ABSTRACT
One of the few nations to re-elect the Communist Party (re-named the Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP) in its first free elections, Bulgaria lags behind other East European nations in the pace of liberalisation and its attendant economic restructuring (Wyzan 1993). By early 1994, only one major state firm had been privatised by the National Privatisation Agency and a number of laws essential to the functioning of a market economy remained to be passed. At the same time, many elements of the reform programme which have been implemented, such as attempts to rapidly restructure trading relations and forcibly decentralise production have also worked against agricultural recovery. Bulgarian economic reforms have apparently gone both ‘too fast’ and ‘too slowly’ for the agricultural sector, squeezing productivity and economic viability from both sides. Yet, despite extremely difficult conditions, those dependent on the agricultural sector for survival have created a variety of local solutions to their problems and have continued producing. This has prevented even greater declines in agriculture. With some improvements in the policy environment, these diverse local initiatives may even provide the basis for a viable agricultural sector.
