BAALO donates personal protective equipment and disinfectants to the employees of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

The Bulgarian Association of Agricultural Land Owners donated personal protective equipment and disinfectants to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry on 7 May 2020. They were personally given by the President of the Association Mr Stayko Staykov to Mr Nikolay Marinov, Director of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Regional Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture in Bulgaria. The assistance is intended for the employees of the Regional Agriculture Departments who work actively on the frontline. The donation is worth BGN 14 423.43. and includes: 1000 l. denatured ethyl alcohol (96%), 6 000 pieces of protective face masks (three-layer and double-layered) and 24 000 disposable gloves.

“Protective equipment is important for everyone and we will obviously continue to use it for a long time to come. In the sector, there are a lot of ongoing initiatives and many activities which are performed in collaboration with the institutions, including the civil servants working at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry”, said the President of the Association Mr Stayko Staykov. He clarified that half of the donated masks were made by Mara Dencheva Labor Manufacturing Cooperative in Pleven, employing only disadvantaged people. “In this way, we gave this company the opportunity to keep their work going and thus pay salaries, regardless of the many cancelled orders,” added Stayko Staykov.

“In difficult times of a global pandemic, we must all be responsible. I would like to express a special thank you on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to BAALO, for finding us and giving us protective equipment”, said Mr Nikolay Marinov, Director of the General Directorate “Agriculture and Regional Policy” at the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Policy. “The Ministry has also provided protective equipment to its employees, but of course, there is always the need for more. The application process for assistance according to direct area payments based on the amount of agricultural land owned is now ongoing, with 1,300 people of our staff working on the frontline each year with over 100,000 farmers. BAALO is the first and only association to make such a gesture. The donation will be delivered the Association’s own means of transport to all the 28 regional agriculture offices, for which we would like to thank once again”, added Nikolay Marinov.

This is the second donation that BAALO makes as part of the association’s “Together Against Covid- 19” campaign. At the end of April this year, the Association donated the amount of BGN 5,000 to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to support a “Project for scientific research related to the fight against Covid-19 and other infectious diseases”. The amount collected is provided by the members of the Association, who continue to raise funds to support other institutions and organizations.