Agriculture Ministry

The head of a state-owned fisheries company has been appointed as chair of Bulgaria's Executive Agency of Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA), officials say.

Bulgaria's Regional Development Ministry will try to contest a deal with state property in Sofia in the courts, its head Minister Lilyana Pavlova has said.

A civil servant working for a state-run veterinary service in the town of Komotini, in northeastern Greece, has been suspended and will face a disciplinary committee for allegedly taking bribes on a regular basis, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday.

The decision, taken by Agriculture Minister Vangelis Apostolou, follows the civil servant's indictment by a local prosecutor.

Vets and civil society organizations warn that finding solutions for Istanbul's ever-increasing number of stray cats and dogs, thought to number around one million, requires long-term planning and strategies. 

Bulgaria will host in parallel the 40th World Congress of Vine and Wine and the 15th General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) next year, the country's Agriculture Ministry has announced.

The decision was taken by a vote of OIV member states at a meeting of the organisation's Executive Committee in Paris on Saturday.

A socialist MP has agreed to have her immunity from criminal prosecution lifted in relation to an ongoing probe, her party reports.

Svetla Bachvarova-Piralkova, from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), is facing up to ten years in prison if indicted and found guilty.

Turkey's inflation rate slowed down more than forecast in February as increases in food prices lost pace, according to Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜ?K) data released on March 3. 

A farmers market is open in Bulgaria's capital Sofia on Sunday, bringing together 50 producers from across the country, officials have said.

Organized with the support of the Agriculture Ministry, it was opened by Deputy Minister Georgi Kostov at a special ceremony on Sunday, 11:00 local time.

Turkish Agriculture Minister Faruk Çelik has said the losses from Russian sanctions on Turkey's agricultural products are estimated to be around $764 million.

Any trade retaliation by Russia over Turkey's downing of a jet flying sorties in Syria would hurt Russian farmers more, Turkish Agriculture Minister Faruk Çelik said on Nov. 27, pointing to import-export figures.

Turkey has not yet received official notification of any embargo by Russia, Çelik also told reporters.