IMPROVING ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL HOLDINDS AS A FACTOR FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL FINANCING IN BULGARIA

The article analyzes the demand for finance and the supply of financial services. The assessment is that access to finance is a significant difficulty for Bulgarian farmers. Bulgarian farmers value their problems with access to finance at least twice as much as those of average European farmers. The main difficulties experienced by Bulgarian farmers and reflected in the demand for finance are determined by their needs for working capital, modernization of agricultural enterprises, and the purchase of agricultural land. The supply of agricultural loans is growing. The state of lending to the agricultural sector in the period after the country's accession to the European Union in 2007 is studied. In recent years, the supply of credit has increased. The main problems in the credit market are the concentration of the banking sector, the high levels of indebtedness, difficulties related to loan collateral. Lending is closely linked to financial support under CAP schemes. The development of financial support in combination with the improvement of the supply of agricultural finance is an important factor for achieving sustainable financing of agriculture in Bulgaria in the coming years. The need to improve the tools for improving the value chain in agriculture is highlighted.