Micro-credit for Urban Agricultural Activities in Bulgaria

Traditionally, agriculture plays a significant role in the Bulgarian economy.
Agricultural employment in Bulgaria is high by European standards (in
1999 it was close to 26%) and has been growing in the last twelve years.
Since 1997, the government has made rapid progress in implementing
wide-ranging reforms in the agricultural and financial sectors, and in the
economy in general. Some agricultural lending programmes have been
introduced, but the funding levels are insufficient to compensate for
modest bank credit. The banks persist in their conservative approach to
lending in general, and to agriculture in particular.