Present-day Central and Eastern European agriculture is characterized by a high incidence of small-scale farmers who are not producing for the market. This is partly the result of land reform procedures practiced in these countries. Post-communist land reforms predominantly restituted land to pre-communist owners, resulting in an extremely fragmented ownership structure (Swinnen, 1999). This ownership structure has been translated into a dual farming structure consisting of still relatively large-scale corporate and cooperative farms on the one hand, and small-scale family farms on the other hand. Market-based middle-sized farms are rare (Sarris et al., 1999). Subsistence farming implies producing enough food and fibre for the needs of the farmer and its family (Spedding, 1979). Subsistence farming in Bulgaria is not necessarily a product of the ongoing transition reform processes, as it has its traditional roots. Thus, we cannot go into its core neglecting the past. The late start of the country’s development (after 1880) brought into the scene a large number of land owners possessing small plots that were too small or just enough to produce sufficient food to sustain the large-sized households that characterized Bulgaria. Different types of production organizations existed, mainly based on cultivation of small, dispersed plots for self-sufficiency. Sharecropping was widespread. Subsistence farming was sustained due to a low level of education respectively low managerial level, lack of capital, lack of off-farm opportunities, legislative framework, large-sized families and the hard times for living. Some attempts for overcoming the problem and shifting agricultural production from subsistence to market-based were done in the beginning of the 1920’s when the first cooperatives emerged. They allowed farmers to apply new techniques, new ways of production and mechanization, thus overcoming the subsistence level and entering into the market. Another way for changing the social status of subsistence farmers was through land renting. This was a step that allowed them to earn returns from their investment of labor and efforts.  As a result, the share of farms smaller than 1 ha decreased from 32% in 1897 to 12% in 1926 and 14% in 1934. Communist leadership enforced agricultural collectivization, such that large-scale farm enterprises replaced the existing patterns and drastically changed the situation in the sector. The small subsistence farms vanished and production co-operatives appeared instead. The only feature of subsistence farming that remained were the rural and urban households with household plots, where different products were grown, mostly fruits and vegetables. But the cultivation of household plots is something traditional for the Bulgarian society. In the past, the household plot was a sign of wealth. Now, because of the economic changes, it is used as additional source for food or income. Nevertheless, subsistence farming appears to be not a transition phenomenon and will not disappear in the near future.