Agriculture in the context of rural development: South-Eastern planning region

University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria

^* Corresponding author: juliadoj@unwe.bg

Abstract

For 15 years the agrarian business in our country has been developing in a business environment formed mainly by the common agricultural policy. The purpose of the report is to assess this development in the South-East Planning Region and its impacts on the socio-economic development of rural areas and the state of the environment. The report uses quantitative and qualitative methods. They are the basis of mixed research design. Of the quality methods, expert assessment based on a survey and in-depth structured interviews with 26 experts at the municipal and district level were applied. Quantitative methods are used to process survey and statistical information on agricultural and rural development in the Southeast planning region. The main results are related to the changes in the production and organizational structure of agriculture and their impact on jobs and employment, the age and qualification structure of the employed, unemployment, migration processes, etc. The characteristics of the applied model of agriculture in terms of the predominant type of farms, the functioning of producer organizations, the transition to the production of quality products with protected geographical indications, etc. are outlined.