What exactly mean the approved changes for the agricultural land in Bulgaria?

The approved on second reading changes in the law for using the agricultural land in Bulgaria caused many comments, and vigor quarrels in the parliament hall on Thirsday. According to the opposition the changes do not protect the right of private ownership.

What is going to be the influence on the owners and the farmers who rent the land ?

The first and most important thing that should be done is that the ownership on the real estates will not be taken away only because of lack of filled declaration, such apprehensions were indicated by observers of this process.

According to the power of the accepted amendments, the agricultural land in Bulgaria, for which there is no contract for lease or rent and are not declared for cultivating by the owners will be allocated for cultivating among the farmers proportionally to the area and according to the type of the land.

For example if in one area are being cultivated 5000 decares of agricultural land, and 3 farmers have contracts for rent for a total of 3000 decares - 500 decares 1000 decares and 1500 decares for each respectively, the rest 2000 decares will be allocated proportionally among the 3 farmers. In other words the amendments in the law stop the practice by which the mayor of the municipality decides who will cultivate the 2000 extra decares. After the new law is empowered the first farmer from the example above, who now works on 500 decares will take 1/6th of the 2000 decares.

In this way every farmer will have the ambition to sign more contracts for rent because the bigger his share is in the local municipality the bigger will be his share in the allocation of the extra agricultural land, for which the owners do not care and did not sign any contracts for use or rent. The farmers will be sure how much land will they cultivate during the year.

With the changes in the law the farmers will pay the rent and for the agricultural land that they are using without contract with the owners. For the owners the benefit will be that the money from the rent will be waiting for them in the municipality, without loosing anymore time and money to look for farmers and to sign a contracts which is expensive with the small plots.