Two schemes will share €170m in aid for farmers hit by higher fuel and fertiliser prices, agriculture and food minister Plamen Abrovski announced in the village of Golyamo Dryanovo.

About €100m will go first to compensate for the big gap in fuel prices. Abrovski expects about 14,000 applicants. The ministry says 14,861 Bulgarian farmers will get support under this scheme because diesel has become more expensive.

The rest of the €170m is for nearly 41,000 farms hit by dearer fertilisers. All farms can apply under the second scheme, the minister said. No single recipient can be paid more than €50,000 because EU rules do not allow it, the ministry said in a statement to BTA in mid-September.

The European Commission has approved the aid, known as the "Iran aid", as state aid for farmers in Bulgaria. It follows the crisis in the Middle East, which pushed up the price of fuel and fertilisers. The State Fund Agriculture published an indicative timetable a few days ago. It says payments will be made by the end of 2026.

Abrovski is a special guest at the 11th National Walnut Festival in Golyamo Dryanovo, in Kazanlak municipality. He spoke after the opening.

The minister told BTA: "The festival in Golyamo Dryanovo is a unique festival." He first visited three years ago and was impressed by what the organisers had built.

Growers in the nut sector get only basic area-based support and no other subsidies, but they are the most market-oriented and the most successful, Abrovski believes.

At the opening he said: "We have living villages, living rural areas, producers and craftsmen."