SWOT analysis for supporting development of the grazing livestock meat production sector in Bulgaria through the GREENANIMO project activities

Milena Panayotova, Jivko Krastanov, Ivan Varlyakov, Todor Stoyanchev and Ivajlo Marinov

Abstract: The grazing livestock meat production sector in Bulgaria has shown considerable development in the last 7-8 years, but is still far from European countries in terms of production efficiency, quantity and quality of production. The goal of this study is to develop the most appropriate strategies to support the development of the grazing livestock meat production sector in Bulgaria through the activities of the GREENANIMO project – knowledge transfer and implementation of innovative practices in order to achieve sustainable production of quality meat while increasing the benefits for farmers. Primary data for the SWOT analysis were obtained by use of a survey of a representative sample of farmers rearing beef cattle, meat sheep and meat goats. A comparative index was used to rank the strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T) for the development of the grazing livestock meat production sector in our country. To calculate the metric assessments of each of the factors, an additional ranking was performed based on the average assessment on the importance of the factor by the respondents in the survey, weighted with an additional expert assessment of the possibility this factor to be influenced by GREENANIMO project activities. Matrices for estimation of the internal (IFE) and external factors (EFE) have been created. The determination of the strategy of the highest importance was made by compiling a SWOT matrix and analyzing the results of four alternative strategies SO, WO, ST and WT. The results of the study show that the (W) and the (T) for the business prevail at almost equal value to the (O). The analysis of the SWOT matrix points at WT and WO strategies, which are the implemented actions leading to minimization of W to limit the T for the sector, as well as to support the realization of O. The appropriate strategies and the activities for their implementation were found, which will be planned in the preparation of the “Action Plan for research and implementation of innovative practices in the grazing livestock meat production sector” within the GREENANIMO project with a view to support the development of the grazing livestock meat production sector in Bulgaria.

Keywords: SWOT analysis, beef cattle, meat sheep, meat goat

Date published: 2021-12-15