Agricultural Producer's Protection Act 1995.

This Act aims at the creation and maintenance of favourable economic conditions for the sustainable development of competitive farms, to ensure the national food balance through the regulation of the production and trade in processed and unprocessed agricultural products. It does so through a system of subsidies, prices, loans, taxes, customs duties, fees, standards and others. The State shall promote the enhancement of labour productivity in agriculture and the modernization of farms, the maintenance of income of persons engaged permanently in agriculture, the zoning of crops and livestock, the protection and improvement of soil fertility and of the genetic resources of crops and breeding animals, as well as the domestic market and the expansion of foreign markets of Bulgarian processed and unprocessed agricultural products. The Council of Ministers shall propose a national agricultural development strategy and, on the basis of that strategy, approve an annual agricultural development programme. The Council shall also determine annually protected purchase prices or annual forecast prices of staple agricultural products. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries shall establish and maintain an information system regarding the production and the markets of agricultural products as well as the income of agricultural producers at national and regional levels. It shall establish regional agricultural services to assist agricultural producers in the preparation of their projects for funding and to cooperate with regional organizations of agricultural producers. Chapter II of this Act establishes the State Agricultural Fund. The Fund shall spend its resources in accordance with the objectives of this Act and state agricultural policy. The income of agricultural producers shall be exempted from income tax for a period of five years after the entry into force of this Act.