Hrabrin Bachev

The structural change in the European Union (EU) involves a decline in the number of holdings and a transformation of farming systems. This study examines the territorial dimensions of this process using data from the 2010 and 2020 Agricultural Censuses and the Territorial Shift Share Analysis method. The analysis compares changes at the EU-27, Member State, and NUTS 2 regional levels to assess the contributions of EU central, national, and regional trends, without identifying specific causal mechanisms. The study uses three scenarios-status quo, optimistic, and pessimistic-to project the number of farms by 2030. The results indicate that, compared to 2020, the number of holdings could decrease by 16% under the basic scenario and by 33% under the pessimistic scenario, whereas the optimistic scenario projects a slight increase of 1%. The territorial analysis attributes 61% of the projected change to the EU level and 39% to national and regional factors, although their relative contributions vary across Member States. These findings highlight the wide-ranging yet spatially uneven nature of structural changes in agricultural holdings, as well as the importance of accounting for the differences between EU-level trends and national and regional contexts when interpreting agricultural transformations and their implications for policy and sustainable development.

The EU farm structure is subject to significant changes, which is seen not only to reduction of their number but also in transformation of their characteristics from family-type farming unto agri-business type. There are different causes behind those trends and evolution and technological progress along with general economic growth, which provides better conditions for employment and remuneration of the working force are some of the reasons. Retaining the farm number is crucial for rural employment, maintaining biodiversity, and supporting farm sustainability as well. It is noted that between 1967 and 1997, the number of farms fell by 42% in the founding EU countries, which means for a period of 30 years, whereas for EU-27 only between the last two censuses 2010 – 2020 years, the farm number declines by 25% from 12 million to 9 million. Looking at the picture across the EU, it is ascertained that it is not an issue or perspective of some member states but rather an omnipresent process. The purpose of this study is to project the EU farm number to 2030 year applying a proportional extrapolation scenario model and to evaluate the influence from factors acting at three territorial levels – regional (NUTS 2), national (countrywide) and overarching (EU level). The assumptions are that on different territorial levels there are various factors affecting and impacting farm number and the goal is not to identify particularly which are those but to reveal at which territorial level those factors are designated. It is deemed that when member states’ trends in farm number resemble the EU average trend, it might be accepted that designation of factor influence is from the higher rather than national level and vice versa. Hence, the overarching level is considered to be EU level but the development in common direction mostly implies the influence of factors from general essence rather than specific national or regional origin. The results from the study demonstrate the farm number in EU-27 will decrease till 2030 by 16% in the status-quo scenario. The results from the pessimistic scenario testifies for a greater drop in EU-27 farm number by 33% compared to 2020, while the optimistic scenario indicates a likely slight enhancement by just 1%. Territorial analysis reveals the weight of overarching territorial factors, which are commonly admitted for EU level is evaluated to be 61%, the weight of national level and regional NUTS 2 factors can be allocated to 39%. Within the EU countries, there are divergences concerning the distribution of the territorial impact, which is explicated in the study.

This study challenges traditional economic models of farm competitiveness by highlighting the underexamined role of legal structures. It argues that a farm’s governing structure significantly impacts its ability to thrive in the market. The authors propose a novel framework for assessing farm competitiveness that encompasses three key dimensions: economic efficiency, financial health, and governance effectiveness. This framework is then applied to evaluate various agricultural governing structures in Bulgaria. A multi-layered evaluation system with four pillars is employed to assess competitiveness across these structures. The research reveals a generally positive competitiveness landscape for Bulgarian agriculture, with cooperatives demonstrating the highest level of competitiveness. However, some critical areas for improvement are identified, including low productivity, income, financial security, and adaptation to environmental challenges. The study also finds that a significant portion of Bulgarian farms struggle with low competitiveness. The research emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to address these weaknesses, including public support and improved management practices. Additionally, it highlights the importance of restructuring struggling farms and implementing better management approaches. Furthermore, the study underscores the crucial role of government support in preventing farm closures. Finally, the research reveals that farm size, specialization, market focus, and ecological location all play a role in competitiveness, but the significance of these factors varies depending on the specific governing structure employed.

