS This work was supported by the Swiss Enlargement Contribution in the framework of the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme. Svetla Stoeva Petya Slavova Dona Pickard Zdravka Georgieva ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA (1990–2012) SOCIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS Sofi a 2016 “St. Kliment Ohridski” University Press Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) © 2016 Svetla Stoeva, Petya Slavova, Dona Pickard, Zdravka Georgieva © 2016 Borislav Kioseff, designer © 2016 Katerina Popova, translator © 2016 “St. Kliment Ohridski” University Press © 2016 Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) ISBN 978-954-07-4116-1 ISBN 978-3-03736-326-3 CONTENTS About the authors. 7 Introduction: On the Social Reality of Organic Farming and Its Sociological Interpretations . 11 CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN BULGARIA Svetla Stoeva . 22 MOTIVATIONAL PROFILES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ORGANIC SECTOR IN BULGARIA Zdravka Georgieva . 73 THE MARKET FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTS AS CONFIGURATIONS OF WORTHS (THE CASE OF PRODUCERS FROM BULGARIA) Petya Slavova. 110 COLLECTIVE FORMS OF SOCIAL ACTION: THE CASE OF ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA Dona Pickard . 153 5 About the Authors Svetla Stoeva has a PhD in Sociology from the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2005), and an MA in Sociology from Sofi a University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (2000). Her research interests are in the fi elds of the informal economy, SME entrepreneurship, labour relations, and social dialogue. Since 2005, she is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Sofi a University. Her research has earned her an Award for Highly Commended Scientifi c Achievements in the Social Sciences from the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria, a Highly Commended Winner Certifi cate from the International Sociological Association, and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société, Paris- Sofi a. She has been scientifi c coordinator and/or member of the research teams of a number of international projects fi nanced by the European Commission (FP5, FP6, and FP7), the Austrian Science and Research Liaison Offi ce Sofi a, the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme, and others. Main publications: Opening the “black box” of organic agriculture in Bulgaria: the problem with top-down institutional development, Eastern European Countryside, No. 22/2016 (forthcoming); Sociological investigation of the predatory culture phenomenon, in: Sociology Facing Challenges and Differences, Collection of Articles (2009; in Bulgarian); Labour relations, collective bargaining and employee voice in SMEs in Central and Eastern Europe (co-authored with M. Illesy, V. Kirov and C. Mako), Special Issue of Transfer European Review of Labour and Research (2006); La transformation des élites politico- administratives en Bulgarie: mythe ou réalité? (co-authored with F. Frison- Roche), Jahrbuch für Europäische Verwaltungsgeschichte (2005). Petya Slavova has a PhD in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels (2006) and an MA in Sociology from Sofi a University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (2000). Her research interests and publications are in three main fi elds, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe: post-socialist transformations of liberal professions and occupations; socialist regimes and economic elites; interest group representation and policy and market creation. Since 2007, Petya Slavova is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Sofi a University. She has received several postdoctoral research grants, including a Fernand Braudel Fellowship at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société in Paris and an Advanced Academia Fellowship at the Centre for Advanced Study Sofi a. Petya Slavova has been scientifi c coordinator and/or member of the research teams of a number of international and national projects fi nanced by the European Commission (FP6 and FP7), the European Research Council, the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme, and the National Science Fund of 7 Bulgaria. Main publications: Development of Organic Agriculture in Bulgaria (1990-2012): Actors, Relations, and Networks (co-authored with H. Moschitz and Z. Georgieva), Sociologia Ruralis (2016); La sociologie universitaire bulgare en transformations: politiques publiques, parcours institutionnels et biographies (1990-2006), Revue d’études comparatives Est-Ouest (2014); Lawyers and the Socialist Regime in Bulgaria: Sovietization of the Profession and Local Resistance Practices, CAS Working Paper Series (2012); Les professions libérales pendant le socialisme: