State Fund Agriculture: € 1.224 bn have been absorbed under the Rural Development Programme
In the period from 2007 until the end of 2011, rural municipalities in Bulgaria were granted a total of € 1.224 bn, out of which € 1.019 bn was in subsidies from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and over €205 mln were allocated in national co-financing. Financial assistance of €1.705 bn was agreed under the programme, which is nearly 59% of its total budget. In December 2011 alone, State Fund Agriculture paid a total of €102-103 mln, according to the report of the institution for 2011.
The paid funds under already completed municipal projects account for38% of the total programme budget, which exceeds BGN 6.4 bn for the seven year period until the end of 2013. Despite the low rate of absorption, experts from the fund claimed that a major change took place and the pace of negotiations on projects increased.
During the reporting period of five years, the greatest percentage of contracting was achieved under two municipal measures, which aim at financing of construction and repair works of roads and squares, at building of water and sewage infrastructure and other projects related to improving the living environment in rural areas. At the end of last year, the subsidies to municipalities amounted to a total of €340 mln.
Among the measures aimed at supporting private businesses, greatest interest was shown in the modernisation of agricultural enterprises of young farmers. The absorbed resources under this measure amounted to over €81 mln, but since it was closed for new project application, it is expected that more financial resources would be transferred to it. Processing plants have already agreed about 70% of the budget of the measure for value adding to agricultural and forestry products, as the approved subsidy there reaches up to € 97 mln. Micro –businesses approved projects for about €81 mln, which represents almost 70% of the budget earmarked to be spent by the end of 2013.
Text and photo: http://www.klassa.bg
(20.03.2012)