Ferhat calls for urgent solution to land registry problems facing Rhodope farmers

Rhodope MP Özgür Ferhat has called for an immediate solution to serious land registry problems affecting farmers in the Regional Unit of Rhodope, warning that administrative and cadastral issues could prevent producers from receiving agricultural subsidies and participating in multi-year support programs.

Ferhat submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministers of Rural Development and Food, Digital Governance, and National Economy and Finance, highlighting the difficulties created by the new framework for submitting Single Aid Applications (OSDE).

Under the new system, farmers are required to provide a Cadastral Property Identification Number (KAΕΚ) in areas where the National Cadastre is operational, while agricultural plots must also be digitally mapped.

Farmers face problems over “unknown owner” and public land classifications
According to Ferhat, thousands of agricultural plots in Rhodope have been cultivated for many years but appear in the Cadastre as “Public” or “Unknown Owner.”

In other cases, new property deeds issued following the death of previous owners have not yet been registered in the Cadastre’s information system.

Ferhat argues that farmers should not bear the financial costs or consequences of administrative problems beyond their control. In cases involving land listed as “Unknown Owner,” producers may be forced into costly legal procedures involving lawyers, surveyors and other professionals.

Particular concern has also been raised over delays in implementing a government-announced regulation concerning public land. The issue has become more urgent as the process for submitting OSDE applications is already underway.

Risk to long-term agricultural programs
Farmers participating in organic farming, nitrate reduction and other multi-year agri-environmental programs could also face serious consequences.

Plots that have been genuinely cultivated and properly declared through OSDE for years may appear in the Cadastre as undeclared, “Unknown Owner” or public property. This could potentially lead to requests for the repayment of subsidies received in previous years, even when farmers have continuously cultivated the land and fulfilled their obligations under the relevant programs.

The situation is also creating difficulties for Centers for the Reception of Declarations (KYD). Where agricultural plots are not registered in the Cadastre but are actively cultivated and declared through OSDE, declaration centers could face sanctions.

Ferhat calls for safeguards and a second opportunity
Ferhat argues that farmers who possess property deeds, concession documents and previous years’ OSDE declarations demonstrating continuous cultivation should not be excluded from agricultural subsidies because of unresolved cadastral issues.

He is calling on the government to:

• Immediately resolve cases involving plots classified as “Unknown Owner.”
• Implement without further delay the regulation concerning plots classified as “Public.”
• Provide farmers with an effective second opportunity to declare or correct their property rights in the Cadastre.
• Accept supporting evidence including property deeds, concession documents and previous OSDE declarations.
• Protect farmers from retroactive repayment demands arising from cadastral problems for which they are not responsible.
• Protect KYD declaration centers from sanctions resulting from unresolved cadastral issues.
• Establish an effective mechanism linking the National Cadastre, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and OSDE.

“Farmers in Rhodope cannot be made to pay for the state’s mistakes, delays and unresolved issues,” Ferhat said, stressing that a producer who has cultivated land for decades and can demonstrate actual use should not risk losing agricultural support simply because the Cadastre has not completed or corrected a registration.

He called for a practical and workable solution before cadastral problems create additional financial burdens for farmers or contribute to the abandonment of agricultural production.

Ferhat’s intervention comes as farmers face growing pressure to ensure that their land records comply with the requirements of the agricultural support system, with unresolved cadastral issues potentially affecting both current and long-term funding.