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The development of rural regions and rural disparities are the main issues in the European Union regional policy. The topic continues to be an object of serious discussion among policymakers and scientist. Agriculture plays an important role in rural areas and contributes to generating employment and income. In the past decades, the CAP is reforming and changing to address the challenges in the EU rural regions. The aim of the study is based on the socio-economic analysis of the rural regions in Bulgaria to formulate opportunities for more balanced and sustainable development. The paper observes possibilities and prospects for the rural areas in Bulgaria in the context of the CAP post-2020. The study reveals that depopulation and marginalization of rural regions remain major issues in Bulgaria. Therefore, the implementation of the territorial and local model should dominate in Pillar II for the 2014-2020 programming period. These approaches could stimulate transformations and transition to sustainable regional development. In order to maximize the potential of the Pillar II funding, the national regional policy also should be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural development policy in Bulgaria is aimed at achieving sustainable development of the economic sectors, as the rural area is a place for development not only for agricultural activities, but also it offers good prospects for economic development on a regional scale, through adequate business support, job creation and tourism development. Therefore, the interconnection and interdependence between the two economic sectors is especially important to find opportunities for the development of alternative tourism with the formation of unique tourism products and the application of environmentally-friendly agricultural practices in order to achieve higher living standards and economic benefits for local communities. The problem is that the current pandemic conditions of last year and this year impose a number of restrictions to a greater or lesser extent on each of the economic sectors. The aim of our research is related to the study of interconnection and interdependence of key economic sectors -- agriculture and tourism in crisis conditions. The research methods used in the study include: basic scientific research methods, questionnaire survey, summary and synthesis, logical method, tabular and graphical presentation of characteristics and trends. The results of the research can be systematized in several directions: analysis of the connections and interdependence of the sectors through the opportunities for creation of unique tourist products and through diversification of the activities in the rural areas. In conclusion, the pandemic inevitably affects the economic sectors, with greater constraints on the tourism business, where the preferences of potential tourists are focused on domestic alternative tourism. In the construction of unique and specific tourist products in rural areas, the relationship agriculture -- tourism is strongly emphasized in terms of requirements for clean and healthy foods, incl. organic food or the purchase of local food products from the region. The diversification of activities in rural areas through the development of tourism provides an opportunity for the development of entrepreneurial initiatives. The strong connection and interdependence between the economic subjects in the indicated economic branches of key importance is fully manifested in a good combination of the interests of all participants concerned in the process of development of the specific territory/region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of social farming has gained wide popularity in Bulgaria over the last decade. A number of authors emphasize the importance of this concept for social inclusion and economic empowerment of vulnerable groups of society. Social farming contributes to increasing the level of social capital of the representatives of these groups, provides employment and allows them to become independent economic units. The aim of the study is to show the potential of social farming for achieving sustainable results in the rural areas of Bulgaria, based on the analysis of a network of organizations implementing an integrated model for small business support among disadvantaged families. The study applies social network analysis and case study methods. The results confirm the importance of the concept in addressing major rural problems. Some challenges for social farming have been outlined. Conclusions and recommendations have been made on policies in the area concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]