Deputy Minister Yanchev Accelerates Agricultural Subsidy Payments

Compensations for gasoil for 2026 were paid out, according to an exclusive interview given by Yanislav Yanchev to Agri.bg on Thursday.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Foods and the State Fund Agriculture are working to speed up support payments to agricultural holdings. That effort aims to make regular disbursements the standard for the new financial year.

“From the start of the new financial year we are making every effort to ensure regular payments are made to farmers,” Yanchev said to Agri.bg. “We have set ourselves a very ambitious task. This is also evident from the indicative schedule.”

Advance payments under the coupled support for fruits and vegetables took place during the week of November 12, 2026. State Fund Agriculture was expected to authorize funds for transitional national aid for ewe and nanny goat mothers, known as PNDJ3, on November 12, 2026. The next scheduled transfers target coupled support for animals.

“I hope that at the beginning of December the payment for the ten interventions will be made,” Yanchev told Agri.bg. Basic income support for sustainability, representing 90% of the expected amount, is also scheduled for December alongside funds from the second pillar for organic plant and animal growing, agri-environmental payments, Natura 2000, and disadvantaged areas.

The ministry urged farmers not to wait until the final days of the current intake periods. Processing applications for roughly 40,000 agricultural holdings through regional agriculture offices or the electronic system of State Fund Agriculture creates bottlenecks when rushed.

“Our main focus is the intakes, which we must make as tight as possible,” Yanchev told Agri.bg.

“That is why I urge agricultural producers not to wait for the final deadline. This is really important, because some 40,000 agricultural producers have to go either through the regional agriculture offices or through the electronic system of the State Fund Agriculture. If we leave it for the last days, it will play a bad trick on us.”

Addressing the risk of losing about 200 million euros under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Yanchev expressed hope that accumulated delays will be overcome through active participation from municipalities and farmers submitting project proposals.

“What I see, including with the intakes that are currently being implemented, makes me think that we will manage to make up for the delay, because the process is two-sided,” Yanchev told Agri.bg.