Groups representing agricultural producers have announced plans for a demonstration in Sofia to demand the resignation of Agriculture and Food Minister Kiril Vatev. The protest, scheduled for Thursday morning, involves six organizations, including those representing stockbreeders, buffalo breeders, women farmers, and greenhouse growers.

Dimitar Zorov, the head of Bulgaria's National Union of Cattle Breeders, highlighted the agricultural sector's impending collapse, citing the delayed compensation for damages caused by the conflict in Ukraine as a major concern among large-scale farmers.

The Agriculture Minister, in response, asserted that all payments were disbursed as agreed during a previous farmers' protest in September, triggered by the lifting of a ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports. Minister Vatev urged farmers to enhance productivity and criticized the protesters' financial demands.

The protest and march have been authorized by the Interior Ministry, with tensions escalating between farmers and the Ministry over unresolved compensation issues.