Very soon, small-scale producers of dairy and meat products will be able to sell their goods at special farmers' markets gaining momentum nationwide. So far these have mostly been selling fruit, vegetables and honey given that the standards for storage of animal products are more specific and require mobile refrigerated showcases. Small-scale farmers however do not typically invest in such facilities. This problem has been fixed for the time being at least, by providing eight mobile refrigerated showcases under the project For the Balkan Range and the People implemented with financing from Switzerland by the Bioselena foundation for organic farming.

Why have farmers' markets emerged only recently? Mostly because for about 50 years the communist regime had rooted out private entrepreneurship. Farming was developing extensively, in large cooperative farms. Private growing of fruit, vegetables and animal husbandry were only legitimate for own use, and such produce was not intended end up on the market.

After the collapse of communism the emerging private farming had to wrestle with stringent European regulation in the sector. In this case the Bulgarian administration made things even harder than necessary. Today Bulgaria is looking for more pragmatic solutions using the experience of other countries in Europe's South, mostly Italy and France. Refrigerated display cases provide such an example, as such a case can be tied to a car or truck as a trailer. „We are keen to show something of real use to farmers', contends Bioselena CEO Stoilko Apostolov.

"Our idea is to let farmers who produce yoghurt, cheese and sausages be autonomous. This means, once their product is ready they load it on the refrigerated trailer and take it to the farmers' market in the nearby town where the trailer will turn into a nice stand complying with all requirements for storage of animal origin foods.”

For a start mobile refrigerated showcases will be available at farmers' markets in Sofia and Plovdiv where demand is the greatest, especially for organic foods. For the time being though the range of organic products on sale is limited - mostly dairy products and honey. One cannot buy organic eggs, poultry, lamb or veal. If offered on the market, these are imported and indecently expensive: 12 euro for a kilo of poultry and 27 euro for a kilo of veal.

The good news is that demand for organic meat in Bulgaria has started to emerge, Stoilko Apostolov says.

"There is a rising demand at the moment, but only few are the farmers raising chicken the way it was in the past - freely in nature. Such farmers sell poultry in Sofia and there are waiting lists for this kind of produce. The price is 7 euro per kilo, or 5 times the price of poultry sold at supermarkets. With the offer rising, prices will go down, and I hope there is a good future for the market of organic meat."

For the time being however, organic animal husbandry has been shoved into the corner. No special subsidies have gone to support it. So, from the total of 3000 farms certified for organic produce in Bulgaria, a mere 18 are animal farms. Stoilko Apostolov points to another reason, and it is the lack of interest for organic certification on the part of processing companies. There is a vicious circle at work here: processing businesses are not keen on certifying given small organic meat quantities. And organic farmers' numbers are not rising because there is no one certified to process their meat.

This year organic animal farmers will begin to receive European subsidies. Hopefully, the new incentives could encourage them to begin processing their meat on their own thus breaking the deadlock.

English Daniela Konstantinova