The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
implementation in Southwestern planning region (SWPR) in the Republic of Bulgaria (BG). The
analysis showed two opposite tendencies: decreasing of agricultural holdings number and
increasing of utilized agricultural area (UAA) per holding, which is a clear indicator of land
consolidation and UAA concentration in fewer agricultural holdings. Although results indicated
delay in this trend for Blagoevgrad District, this is a prerequisite for an extensive livestock
production which allows the conservation and maintenance of pastures and meadows, hence
improving the provided ecosystem services and supporting biodiversity conservation.
The article will be published in Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science (BJAS) which is a peer-
reviewed, open access, online and print journal, issued bimonthly. The journal has been
published since 1995. It publishes original research papers, review articles and brief reports,
aimed to cover all aspects of agricultural science including Plant Science, Animal Science,
Agricultural Economics, Plant Protection, Soil Science, Ecology, Food Science and Technologies,
Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural Engineering. ISSN 1310-0351 - print; ISSN 2534-983X –
online.