The Agricultural Investment Fund "Ceres', one of the biggest investors in agricultural lands in Bulgaria has invested BGN 2 M in farming machinery in 2008b and plans to invest at least this amount in 2009, according to the company's pres release Tuesday.

The Investment Fund has the goal to accelerate its farming business, which is located mainly in Northern Bulgaria.

The Fund had purchased four powerful tractors, two 600 and 510 horsepower "Caterpillar Challengers" and two 450 and 541 horsepower "Quadtracs", The new acquisitions bring the company closer to the maximum effective farm production by one of the most important agricultural indexes - the level of mechanization of the farm production.

The new powerful tractors would reduce manual labor and accelerate production while providing the tractors' operators with the best possible working conditions.

The Caterpillar Challenger MT875B holds the world cultivation record - 644 hectares in 24 hours, while Case Quadtrac STX450 and Quadtrac STX535 are the top products of CNH Case New Holland - a leading manufacturer of farm equipment.

The "Ceres" Fund has been created in 2006 and its owned by foreign joint stock companies from the US and Western Europe while 30% of the fund's capital belongs to finance institutions such as Raiffeisen Centrobank, Firebird Management, two funds of the biggest grain traders in the world - Black River Asset Management and Mezzanine Management and to former investment bankers from institutions such as Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.