The problem of determining the level of competitiveness of various economic organizations is among the most topical academic and practical issues. However, there is no widely accepted and comprehensive framework for understanding and assessing the competitiveness of farming enterprises in different market, economic, institutional and natural environments. This presentation suggests and applies a holistic approach for assessing the competitiveness of Bulgarian farms as a whole and different specializations. This novel framework includes appropriate criteria, indicators and reference values for the four pillars of farm competitiveness – Economics efficiency, Financial endowment, Adaptability and Sustainability. The multi-criteria assessment of farm competitiveness in Bulgaria has found that the level of competitiveness of farms is at a good level, with low adaptive potential and economic efficiency, to the greatest extent contributing to lower competitiveness. More than a third of all farms in the country has a low level of competitiveness. The most competitive are the farms in the beekeeping, followed by field crops, mixed livestock and crop productions, and the lowest in grazing livestock. The proposed approach should be improved and applied more widely and periodically, increasing accuracy and representativeness.

In an effort to fill the existing gap regarding the definition of the competitiveness of agricultural holdings and the ways to measure it, the present research applies a holistic approach in the assessment of the competitiveness of agricultural holdings in Bulgaria as a whole, as well as in terms of their different specialization. Despite its importance and the continuing debates on the topic, there is still no consensus on what the competitiveness of farms is; how to measure the competitiveness of different organizations in agriculture; what the absolute and comparative competitiveness of different types of farms is; which are the critical factors for increasing the competitiveness at the current stage of development, etc. The multi-criteria assessment found that although the level of competitiveness of Bulgarian farms is overall good, more than a third of all farms in the country show a low level of competitiveness. This can largely be attributed to their low adaptive potential and economic efficiency. The most competitive farms are those specializing in the beekeeping sector, followed by field crops, mixed livestock and mixed crop production, while farms specializing in grazing livestock are the least competitive. The proposed approach should be improved and applied more widely and periodically, increasing its accuracy and representativeness. The latter requires close cooperation with producer organizations, the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS) and other stakeholders, as well as improvements to the agricultural information collection system in the country.

The problem of determining the competitiveness of various economic organizations is among the most topical academic and practical issues from the emergence of economics science to the present day. It is particularly important for the agricultural sector, which is characterized by many participants, high specialization and exchange, strong competition at local, national and international level, highly integrated food and supply chains, market segmentation, unequal public support, strong state regulation, processing and trade and professional organizations, strong consumer pressure for quality, eco-behavior, etc., presence of underdeveloped and non-competitive "markets", etc. Nevertheless, despite its importance and continouing debates, there is still no consensus on what is the competitiveness of farms, how to measure the competitiveness of different organizations in agriculture, what is the absolute and comparative competitiveness of different types of farms, which are the critical factors for increasing the competitiveness at the current stage of development, etc. This paper tries to fill the existing gap by applying a holistic approach and assessing the competitiveness of Bulgarian farms as a whole and with different specializations. The multi-criteria assessment found that the level of competitiveness of farms in the country is at a good level, with low adaptive potential and economic efficiency to the greatest extent contributing to lower competitiveness. More than a third of all agricultural holdings have a low level of competitiveness. The most competitive are the farms specialised in the beekeeping, followed by field crops, mixed animal husbandry and mixed crops production, and the lowest for farms in grazing livestock. Most significant factors for increasing the competitiveness of Bulgarian farms are market conditions (supply and demand, prices, competition), direct government subsidies, access to knowledge, advice and counseling, participation in government support programs, available information , financial opportunities, and opportunities for benefits in the near future. Proposed approach should be improved and applied more widely and periodically, increasing accuracy and representativeness. The latter requires close cooperation with producer organizations, advisory service and other stakeholders, and improvement of the agricultural information collection system in the country.