le cas des architectes en Bulgarie, Presse de l’Université de Sofi a (2009); Professional Interest Groups and their Impact on Regulation: The Law on the Architects’ Chamber in Bulgaria, Perspectives on European Politics and Society (2006). Dona Pickard has a PhD in Sociology from the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge (ISSK) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2013) and a BA in Sociology from Richmond, The American International University in London (2004). She became interested in communities and rural sociology during her MA in Global Studies at Sofi a University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (2007). Her research interests are in the fi elds of agrarian policies, social inequalities and social capital in rural communities, and urban agriculture and food policies. Since 2014, Dona Pickard is Assistant Professor at the ISSK. Since 2008, she has taken part in national and international research projects on rural communities, farmers’ everyday lives, urban-to-rural migration patterns, and patterns of utilization and conservation of rural resources. Main publications: Images of Europe and “Europeanness” in Biographical Interviews with Farmers (co-authored with M. Draganova), Sociological Problems, (2010); Pull Factors of Bulgarian Rural Areas for Returning Emigrants, in: Koleva, G. and V. Kozhuharova-Zhivkova (eds), The Long Journey to the Village (Bulgaria Rusticana), Alya (2014; in Bulgarian); Sofi a: A City with Urban Agriculture Potential (co-authored with J. Sjöblom, J. Reskasens and G. Koleva), in: Lohrberg, F., L. Licka, L. Scazzosi and A. Timpe (eds), Urban Agriculture Europe, Jovis (2015). Zdravka Georgieva has a BA in Sociology from Sofi a University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (2010). In 2012 she earned an MA in Political Sciences from Université Paris-Dauphine, France, on a French Government scholarship. Currently, she is a PhD student at the Department of Sociology, Sofi a University, and is studying organic farming policies in Bulgaria on a scholarship from the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme. Since 2008, she has been a member of the research teams of a number of international and national projects fi nanced by the European Commission, the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme, the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, the Open Society Institute – Sofi a, and others. Her current research interests are in the mechanisms of achieving 8 sustainable development of local communities. Main publications: Policies by Whom, and for Whom? “Outside-In” and “Top-Down” Introduction of Organic Farming in Bulgaria, PhD Challenges (Gyolechitsa 2015); Development of Organic Agriculture in Bulgaria 1990-2012: Actors, Relations, and Networks (co-authored with H. Moschitz and P. Slavova), Sociologia Ruralis (2016); The Problem of Anti-Corruption Fight in Bulgaria Seen through the CVM Reports 2007-2012 (Results from an Empirical Study) (co-authored with G. Dimitrov and K. Haralampiev), Yearbook of Sociology, vol. 105 (2015; in Bulgarian); The End of the Rebellion, Critique & Humanism, vol. 37 (2011; in Bulgarian). 9 Introduction: On the Social Reality of Organic Farming and Its Sociological Interpretations Almost four years ago, part of the authors of this book approached researchers from the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL with a proposal for a joint project. This led to the project Addressing socio-economic regional disparities: the potential of organic farming for strengthening rural areas in Bulgaria (Bulgaria Organic), fi nanced by the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme (2011-2016). The partnership between Swiss and Bulgarian researchers enabled exchange of knowledge in the fi elds of sociology, political sciences, and agricultural economics. But it also did something more: it allowed the Bulgarian team to introduce a new fi eld for research and to investigate how a new social reality was created by various actors and their institutional, network and market interactions. The social reality of organic farming in Bulgaria turned out to be multilayered. On the one hand, organic farming can be presented as an integrated agricultural production system based on environmentally friendly principles of sustainable use of natural resources and production of high-quality and healthy food. Its main characteristic is that it avoids the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and genetically modifi ed organisms, using, instead, natural methods of disease control, such as crop rotation, intercropping, green manuring, and stimulation of natural plant and animal defence mechanisms. Insofar as organic farming employs techniques that help sustain ecosystems and reduce pollution, it provides a specifi c type of public goods