According to the initial data of a census of farms carried out in Bulgaria, arable lands have increased by 200,000 ha as from the previous census held in 2003, Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Kostov said quoted by the Ministry's press centre on Sunday.

The number of operational farms is declining but this does not refer to the size of usable agricultural area and arable land, which is indicative that small farmers have either leased their land or consolidated their farms, Kostov commented.

Source: BTA