Evaluation of the Correlation Between the Organic Food Sector and Rural Development in Bulgaria: Case Study

Nikolay Tsonkov (), Petar Borisov and Krasimira Slaveva
Additional contact information
Nikolay Tsonkov: Regional Development Department, Management and Administration Faculty, University of National and World Economy, 1700 Sofia, Bulgaria
Petar Borisov: Department of Management and Marketing, Economics Faculty, Agrarian University—Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Krasimira Slaveva: Department of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Accounting, Tsenov Academy of Economics, 5250 Svishtov, Bulgaria

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-31

Abstract: The statistics indicate a significant growth in the global organic food industry. This growth impacts rural economies, employment, and the rural landscape, affecting the structure, services, and amenities available to the rural population. Most of the Bulgarian municipalities have rural characteristics. The primary objective of this study is to analyze and assess the impact of organic farming on rural development and to formulate recommendations for fostering a stronger relationship between organic agriculture and rural regions in Bulgaria. Due to the complexity and comprehensiveness of this study’s primary objective, the authors employ a combination of three methods: statistical analysis (correlation, regression, and chi-squared), a survey focused on consumer attitudes towards organic products, and a SWOT analysis. There is a strong correlation between the expansion of organic production, the demand for such products, and the rural regions’ development. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.678044) has been demonstrated between the number of enterprises and the number of people employed in rural regions. The frequency of purchasing organic products is increasing, with 28% of consumers using these products in 2014 and over 45% expected to do so in 2024. Based on the SWOT analysis, the authors outline key recommendations in four areas in the context of strategic rural policy: stimulating demand, stimulating supply, stimulating and expanding production, and improving the legislative framework.

Keywords: organic food sector; rural regions; Bulgaria; regional development; organic food market; organic food consumers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9546/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9546/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9546-:d:1780671

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().