Archive:Farm structure in Bulgaria - 2007 results
- Data from January 2010. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article is part of a series of country-specific essays on the results of the European Union (EU) Farm structure survey (FSS) 2007. It provides a brief but nevertheless comprehensive insight into farm structure in Bulgaria.
The 2007 FSS recorded 493 100 agricultural holdings in Bulgaria, which represents a 8 % decrease since 2005. Farms under 1 European size unit (ESU) suffered a significant reduction (-10 %), while the number of farms with at least 1 ESU decreased by 0,2 %.
Main statistical findings
Average utilised agricultural area per holding – 24 ha
In 2007, about 117 800 agricultural holdings in Bulgaria had an economic size of at least one European size unit (ESU), compared to 118 100 in 2005. On the other hand, farms under 1 ESU suffered a significant reduction (-10 %) in the same period.
These farms made use of 2.87 million hectares (ha) of utilised agricultural area (UUA), (15.3 % more than in 2005), which makes the average size of a holding in Bulgaria 24.3 ha. See Graph 1 for the distribution of UAA in terms of farm size, while Table 2 describes the size distribution and other characteristics of the agricultural holdings.
These holdings employed 222 100 annual work units (AWUs), the equivalent of 222 100 people working full time, a decrease of 10 % since 2005. The organisation and distribution of the labour force in Bulgaria is described in Graph 2 and Table 1).
The farms contained 920 000 livestock units (LSU) in 2007, 5.6 % more than in 2005. The distribution of livestock by farm size is shown in Table 4 and Graph 3.
Amongst the 117 800 agricultural holdings in 2007:
- 30 % made use of less than one AWU, while another 27 % made use of two or more AWUs;
- 92 % used less than 20 ha, while 5 % used 50 ha or more;
- 21 % of the farms specialised in general field cropping;
- 14 % were specialists in dairy farming;
- 11 % combined field crops and grazing livestock;
- 10 % were specialists in mixed cropping;
- 9 % were engaged in grazing sheep, goats and other livestock.
Amongst the sole holders:
- 13 % were women in 2007;
- 55 % were aged 55 or more and 6 % were younger than 35 years; and
- 44 % had another gainful activity in 2007.
In Bulgaria in 2007, 17 % of the agricultural area was farmed by its owners.
The family labour force regularly employed decreased by 10 % from 2005 to 2007.
The number of farms having vineyards as their main crop rose by 6 times while those specialized in fruit and citrus fruit trees rose by 197 %.
8 % of the UAA in Bulgaria was permanent grassland and meadow in 2007. The increase of the area of grassland and meadow, between 2005 and 2007, was 291 % (from 59 000 ha to 231 000 ha).
Between 2005 and 2007, noticeable increases were also recognised in the areas used for rape and turnip (multiplied by 4.6), forage plants (+40 %),fruit and berry plantations (+46 %) and grain maize (+32 %).
In the same period, there was a decrease in the area used for tobacco plantations (-33 %).
The situation for subsistence farming in Bulgaria is outlined in Table 5.
Data sources and availability
Due to the different coverage of the FSS across Member States, the total number of farms is not comparable between countries. This is why the present analysis, including Tables 1-4 and the graphs focus on holdings of at least one European size unit (ESU).
The Agrostatistics Directorate of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF), in collaboration with its 28 district Directorates, implements the Survey on the structure of agricultural holdings in Bulgaria.
The FSS 2007 was the second sample survey after the last Agricultural Census in 2003 (AC 2003). The reference period was the 2006/2007 crop year (October 2006 to September 2007). In the case of the livestock the reference date was the day of the interview and for the labour force characteristics the reference period was the 12 months preceding the day of the interview.
An agricultural holding in Bulgaria is an independent economic unit with independent management that meets at least one of the following criteria:
- 0.5 ha of UAA or 0.3 ha of arable land;
- 0.1 ha of specialized crop, or 0.05 of greenhouse crops, or 0.2 ha of permanent grassland;
- 1 cow or buffalo, 2 other bovine animals, 1 female equidea, 2 working animals (equidae), 1 breeding sow, 5 pigs, 5 breeding sheep, 2 breeding goats, or 50 laying hens, or 100 poultry for fattening, or 10 beehives, or 10 breeding female rabbits, or 1 reproductive male animal;
- if their production exceeds certain physical thresholds.
The thresholds applied since the 2003 AC were significantly lower than the ones of the other Member States for covering at least 99 % of the national agricultural production. In the 2003 AC, 665 500 holdings met the definition and this population (along with the updates from the 2005 FSS) was the frame used for drawing the 2007 FSS sample.
The stratification criteria used were the farm type and the economic class. The new holdings (created after November 2003), were added to the sample in the exhaustive stratum. The final size of the sample was 40 382 holdings. The sample was drawn using the Neyman allocations method.
The collection of the data was carried out from 15 October to 30 November 2007. The questionnaires were completed using a face-to-face interview. The non-response rate was 0.12 %.
Between FSS 2005 and 2007, "maintaining land in good agricultural and environmental conditions" (GAEC) became an agricultural activity and the land in question has been included in the agricultural area.
In Bulgaria, it covers close to 31 000 ha, all in holdings with at least 1 ESU.
For each activity (`enterprise`) on a farm (for instance wheat, dairy cow or vineyard), a standard gross margin is estimated, based on the area (or the number of heads) and a regional coefficient. The sum of such margins in a farm is its economic size, expressed in European size units (ESU, 1 ESU is a 1200-euro SGM).
Context
European Commission rural development policy aims to improve competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, improve the environment and countryside, improve the quality of life in rural areas and encourage the diversification of rural economies.
As agriculture has modernised and the importance of industry and services within the economy has increased, so agriculture has become much less important as a source of jobs. Consequently, increasing emphasis is placed on the role farmers can play in rural development, including forestry, biodiversity, the diversification of the rural economy to create alternative jobs and environmental protection in rural areas.
The FSS continues to adapt to provide timely and relevant data to help analyse and follow these developments.
See also
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Farm Structure Survey in Bulgaria - 2007 - Statistics in focus 16/2010
- National Methodological Report – FSS 2007 Bulgaria (available on request)
Main tables
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure: historical data (1990-2007) (t_ef)
Database
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure (ef)
Dedicated section
- Ad-hoc tables: Farm Structure Survey
Methodology / Metadata
- Farm structure (ESMS metadata file — ef_esms)