The New Delivery Model of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy for 2023-2027 introduces a major shift toward decentralized governance, granting Member States greater flexibility to meet shared socioeconomic and environmental targets through unified National Strategic Plans. Key features include integrated Pillar I and II interventions, result-oriented annual reporting, mandatory eco-schemes, and digitalized satellite monitoring. Despite high expectations, Bulgarian and international research on the practical implementation challenges of this model remains scarce due to data gaps, short execution experiences, and shifting political focus toward the EU Green Deal and regional geopolitical crises. This book chapter addresses this research gap by providing an initial assessment of the challenges surrounding the CAP New Delivery Model within the Bulgarian context. A three-stage qualitative methodology was employed: an autoethnographic summary of the authors' direct experience in developing Bulgaria's Strategic Plan and SWOT analysis; 15 face-to-face in-depth interviews conducted in 2025 with institutional managers, agrarian producers, and independent experts; and a subsequent 7-expert Focus Group in 2026. By analyzing preparation, implementation, and monitoring dynamics alongside future shifts toward a National and Regional Partnership Plan, this study outlines critical strategic directions to optimize public interventions and stakeholder coordination for the next programming period.

This study challenges traditional economic models of farm competitiveness by highlighting the underexamined role of legal structures. It argues that a farm’s governing structure significantly impacts its ability to thrive in the market. The authors propose a novel framework for assessing farm...

There are intense ongoing debates about the importance and quality of agri-food governance, and these have not gone unnoticed in Bulgaria. There is no suitable Bulgarian translation for the word governance, and many inaccurate terms are used such as managing, management, leadership, directing, regulating, regime, etc. In order to accurately reveal the essence of this category and avoid misunderstandings with researchers in other fields, this article uses the term governance. It adapts the methodology of New Institutional Economics and offers a holistic framework for an adequate understanding of agri-food governance and for assessing its quality. Agri-food governance is defined as a complex system with five main components: (1) agrarian and related agents, (2) the means (rules, forms, and mechanisms) that govern agents' behavior, activities, and relationships, (3) processes and activities associated with decision-making, (4) a specific social order resulting from the governance process, and (5) the system’s performance results in relation to the realization of sustainable development goals. To assess the quality of agri-food governance, a multidimensional hierarchical system of principles, criteria, indicators, and reference values for good governance is suggested. The initial assessment of the quality of agri-food governance in Bulgaria, based on expert and statistical data, shows that it is at an average (European) level. In terms of sustainability, the quality is at a good level, while it is at a satisfactory level in terms of processes, means, and order. The Bulgarian agri-food governance strengths are in terms of equity and solidarity, in addition to a well-functioning public sector; its weaknesses are in stakeholder engagement and private sector efficiency.

The achievements of the interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics are adapted and a holistic approach to the definition, classification, evaluation, and improvement of contracts and contractual relations is justified. A critical analysis of the contemporary development of Contractual Economics is made and the specificity of the economic study of agrarian contracts is summarized. A ‘new’ Agents-Means-Process-Order (AMPO) approach for economic analysis, evaluation and improvement of agrarian contracts is presented, including: (1) economic definition of agrarian contracts and characterization of their place in the system of agrarian governance as bilateral or multilateral agreements related to agricultural production and services; (2) economic characteristics of the agents participating in the contractual relations (interests, awareness, risk-taking, capability, tendency to opportunism, etc.); (3) economic characteristics of different types of agrarian contracts (for purchase and sale, hire of labor and resources, services, loan, insurance, marketing, coalition, etc.); (4) economic characterization of the agrarian contracting process (technological, transactional, institutional, etc. factors for managerial choice); (5) economic characterization of the outcome of the contractual process and the dominant governance order in the agrarian sphere (rule of law, rule of force, contractual structure, etc.); (6) characterization of the stages for the improvement of agrarian contracts and governance (identification of problems and failures of the market, private contracting, and public modes; needs and forms of new public intervention, etc.); (7) identification of needs and sources of new information for analysis and evaluation of agrarian contracts.

This work presents a review of the actual monograph “Financial support for the formation of sustainable competitiveness of land use of agricultural enterprises” prepared by Professor, DrS, PhD Anatolii Kucher. The main provisions of the fundamental monograph and its contribution to the development of the modern system of scientific knowledge on the theory, methodology and practice of financial support for the sustainable competitiveness of land use of agricultural enterprises are presented.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the convergence of sludge utilization in Bulgaria and other selected European Union countries (Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Romania) and examine by correlation and asymmetric analysis how and to what extent the transaction costs and sludge utilization...