Bulgaria
Summary
Traditionally, agriculture belongs to the most important sectors in Bulgaria. At the beginning of the 1990s, reforms drastically changed the conditions for agriculture. Big farms were mainly closed or converted in smaller privately-led farms. Production considerably suffered from this. The share of agriculture to the GDP significantly decreased (2002: 12,1 %; 2007: 6,2 %). Also, the employment declined. Compared to Poland the swine production is rather low (2008: less than one million) but is significantly lower than it was before 1990.
The training system confers to the EU regulations. The public training institution works out the basic principles and is also responsible for the training for animal husbandry. The training takes three to four years and is divided in three degrees. The first degree refers to an assistant of the animal breeder, the second degree refers to the animal breeder and the third degree is an animal breeder with the specialization on one species. Beyond that, there is the possibility to absolve university with a degree as technician or engineer.
But mostly, unqualified employees work in the pig breeding sector. Additionally, there are small incentives for workers to work in this sector as the swine production is decreasing and the use of technology increasing. At the same time the farms lack qualified managers.
