Farmers from all over Bulgaria are staging a nation-wide protest Monday with over 3 000 farming machines heading to cross-border checkpoints and main thoroughfares.

It is expected that this will become the largest protest of farmers so far.

The organizers told Darik radio that they will not block the borders and the roads during the first day of their termless strike, but threatened to do so if their demands are not fulfilled. They say they are ready to come and paralyze the capital Sofia on December 1.

Each year farmers receive EU subsidy, which is determined by the size of their land. The amount slated for 2012 is over BGN 830 M. There are also BGN 110 M in the State budget for grain producers, BGN 71 M for animal keepers and BGN 73 M for tobacco growers.

Grain producers, however, demand another BGN 230 M in the national treasury. The discontent escalated after the passing in the Parliament, at first reading, the draft 2012 budget, where the amount was lower than what was promised by these BGN 230 M. A month before the October 23 local and presidential elections, the cabinet and the farming associations signed a financial frame, which included BGN 570 M for the farming sector.

The farmers accuse Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, of suffering from amnesia and discarding his own signature.

The Chair of the National Association of Grain Producers, Radoslav Hristov, says the protest is not political, and farmers are simply protecting their interests.

"I firmly declare that we want dialogue; we want principles and rights in this country. Signed documents must be adhered to. What stirred the outrage among farmers is precisely the refusal to obey the rules and the financial frame of the budget for 2012 for payments from 2010 and 2011," he says.

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