AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK IN BULGARIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A003601100006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: February 25, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
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COUNTRY Bulgaria
Agriculture and Livestock
in BulgarL.a
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 25 February 1954
NO. OF PAGES 8
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1. The contour of the land, together with the climate and the abundance of irriga-
tion water, hasp given Bulgaria a predominantly agricultural character from remote
times. Seventy-five percent of the population farmed, either in small strip
fame or on an extensive basis. The ownership of land is divided approximately
as follows-,
a. Private ors?er?ship, 48 percent;
b. Cooperative farms 3 25 percent,
c. State-owned farms, 8 percent
d. Various enterprise,, 2 percent; and
e. Uncultivated land, 18 percent.
2. The various land areas are farmed approximately as follows-,
a. Planted fields, 37.6 percent;
b. Natural meadows, 2. percent;
c. Tree culture, 2.6 percent;
d. Forests, 30.7 percent,* and
e. Pastures and other land, 27.2 percent.
3. The cultivated area was divided into small farms after the country was liberated
from the Turkish yoke. This brought about the following.-
a. Approximately- 80,000 farms of less than two hectares, accounting for
3,3 percent of the cultivated area;
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b. Approximately 320,000 farms from two to 10 hectares, accounting for 51.7 per-
cent of the cultivated area;
c. About 90,000 farms from 10 to 30 hectares, accounting for 36.9 percent of
the cultivated area;
d. Approximately 1,000 farms from 30 to 100 hectares, accounting for 5.7 percent,
of the cultivated area; and
e. Approximately 500 farms of more than 100 hectares, accounting for 2.4 percent
of the cultivated area.
Period Prior to 1939
Agriculture
4. In the period prior to 1939, the cultivated land comprised 40.2 percent of the land
area, while the remaining 59.8 percent consisted of woods and uncultivated land.
The cultivated land was di'/ided approximately as follows
a. Seeded, 76.5 percent;
b. Fallow land, 12.9 percent;
c. Natural pastures, 7.3 percent; and
d. Tree cultivation, 3.3 percent.
5. The following chart shows the chief crops planted, with the approximate area
and production (in quintals)o
Product
Area
Cereals
2 .,6743610
31,175,550
Industrial plants
162,582
Vegetables
86,517
71.7,283
Potatoes
1:3,606
727,157
Gardens
36,562
-o
Legumes
13,244
1,329,127
Forage
614,.402
Vineyards
939372
3,884,079
Rose bushes
69763
81,265
Orchards
19,862
6309952
Mulberry bushes
4,635
251,286
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6. The following chart shows the area, production in quintals, and the average pro-
duction per hectare, of the chief cereal products, tobacco, beets, oil seeds,
textile fibers: and
Product
Area in Hectares
Prod. in Quintals
Av. Production
Wheat
1,260,058
10,776,000
8.5
Rye
199,854
1,635,000
8.2
Barley
299,112
1,874,500
8.5
Oats
128,474
745,000
5.8
Corn
684,767
7,897,500
11.5
Rice
7,993
119,165
14.9
Tobacco
34,344
281,500
9.5
Beets
7,558
1,130,000
113.7
Sunflowers
107,606
806,480
7.5
Rape
15,601
83,050
5.3
Cotton
19,483
92 ,1.00
4.7
Hemp
5,54.6
19,420
3.5
Flax
1,130
3,625
3.2
Livestock
7. In the period prior to 1939, there was about the following number
a. Sheep, approximately 8,739,000;
b. Horses, approximately 482,000;
c. Mules, approximately 27,000;
d. Asses, approximately 185,300;
e. Goats, approximately 1,260,650;
f. Buffalo, approximately 4148,200;
g. Cattle, approximately 1,817,400; and
h. Pigs, approximately 1,002,100.
of a g'
8. The existence of an extensive aviculture made possible the exportation of many
eggs. Apiculture was intense as far as hives were concerned, but the production
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of honey and wax was inadequate. In the southern part of the country
Svilengrad, Asenovgrad, Momchilgrad, and Stara Zagora), silk worms wee cultivated
very intensively (approximately 2,000,000 kilograms of cocoons).
