Innovative agriculture in the context of Bulgarian rural areas Rhodops area

1
Innovative agriculture in the context of
Bulgarian rural areas (Rhodops area)

• Prof. Atanas Atanassov
• AgroBioInstitute

2
Bulgarian agriculture current problems

• Bulgarian agriculture consists almost exclusively
  of small farms
• Decrease in the pest disease control due to
  the difficult economical situation Bulgarian
  farmers do not use (modern) herbicides and
  pesticides- yield decrease
• Global Warming Effect hotter summers and more
  severe winters decrease in the annual rainfalls
  - yield decrease
• Agricultural products with decreased/
  questionable/ uncontrolled nutritional value

3
Rodops region model for a rural region in
Bulgaria
4
Rhodops region short CV

• Relatively densely populated area
• High unemployment level
• Mountainous municipalities and uphill regions
• Small-sized plots of arable land, low-fertility
  land
• Traditional crops potato, tobacco hard market
  realization
• New tendencies organic farming, mushrooms, herbs
• Subsistence livestock breeding
• Pastures and meadows not maintained properly

5
Rhodops region main industries for sustainable
development

• Tourism
• SMEs

• Agriculture
• Food industry

6
Rhodops measures for development of agriculture

• Alternative crops production
• High market demands, lower initial costs herbs,
  essential oils crops, fruit species, technical
  crops (flax -gt biofuels!), ray
• Alternative livestock breeding
• Buffalos, goats, rabbits
• Organizing commodity agricultural production
• Healthy food stuffs, gourmet products, high
  quality and environmentally friendly production
• Clusters of producers, processors, scientists
  (optimization of cultivars, breeds and
  technologies) and financial structures
• Training and demonstration sites

7
Rhodops measures for development of food industry

• Enhancing the viability of SMEs
• Finalization of privatization
• Favorable business environment
• Cooperation processors producers Bulgarian
  European industry
• Encouraging high technology and innovative
  production
• linking science business state authorities in
  high-tech areas
• Improving legal fiscal environment
• Encouraging export orientation
• Standardization harmonization with EU

8
Rhodops measures for development of tourism

• Tourist product development
• Enlarging product variety rural, eco (national
  parks), adventure, cultural (history, folklore),
  balneology, etc.
• Marketing and promotion strategies
• Human resources development and training
• Improving quality variety of services
• Promoting greater awareness among local people
• Information management and Institutional
  development
• information to support all tourist activities
• Organizational framework to link all stakeholders
  locally, nationally, internationally

9
Rhodops measures for development of SMEs

• Encouraging start-up and SMEs development
• In agriculture, food production, tourism,
  services for community
• Strengthening national network of support
  organizations regional agencies for economic
  development business centers
• legislative administrative simplifications
• information, consultation and education
  activities
• facilitation access to financial sources

10
Development of rural regions need of holistic
view

• - agriculture, food production, tourism
• - diversification of value created by
  agricultural activities

11
Foresight tool for getting a holistic view

• Gathering and mobilizing stakeholders
• Definition of goals and terms (e.g.what is
  sustainable development for certain region)
• Accumulating of knowledge on the issue
• Approaching consensus among actors
• Building awareness and commitment among the
  stakeholders and the society
• Engagement of political actors (regionally,
  nationally)

12
Agro-related research innovation for rural
regions

• New quality of RD activities demand-driven,
  tailor-made for the rural regions
• High-tech parks
• Genomic center
• New types of links between science and other
  stakeholders consortia, clusters, information
  bridges
• New innovation culture
• Entrepreneurial (scientists)
• Knowledge-based (society)

13
Ideas and visions

• Trans-national foresight (in general)
• To identify priorities, to gather stakeholders
• To build strategies, networks
• and concrete
• How agro-related RI contributes to sustainable
  development of rural areas (nationally,
  trans-nationally)
• Transnational links of rural areas on what
  base innovations, exchange of best practices,
  common strategies
• Other ideas