Being one of the biggest owners of arable land in the country, the Bulgarian Orthodox church banned the use of pesticides or any other kind of environmental intervention in its tenant farms. Besides the plots leased out to other farmers, the church is reaping environmental and organic success in church and monastery farms whose fame has spread beyond the country's borders with the superb quality of their organic vegetables, fruit, fish, dairy products and honey. So it may well turn out that most of the organic farm products in the country are grown with… a heavenly blessing. Small wonder then that a delegation of the International Foundation for Organic Agriculture - IFOAM - was particularly impressed by the organic apiary at Kremikovtsi monastery near Sofia.

Recent years have seen organic farming as a fast growing sector, though that may not be too evident if one takes a look at grocery stores in the country. Organic farms now number more than 6,000 with around 90 percent of the fruit, vegetables, cheese and meat they produce being exported to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and several Scandinavian countries, where they are repackaged and sold as familiar local brands. At this time practically their entire produce is exported because the Bulgarian market is small and hardly able to afford it - organic food is always more expensive than standard products. What is more they are not very attractive to look at, especially compared to imported hybrid varieties - Bulgarians still tend to look at shape and colour more than substance. Be as it may, 2 percent of farms in the country are currently organic with their numbers going up all the time, the aim being to have 20 percent of all farming businesses in the country turn organic.

With the number of organic plots and farms going up, the varieties of fruit and vegetables grown organically have also been growing. The list of traditional vegetables like spinach, aubergines, arugula, spices, pepper, green beans, courgettes, pumpkins etc., has had unorthodox items added to it like artichoke, olives, kiwi, organic beekeeping and organic wine.

Organic farmers in Bulgaria say the big problems they face are caused by the absence of state-sponsored incentives for the production of their healthy products. It is true that over the new EU programming period - 2014-2020 - organic food subsidies are five times higher compared to the previous budget period - from 33 million euro to 152 million. But that is money coming from Europe, whereas Bulgarian organic farmers are demanding steps by the Bulgarian government. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food says they are a priority for the public administration though that is not at all evident if we take a look at the budget and the assistance allocated by the ministry. Moreover, at times with good reason though often at the personal discretion of certain officials, red tape continues to weigh heavy on farmers, and the regulations and papers they have to wade through often leave them no time for work in their fields, gardens or farms.

Still, things are not all black, with a clear-cut hope-inspiring tendency taking shape on the domestic market - outlets are constantly opening doors in big towns and cities selling healthy, organic food of guaranteed quality and provenance. And their customers have been multiplying, indicating that Bulgarian consumers have grasped all the advantages of a healthy life and diet. That in itself means things are looking up for organic farmers in the country who won't have to export their produce but will be able to sell their products domestically. Christians on the other hand will certainly be pleased to hear the Bulgarian Orthodox church is taking such a positive attitude to organic products.

English version: Milena Daynova