Communist Period
Agriculture
9. Immediately after coming into power (9 September 1944),p the communist Party gave
particular attention to the collectivization of land, bringing in a system
analagous to that of the Soviet Union. The various phases in the legislative
field which characterized the work of Sovietization of agricultural activity may
be listed chronologically as follows.-
a. 19J4. - the issuing of an order relative to the expropriation of land holdings
greater than 30 hectares;
b. 1945 - the promulgation of the law for the formation of agricultural co-
operatives;
c. September 1947 - the fixing of norms for the operation of the agricultural
collective organizations by means of a decree of the Council of Ministers and
the Central Committee of the Communist Party;
d. 1948 - the partial modification of the norms regarding the organization, pro-
duction, and payment of labor through Order No. 138 of the Council of Mini-
sters and the Central Committee of the Communist Party; and
e. 1951 - the decree on norms for the development of the agricultural economy
by order of the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the Commu-
nist Party which provided for the following.-
- creation of forest belts for the protection of the land,
- The increase in irrigation and the building of installations for this
purpose.
The obligation to rotate crops imposed particularly upon the private
farmers..
- The improvement of work methods and the widespread use of fertilizers.
- Careful, selection of seeds.
- Collaboration of material and technical help for the reclamation of the
Dobrudzha through the creation of scientific and research institutes.
- The improvement of communications routes for the marketing of products.
Cooperative Farms and Machine-Tractor Stations
The cooperatives were formed by the merging of small parcels of bordering land
strips, often adding to land bordering State holdings. Peasant brigades of 25
to 60 men and their families, depending on the land area resulting by these re-
organizations, were formed to carry out the work of the farm cooperatively.
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11. Next, the following details and regulations were established:.
a. Work "norms;"
b. The system for paying each worker for the dayts work carried out (payment
in money or in kind, depending on. the product); and
c. The criterion to be followed for the distribution of profits, as follows:
90 percent to be divided among the members as compensation for the work
done and for rent.
10 percent to be left at the disposal of the cooperative for general
management expenses.
12. The profits were established after the following have been subtracted from the
gross total production:
a. The State ahare, which is established annually according to products;
b. The seed quantities are set aside;
13.
c. The Machine-Tractor Station has been paid its due amount; and
d. Feed for the animals has been determined.
Since 19145, the agricultural cooperative has shown a progressive increase solely
because of the firm wish of the government to establish complete collectiviza-
tion. Cooperative membership until :L952 was as follows:
a. In 1948, 296 members;
b. In 1950, 1,600 members;
c. In 1951, approximately 2,000 members; and
d. In 1952, 2,700 members, who controlled 48 percent of the land, half of the
rural population, and two-thirds of the farm production.
1)4. Machine-Tractor Stations were established to start the mechanization of farm
work. At first, because of the limited amount of equipment., the stations were
small in number and absolutely inadequate to meet the needs of the cooperatives.
Then, by means of continuous imports of agricultural machinery from the Soviet
Union and the other Satellites, new stations were created. Their efficiency
remained limited, however., since the USSR sent in used machinery, either dis-
carded material which was to be repaired or which was no longer usable. The
absence of spare parts and the lack of technical knowledge of the mechanical
equipment on the part of the tractor drivers always contributed notably to long
periods of inactivity at the stations.
15. In 1952, there were 117 Machine-Tractor Stations with a total of 8,500 tractors
and 500 reapers. The number of tractors in 1951 was 7,300, and it is planned
that there shall be approximately 12,000 by the end of 1953.
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Government Provisions for the Assistance of Agriculture
16. Governmental provisions for agricultural betterment are as follows-.
a. The establishment of special agricultural schools, for which 900,000,000 leva
(old currency, worth about 1,962,000,000 lire) were appropriated in 1951.
The following theoretical-practical courses are taught in these schoolss
- Agriculture.
- Horticulture and fruit growing.
- Viticulture.
b. The construction of numerous irrigation canals connected with the dams of
the hydroelectric centrals, covering the Dobrudzha and the plains of Sofia,
Stara Zagora, Kazanluk, Plovdiv, and Pazardzhik, and the zones of Popovo,
Nevrokop, and Petrovo.
