Abstract
One general characteristic of Eastern European countries (EEC) countries is that at the early stage of transition from a central-planned to a market economy the majority of land was returned to the rural population, which resulted in large numbers of relatively small and dispersed land plots. Geographical proximity and the similar institutional model of these countries identify common development constraints: generally small farm sizes, unclear cooperative legislation or inappropriate taxation policies, individualism and general unwillingness by the farmers to collaborate, absence of value chain activities and entrepreneurial spirit. This paper is purposed towards identifying, analyzing and evaluating the causes of economic and social changes in the development of agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria in the past two decades.
Highlights
One general characteristic of Eastern European countries (EEC) is that at the early stage of transition from a central-planned to a market economy the majority of land was returned to the rural population, which resulted in large numbers of relatively small and dispersed land plots
Being part of the planned economy, cooperatives grew in scale to structure the state production and working system (Schilthuis et al, 2000)
Cooperative relationships were imposed, instead of being built as a credible commitment based on the principles of mutualism and social economy
Summary
One general characteristic of Eastern European countries (EEC) is that at the early stage of transition from a central-planned to a market economy the majority of land was returned to the rural population, which resulted in large numbers of relatively small and dispersed land plots. For one year the number of cooperatives operating under CRS increases more than twice, positively influenced by the membership in producer organizations (cooperatives and limited liability company), which led to an adjustment and positive change in production, the pricing process and marketing (Graph 1).
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