We are the best example in the entire European Union of how livestock farming is being destroyed. We show how you can really cross out a traditional industry with the lack of adequacy of policies for many years. This was stated in "The Day Begins" on BNT by Simeon Karakolev, co-chairman of the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association.
For the first time in its history, the European Commission has approved a comprehensive strategy for the development of livestock farming and an action plan, taking into account the realities of modern times and changes in the global economy. And statistics in our country show that in recent years one of the most severely affected sectors as a result of all the crises is goat and sheep breeding.
According to Karakolev, the new strategy completely changes the philosophy of the European Commission.
"There is a deep awareness of what livestock breeding is and what happens when livestock breeding begins to decline. And here we are no longer talking only about what we have been experiencing chronically for years in Bulgaria. Here we are talking about this being observed as a trend throughout the European Union. Not in the same dimension, of course, as in Bulgaria. The Commission saw, reconsidered that the Green Deal was not what it was supposed to be. And in the end, until a few years ago we were witnesses to livestock breeding being talked about as a literal climate pest. And now we see that it is much more important to have food security. MERCOSUR is literally a no-brainer for me. That is. we take a significant part of the meat consumption precisely from MERCOSUR. But MERCOSUR is also a necessity of the European Commission. Precisely because we have all the conditions, givens and we have had a tradition of producing our own food, and we can no longer. We see this in Bulgaria. That is, what is happening in Bulgaria is slowly starting to take on a slightly greater hue in the European Union. I am talking about imports."
The European Union can no longer feed itself in some aspects, emphasized the co-chairman of the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association.
"Which is an absolute tragedy. Because you have the absolute givens, traditions and opportunities to do it. And with bad policies and short-sightedness, you are actually cutting off this opportunity and ability of yours."
Karakolev made a historical reference to the noticeable decrease in the number of sheep in our country.
"30 years ago - 10 million, decreased 20 years ago to 5 million, 10 years ago - to almost 2 million. Currently we are under 1 million. And in the end we import. This is what happens. Because you do not encourage this livestock farming in any way. It is not just about sheep farming. We are talking about livestock farming in general. A little while ago I also listened to my colleague in pig farming, who said it the same way. When you do not have the right tools, when the state does not have a focus on what it wants. Like the European Union. The European Union's focus so far has been the Green Deal, locusts. Everything else, but not what is actually sought on the market by the European Community. From the residents, from the citizens of the European Union. And you actually start to rely only on imports of some products. Which is categorically unacceptable."
Karakolev is categorical that the money allocated under various programs is spent for no purpose.
"It is spent for no purpose, that's because Bulgaria has no national goal. I keep repeating it. We don't have a national doctrine for the development of any sector of the economy. We simply receive a bag of money from the European Commission and start some kind of spontaneous, chaotic distribution. And in the end, when you distribute aimlessly, you can't expect any visible results. That is, you expect visible results, and we see them. 80% or 70% reduction in sheep and goat breeding, 60% in cattle breeding, how many thousands of farms are gone. This is when you give away money aimlessly."
The way of financing farmers is being discussed with the authorities.
"We are already developing a similar financing strategy with the Minister of Economy, Mr. Pulev, as well as with the management of the Bulgarian Development Bank. We have been talking for years. Especially for Bulgarian livestock breeders, that they do not have access to financial resources, to financing that suits their business. That is, you cannot give a livestock breeder a loan for 5 years and expect it to go through. There is no way it can be done. In other countries, we see lending for 20-30 years. This is widespread. Anyone who is interested can check this out. We give loans for 5 years, but these livestock breeders, if they do not take loans, finance, invest. How can they return this money later? The concept of financing, especially for livestock farming, must be fundamentally revised if we want to have livestock farmers."