Production of the Principal Farm Crops
17. Data available as of the end of 1952 concerning the production of agricultural
crops are not sufficient to form an exact and complete picture of present pro-
duction. From the chart which follows, concerning the cultivated area for each
product and the production in quintals cited for the years 1939 and 1952 for
comparison., -'It' pgeaks- that', the cultivated areas have been greatly increased
for tobacco, sunflowers, cotton, beets, and vineyards, while the remaining crops
have not varied greatly. The 1952 production figures which are approximate cal-
culations are marked with an asterisk, and those figures without asterisks re-
present known data-.
1939
1952
Product
Area
Production
Area
Production
(Hectares)
(Quintals
(Hectares)
(Quintals
Wheat
1,260,058
10,776,000
1,260,000
12,000,000
Corn
68L,767
7,897,500
726,000
7,800,000
Rice
7,993
119,165
7,000
118,000
Tobacco
3)4,3311.
1,130,000
62,000
2,034,000
Sunflowers
107,606
806,)480
153,000
1,100,000
Cotton
19,483
92,)400
12,000
190,000
Beets
7,558
1,130,000
18,000
2,300,000
Roses
6,763
81,265
6,200
81,000
Vineyards
93,372
3,884,079
1116,00o
7,000,000
18. The cultivation of roses and strawberries merits particular mention. Rose culture
is particularly widespread in the areas of Kazanluk and Karlovo (the Tundzha
valley). The roses are used for the production of rose oil. Rose oil-(annual
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production 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms) was h ,very impgrtant export ?ate . until the
lower-priced synthetic products won out in competition with it.
19. Strawberry raising is typical of the Plovdiv region where entire villages special-
ize in the cultivation of the fruit. A small part of the annual product (varying
between 3,000,000 and 4x000,000 quintals) is destined for national and export con-
sumption as fresh fruit, and the remainder is sent to the marmalade factories.
20. The Bulgarian governmental organizations have devoted considerable attention to
the livestock problem. However, due to the insistence bg the Soviet Union for the
industrialization of Bulgaria, the government has been unable to devote a greater
effort to its aim of improving the livestock situation. Several government
measures aimed at increasing the number of farm animals were passed. Among these
were the following-.
a. The creation of schools for teaching theory and practice of animal hus-
bandry; and
b. Experimental stations for breeding cattle were established, there were 9,311
of these as of the end of 1952, divided as follows.-
- 2,294 for cattle.
- 1,504 for horses.
- 2,582 for sheep.
- 1,326 for pigs.
- 1,605 for barnyard animals.
21. No data are available concerning the livestock census as of 1944 when the Commu-
nists came into power. However, comparison between 1936 and 1952 shows that the
total number of livestock has still not reached the 1939 level.
22. The following chart shows livestock totals as of 1939, data available on nearly
all categories of livestock as of the end of 1952, and the total increases or
decreases in each category. Because of a lack of accurate data, it is assumed
that the number of mules and asses remains unchanged.
Type of Animal
1939
1952
Increases
Decreases
Sheep
8,739,000
8,784,000
45,000
-m
Horses
482,000
549,000
67,000
Mules
27,000
--
Asses
185,300
--
Cattle
1,817,400
1,711,000
106,400
Buffalo
448,200
311,000
137,200
Goats
1,260,650
1,068,000
--
192,650
Pigs
1,002,100
1,028,000
25,900
TOTALS
137,900
436,250
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23. The development in the agriculture and livestock fields which the Communist Party
and the government had hoped to reach from the time they attained power until the
present has not been such as to bring about an improvement in the condition of the
people. The reasons *by these plans have failed are as follows:
a. The large discontent aroused among the farmers following the measures taken
for collectivization of the lands and passive resistance on the part of the
individual owners of strips of land;
b. The high quotas imposed on the cooperatives and on the individual producers
by the government, which also brought about a considerable increase in the
prices on the black market;
c. The effort made toward industria zing,a'tl ; country which took away a large
amount of manpower from the fields and from the livestock;
d. An increase in the Armed Forces and the Militia which also took a large
number of people; and
e. The failure to achieve the objectives planned concerning irrigation and
canalization works, most of which are still under construction.
2L. In addition to the reasons given above should be added the agreement on the pare
of the State to furnish the Soviet Union with agricultural and food products in
general in exchange for industrial products, all of which brought about an in-
creasing shortage of commodities on the domestic market and discontent among the
people who saw themselves deprived of the necessities of life.
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