Opening the „Black Box” of Organic Agriculture in Bulgaria: the Problem with Top-down Institutional Development

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the institutional development of organic agriculture (OA) in Bulgaria. The primary focus is on explaining certain contradictory trends observed during an examination of the phenomenon. First, although the origins of OA in Bulgaria can be traced back to the last years of socialism, it was not until 2010 that a "boom" of organic operators and certified land occurred. Second, although a full range of policies and instruments to support OA have been implemented and the importance of OA has been politically recognised, only approximately 1.1% of the agricultural land in Bulgaria is currently managed organically. Additionally, despite the development of national policies, the introduction of financial instruments and the emergence of OA organisations, the domestic organic food market is backward, as the largest portion of OA production is intended for export. Finally, there is evidence that calls into question the potential of OA to encourage socially and economically productive activities when it is motivated by subsidies rather than market value. Using the "black box" allegory to approach the above observations, this article aims to explain the institutional development of OA in Bulgaria during the period spanning 1990-2013. Using the institutional analysis perspective as an analytical tool, the article addresses two main research questions: 1) What were the driving forces behind the emergence of the OA concept and its political recognition? and 2) What factors have led to the questionable outcomes of OA development? The article also uses qualitative data to critically assess the "boom" of the OA sector, as indicated by official statistics.

Development of Organic Agriculture in Bulgaria (1990–2012): Actors, Relations, and Networks

“…Figure presents the actors that become interested in OA during this period and the different types of relationships they developed; both actors and relationships are discussed below. The first actor interested in OA was the Faculty of Plant Protection at the Agricultural University in Plovdiv (AU), and more specifically the Agroecological Centre (Karov ; Stoeva ). This Centre developed several activities.…”

Rethinking Organic Farming in the Post‐Socialist Context: Lessons from Bulgaria

“…An extreme example is the ‘Young Farmer’ measure within the RDP 2007–2013, in which engagement in agri‐environmental activities such as organic farming increased a farmer's likelihood of being approved and granted subsidies. Thus, conversion to organic farming for these farmers was a means to optimise subsidies, not to develop a market (Georgieva, ; Stoeva, ).…”

“…In the 1990s, the issue of OF interested neither the wider society nor the agricultural sector of Bulgaria. Moreover, OF was not a subject of interest to the State nor were financial instruments provided for it before 2006, in contrast with, for example, the Czech Republic and Poland, where the governments provided support to OF long before EU accession (Jahrl et al ., ; Stoeva, ). From 1993/94 onwards, Swiss and Dutch organisations (namely, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the Avalon foundation, respectively) started to become active in the introduction of OF in Bulgaria.…”

Organic Farming Versus Interest of the State for its Support

“…5) Developing organic food market mechanisms. 6) Establishing an institutional setting in the form of administrative committee, umbrella organisation, advisory board or other type of discussion arena to facilitate the necessary coordination among the farming community, agricultural policy and the food market [9]. Some authors (e.g., [2]) also add another aspect of organic farming, which is fair access to the means of food production while receiving a fair return for their labour, and consumers have food they can trust at fair prices.…”

“…Although the Slovak Republic has good potential for the development of organic farming, there is a lack of deeper research of the conditions of functioning of organic farming. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of state support in the field of organic farming from legislative, political, institutional and financial perspectives as a path to the development of organic farming [9], and to identify the main incentives as well as the barriers to the development of organic farming. The results of the paper will contribute to the expert discussion on the issue, to raise the issue faced by organic farmers and to suggest possible directions for improving the functioning of organic farming.…”