Executive Agency for Selection and Reproduction in Animal Husbandry chief Prof. Vasil Nikolov and stockbreeding industry groups sealed a sheep breeding cooperation agreement with French colleagues.

‘This cooperation will give a new start to Bulgarian sheep breeding and will open new market niches,’ said Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov during the signing. He expressed his full support for the initiative and was happy that it was achieved in such short terms.

Sheep breeding is a key sector for France, and Bulgaria is one of just a handful of EU countries with which the country shares a common development path, said French Ambassador to Bulgaria Philippe Autie. He added that this partnership will cement ties between the two countries. He further noted that Bulgaria and France share similar positions about legislation in the new programme period of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014 – 2020.

The cooperation agreement was signed, on the Bulgarian side, by Association for Breeding of Ile de France Sheep chairwoman Evgenia Achkakanova, National Sheep Breeding Association chairman Biser Chilingirov, Bulgarian National Animal Breeding Association chairman Boyko Sinapov and Bulgarian Animal Breeding Union chairwoman Penka Hristova. On the French side, pen was put to paper by president Jean-Luc Chauvel of French union of sheep breeds of mountain areas and French sheep breeding association Ovimonts Eric Bodinat.