PART II - AGRICULTURE IN THE OSOGOVO REGION OF BULGARIA 1. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGRICULTURE Bulgaria is divided in six regions of planning of production for all areas of economy. These are North-west, North-central, North-east, South-east, South-west and South-central. Kyustendil province is part of the South-west region. Further Kyustendil county and Nevestino county are part of Kyustendil province. 1.1. Crop production The general part of arable area in Kyustendil province of 26 628 ha is used for grain crops (cereals and maze) and oil crops, respectively 57% and 7,7%. Considerably lower is the field area with technical crops and vegetables. The basic reason for the predominant production of grain is the high level of mechanization of that type of production. The majority of the land is rented and grain producers use high productive techniques. It uses minimum of labour, maintain proper technology which lead to high productivity. As a result during the last years Bulgaria became a grain exporter. This situation is not valuable for the national production, as the surplus value of these resources could be much higher if it is used for milk, meat and processed agricultural products. Some other crops as been, soya, lentils occupy much lower land because of the necessity of specific mechanization. Another negative effect of the major crop production is the difficulty in maintaining of the land in good ecological practice because of the poor crop rotation. The basic part of technical crops is the tobacco and potatoes from the vegetable crops. 84 Table 1. Distribution of arable land by crops for 2013, in ha Region Grain, ha Oil, ha Technical, ha Vegetables, ha Meadows, ha Sowthwest 121 847 29 331 2 886 6 759 4 927 Kyustendil 15 216 2 048 98 1 366 390 province Table 1. continuation Fallow land, ha Total arable, ha Family gardens, Pastures, ha Vineyards, ha Total agricultural ha area, ha 26 270 192 020 3 553 374 689 18 005 588 267 7 510 26 628 1 465 55 499 7 120 90 720 From the grain crops the main part occupies the wheat, 76%, which is also with negative effect on the proper crop rotation. Table 2. Arable land with cereals, ha and crop production t/ha Wheat Barley Rye and triticale Region Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Yield,t/ha Yield,t/ha Sowthwest * 90 316 9 507 8 626 Kyustendil province ** 7 135 975 414 Table 2. continuation Oats Maze Other cereals Total, ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha 3 909 9 184 305 121 847 --- 532 362 9 420 Note: * - for the Southwest region data for 2013, **- for Kyustendil province data for 2010. Among the technical crops the major part of the arable land is occupied by sunflower. Again the reason for that is the good income from that crop, the farm gate prices are stable, it is available a proper mechanization and technology of production. 85 Tobacco is reared on small fields of family farms, the production is subsidized by the national programmes, the production is an additional income to the family, and there is a secure market for the raw production. Table 3. Arable land with technical crops, ha and crop production t/ha Region Sunflower Tobacco Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Sowthwest 29 331 2 886 Kyustendil province 2 048 98 Table 4. Arable land with vegetables, ha and crop production t/ha Potato Peas, beans, lentils Field vegetables Glasshouse vegetables Region Land, ha Yield, Land, ha Yield, Land, ha Yield, Land, ha Yield, t/ha t/ha t/ha t/ha Sowthwest* 5 374 100 986 299 Kyustendil 696 --- --- --- province ** Note: * - for the Southwest region data for 2013, **- for Kyustendil province data for 2010. Relative high share of the pastures, 61% of the total land, is a preposition for development of the ruminant livestock production. The encouraged practice for the farmers is the system of financial support that they receive for maintaining of the pastures in good conditions, e.g. without shrubs, wild briars (Table 5). Та ble. 5 Land of meadows and pastures and yield from them for 2013 Region Meadows Pastures Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Sowthwest 4 927 374 689 Kyustendil 390 55 499 province In terms of fruit crops the province of Kyustendil is suitable for cherries, apples and plums. There is a good market for this type of production. There is a general tendency for an increase of the fruit yards and the yield. The development of the new 86 farms is supported by special programmes of the ministry of agriculture. In the region is located the research institute for fruit crops. Table 6. Arable land with fruit crops and yield from them Cherries and morello Apricot and peaches Apple Region Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Sowthwest* 5 691 695 1 075 Kyustendil 1 523 --- 617 province ** Table 6. continuation Pears and quince Plums Strawberries and raspberries Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha Land, ha Yield,t/ha 394 1 482 3 099 --- 295 ---- Note:* - for the Southwest region data for 2013, **- for Kyustendil province data for 2010. Most of the vine fields, about 80%, are wine type of cultivars. The area of the county and that of the region are in general suitable for the grape and wine production. Table 7. Arable land with vineyards and yield Региони Vineyards total Region Land, ha Yield,t/ha Sowthwest* 5 076 7,6 Kyustendil 1 532 province ** Note:* - for the Southwest region data for 2013, **- for Kyustendil province data for 2010. 87 1.2. Livestock production In 2013, the State policy in the field of livestock farming is aimed at creating the conditions for sustainable development of the sector. It is done through a differentiation of consolidated, cost-effective holdings with high number of cows. In the same time a protection of the small and medium-sized farms was ensured. During the last years an update of the existing legal framework in the field of animal husbandry was made. Extended framework of the State support provided easier access to funding and increased the efficiency of holdings. Overall, in 2013 a stabilization the livestock sector was observed, which was due to the consistent policy of support. By the end of 2013, the number of livestock holdings (farms) in the country increased by 12% compared to a year earlier, to thousands of 171,8 farms. The most significant increase is taken into account in the farms with pigs – to do with 91,6%, mainly due to increased holdings of 1 – 2 pigs. Less marked is the increase of livestock farms with cattle, buffaloes and goats – between 2.2 and 6.6%. Only the number of sheep farms decreased 2.3%. For most types of farms the number of animals also increased over the previous year. The biggest growth notes the number of pigs-to do with 10,4%, cattle total – with 9.4% and buffaloes in general – with 8.2%. Slight increase was registered in the number of sheep in total – 0.6%, as more substantial increases this to the ewes - with 6.2%. The total number of the goats reduced by 1.5% compared to 2012, but at the same time the does number increased by 3.6%. By the end of 2013, the total number of birds fell by 13.4% over the previous year, mainly due to the significant reduction of chickens for meat with 32.3%, while the number of laying hens and growing replacement laying chicken increases by 4%. In 2013 continues the tendency for increasing the farm size, which is a prerequisite for achieving greater efficiency and economic stability. Compared with last year, the most significant increase in the average number of animals per farm was observed for the buffaloes - 33,2%. More moderate increases the average number of animals in the holdings with ewes, with 10.7% and with cows-by 5%. At the same time, the average 88 number of animals in the holdings with pigs total decreased by 42.3% (up to 9.8 units), which is explained by the recovery of holdings with 1 – 2 pigs, once in the previous year they had recorded a significant decrease, mainly under the influence of high prices of feeding stuffs. However, pig production remains highly concentrated sector, 75,4% from pigs raised on farms with 1,000 and more animals. During the year continue the process for specialization in mutton livestock sector. Beef cows increased by 39% over the previous 2012 and mutton sheep (ewes) - with 4.3%. In 2013, the country produced a total of 1 267 602 thousands litres of milk, with 5.2% more compared to the previous year. There has been an increase in production of all kinds of milk, as it is the most significant in the sheep and the buffalo's milk – with 8%. Production of cow's milk increased by 5.1%, while that of the goat's milk – with 2%. With the largest share in the total yield of milk cow's milk remains with 88%, follow the sheep – 7.2%, goat – 4.2%, and the buffalo's milk – 0.7%. Leading position in the year production of milk have the South Central region, formed 28% of the total volume of production. South-East region follows with 17.9% and the share of other areas of milk production was between 12% and 15%.