Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Farmers protest 300% increase in irrigation water price

Photo: БНР - Шумен

Raspberry and strawberry growers took to protest near the village of Trapishte, Razgrad district, northeastern Bulgaria. For about an hour they blocked the main road Razgrad - Targovishte. The reason for their dissatisfaction is the drastic increase in the price of irrigation water announced by the state-owned company Irrigation Systems
Irrigation water for the 2023 season is more than 300% more expensive. "We don't want free water, we don't want gifts from the state, we want to pay for everything, but within reasonable limits. This is a drastic increase," Bozhidar Petkov, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Raspberry Growers, told BNR. 
He explained that with this increase in the price of water, raspberries and strawberries will become unsellable. A week ago, Deputy Agriculture Minister Todor Dzhikov told BNR that the state would cover the price difference between this year and 2022. According to Petkov, however, the situation remains unchanged.
The state cannot immediately provide funds to compensate fruit and vegetable growers for the drastic increase in the price of irrigation water, as it needs approval from Brussels, Minister Yavor Gechev said.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria's INSAIT Institute announces its new fellows under the Explorer programme

Thank you for choosing to stay in Bulgaria. This was said by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov at the ceremony officially announcing the new class of fellows under the EXPLORER program of the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial..

published on 9/10/25 10:45 AM

Lightning ignites new forest fire in Bulgaria's Rila Mountain

A new large fire has broken out in Rila Mountain , BTA reported, citing the police in the town of Kyustendil. The fire is located at an altitude of about 2,200 m in the area above the Iliina River, in the area where the Rila Monastery is located, but is..

published on 9/10/25 10:27 AM

Bulgaria to receive over 2% of EU funds for rearmament

Bulgaria will receive over 3.2 billion euros from the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, the European Commission announced. The loan programme is worth 150 billion euros and aims to strengthen the EU's ability to make strategic investments in..

published on 9/10/25 8:54 AM