Bulgaria's State Fund Agriculture will pay out up to 1.8 million euros in "de minimis" aid to small ruminant farmers in zones hit by sheep and goat pox restrictions. The fund's board made the decision, and the money, set aside for 2026, will cover part of the cost of feeding the animals.

Farmers will get up to 8 euros for each live animal. Under "de minimis" rules, no farmer can receive more than 50,000 euros over three years.

The payments go to livestock breeders registered under Ordinance No. 3 of 1999, if their farm sits in a town or village where the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency has imposed restrictions. The agency sets up a 5km protection zone around each outbreak and a 15km surveillance zone around it.

Outbreaks were recorded in June, July, August and September 2026 in the regions of Plovdiv, Haskovo, Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Yambol and Sofia. Because the disease spread so widely, the food safety agency culled the animals at the first outbreak sites in a humane way and brought in the restrictions.

The fund will pay out based on data the food safety agency has already sent over on the affected farmers and how many animals they have. The fund says this cuts the paperwork for farmers and gets the money to them faster.

In 2025, under the same scheme, the fund paid out nearly 2.245 million levs — 2,244,480 levs exactly — to 732 farmers.

Staff at the fund and at the agriculture ministry will draw up the rules for handing out the aid, and the agriculture minister will sign them off.