Holistic assessment of competitiveness of Bulgarian farming enterprises

Abstract

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.

Scenarios for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Bulgaria Until 2027

“…After Bulgaria's integration into the European Union in 2007, restructuring processes in agriculture continue to this day (Bachev and Koteva, 2021;Doitchinova, 2019;Doitchinova et al, 2018, Doitchinova andStoyanova, 2023;Kopeva et al, 2012Kopeva et al, , 2021Popov, 2019). Despite measures to support farmers' incomes under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU, the number of agricultural cooperatives is decreasing.…”

A Comprehensive Study on the Competitiveness of Governing Structures of Bulgarian Farming

“…In recent years, a novel comprehensive approach for understanding and assessing the competitiveness of governance structures of farming activity was suggested, operationalized, experimented and gradually improved Bachev and Koteva, 2021). In addition to the production and the financial efficiency, that new holistic framework takes into account the governance aspects of farms' ("competitive") potential to compete in a certain market, institutional and natural environment.…”

“…Both current and long-term governance efficiency are included though assessment of farm' adaptability and sustainability. That new approach has been already applied for the assessment of competitiveness levels of Bulgarian farms in general and farms with different product specialization using macro (agro-statistical) and micro (survey) economic data (Bachev and Koteva, 2021;.…”

Comparative and Absolute Competitiveness of Governing Structures in Bulgarian Farming

“…In recent years, a novel comprehensive approach for understanding and assessing the competitiveness of governance structures of farming activity was suggested, operationalized, experimented and gradually improved [20,28]. In addition to the production and the financial efficiency, that new holistic framework takes into account the governance aspects of farms' ("competitive") potential to compete in a certain market, institutional and natural environment.…”

“…Both current and long-term governance efficiency are included though assessment of farm' adaptability and sustainability. That new approach has been already applied for the assessment of competitiveness levels of Bulgarian farms in general and farms with different product specialization using macro (agro-statistical) and micro (survey) economic data [28][29].…”