Ökolandbau in Bulgarien: Warum wir neue Konzepte für die Entwicklung des Biosektors in postsozialistischen Ländern brauchen – ein Diskussionsbeitrag

Summary

Organic farming in Bulgaria, as in many post-socialist countries, did not develop in a similar pattern as in Western European countries: there was no organic social
movement. Here the support received from external foundations and EU accession initiated a top-down process for organic farming development. Yet, the organic sector
has not developed strongly. We explore why organic farming support in Bulgaria did not foster the development of the organic food and farming sector in the country. Particularly, we argue that that there is a incongruence between the actors setting the agenda for organic farming policy, and those targeted by this policy. We also argue for
the need of reconceptualising organic sector development in post-socialist countries or other countries with a weak civil society and social movement history. Merely transferring the development model(s) of Western European countries does not address the dynamics of the organic sector in those countries.