ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
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.
Radio Bulgaria News    irrigation water protest Raspberry and strawberry growers Razgrad

More from category

Amendments to the draft budget hint at state's readiness to buy Lukoil assets

Two billion euros in additional state guarantees and a concession of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator are part of changes to the draft budget for 2026, submitted between the first and second readings. The change that increases the..

published on 11/25/25 4:47 PM

More than 86% of people say that wage growth in 2025 is not sufficient

The increase in the minimum wage is supported by 54.1% of Bulgarians. 1/3 of respondents believe that the minimum wage should be equal to the living wage. This is indicated by the results of a representative survey by the Myara..

published on 11/25/25 1:19 PM

President Rumen Radev: Peace in Ukraine will be written by the victors

“We see a rational plan for a quick peace from President Donald Trump, according to which the situation on the battlefield is developing extremely unfavorably for Ukraine, and he is trying to prevent a worse scenario and additional casualties,”..

published on 11/25/25 11:14 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Partly Cloudy
Min: -3 | Max: 6
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 6
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 5
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 5
Partly Cloudy
Min: -6 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 5
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 5
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -2 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: -5 | Max: 8
Partly Cloudy
Min: -5 | Max: 6
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 6
Partly Cloudy
Min: -4 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 8
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -4 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 5
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 9
Partly Cloudy
Min: -3 | Max: 2
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 4
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 6
Partly Cloudy
Min: -8 | Max: 9
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -2 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: -4 | Max: 7
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 3
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 8
Mostly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 4
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 7
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"