Livestock farmers from Pleven Region will close the main Pleven–Sofia road to traffic near the village of Yasen for one hour. The protest is scheduled for November 5 between 11:00 and 12:00, in the area of “Megatron,” in the direction of Sofia.
The farmers are calling for a fair distribution of the crisis aid provided because of the drought and objecting to the conditions set out in the regulation on support. Galina Mircheva from the village of Petarnitsa, who raises 800 sheep, said that in Pleven Region the scope has been extended to goats, but not to sheep.
“I cannot explain why goats are included but sheep are not. We, the livestock farmers, want a fair distribution for all livestock farmers, regardless of the regions,” said Galina Mircheva.According to data presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, applications for the crisis measure will open on November 10, while the funds are expected to be paid by the end of 2026. The indicative schedule of the State Fund “Agriculture” envisages that the payments will be made by December 20.
Different coverage for sheep and goats
Following the public consultation, the territorial scope of the crisis support was expanded, but the categories of animals are not the same in all regions. For ewes, the aid covers 15 regions, while for female goats, the number is 22. Pleven is among the regions added to the list for female goats, but does not appear on the expanded list for ewes.
The Ministry says that eligibility is determined on the basis of official data on production in 2025, compared with data for the previous five years. The support is intended to compensate for a proven loss of production, rather than overall production costs.
One of the options under discussion is for remaining funds to be directed to sheep farming in regions that do not fall within the scope of the crisis measure. The decision on this support has not yet been announced as final.
Sources: bnrnews.bg, agri.bg