Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Svetlana Boyanova opened the first session of the thematic working group for preparation of the new Rural Development Programme for 2014-2020. The group is tasked with pinpointing the priorities in agriculture and rural areas by 2020, formulating them in the Programme and making sure that Bulgarian legislation is timely harmonized with European law....
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An open public consultation is being held on the European Commission’s website between January 15 and April 10 regarding the revision of Europe’s policy on organic farming. The main topics for discussion have to do with simplifying the legislative framework while securing that standards are safeguarded; improving organic products control systems; enhancing the impact of the new...
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The European Commission (EU) will in no way undertake any legislative initiative to restrict the use of rose or lavender oil in cosmetics products, Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov said after meeting with EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg in Brussels. There will not be any issues involved in production, and the increase in yields is a matter of demand and...
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Nikolay and Gizda, the two new varieties of ordinary winter wheat developed by Sadovo-based Institute for Plant Genetic Resources were recognized at the latest expert committee session of the Executive Agency for Plant Variety Testing, Field Inspection and Seed Control. The announcement was made by Prof. Siyka Stoyanova, head of the scientific unit at the Agricultural Academy. Drought-...
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EU farm policy reform must distribute EU funding more fairly, make "greening" measures mandatory but flexible, better equip farmers to cope with market challenges and cut red tape. So says the Agriculture Committee's opening position for negotiations with EU member states, as set out in texts voted on Wednesday. This will be the first EU farm policy reform shaped by Parliament as a full...
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EU farm policy reform must distribute EU funding more fairly, make "greening" measures mandatory but flexible and better equip farmers to cope with market challenges. So says the Agriculture Committee's opening position for negotiations with EU member states, as set out in texts voted on Wednesday. This will be the first EU farm policy reform shaped by Parliament as a full co-legislator with...
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Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov met the newly appointed Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria Takashi Koizumi. The meeting, which took place at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, was dedicated to the bilateral relations of the countries with respect to trade in agricultural products. In Japan, Bulgaria is most popular with yoghurt and rose oil and I believe we can...
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The European Commission has decided to freeze the approval process for genetically modified food crops through the end of its mandate next year while it works towards an agreement with EU member states, AFP reported. "The Commission, if it wants, could launch a procedure to authorise the farming of one GM soya and six corn strains... but it won't do so," said Frederic Vincent, a spokesman...
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Germany's agriculture minister described as "absurd" the European Commission's proposals to keep 7% of EU farmland fallow for environmental reasons and she urged it to reconsider. The scheme to compel the land to be taken out of production, a process known as greening, is part of a proposed reform of the European Union's huge farm support programme, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)....
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The European Commission has up until now approved nine promotional programmes with Bulgarian participation of a total value of EUR 32 million, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Tsvetan Dimitrov told the Promotional Programmes for Agricultural Products forum, which opened at the Sheraton Hotel on Friday. He added that the programmes involve dairy products such as white brine...
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‘Bulgaria will defend the interests of its rose and lavender producers before the European Commission,’ Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov said at the opening of the 2013 International Green Week (IGW), the world’s biggest fair for the food, agricultural and horticultural industries held in Berlin. ‘I commit to seeking a meeting with the new...
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The scheme to refinance commercial banks offers loans under eight measures of the Rural Development Programme. These include: 121 Modernisation of Agricultural Holdings; 122 Improving the Economic Value of Forests; 123 Adding Value to Agricultural and Forest Products; 223 Initial Afforestation of Non-agricultural Lands; 226 Recovering the Forest Potential and Implementation of Preventive...
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The EU's food safety agency challenged its doubters on Monday, making available all the scientific information used to clear a genetically modified corn which a French researcher had linked to cancer. The European Food Safety Authority said that "given the level of public interest ... (it would) make all data on genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 publicly available on its website."...
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a loan of € 500 million to the largest offshore wind farm to date in the German Baltic Sea; EnBW Baltic 2. The project is being realised by EnBW Erneuerbare Energien GmbH. The financing contract was signed today in Karlsruhe. The position and scale of EnBW Baltic 2 make it particularly demanding. The 80 wind turbines will be developed on...
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As much as half of all the food produced in the world – equivalent to 2bn tonnes – ends up as waste every year, engineers warned in a report published on Thursday. The UK's Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) blames the "staggering" new figures in its analysis on unnecessarily strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one free and Western consumer demand for cosmetically perfect...
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