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Sustainable Development Strategies for Rhodops Agriculture in Bulgaria

Explore innovative solutions for agriculture in Bulgarian rural areas, focusing on the Rhodops region. Address current challenges such as small farms, pest control issues, and reduced nutritional value in agricultural products. Discover measures for sustainable development in agriculture, food industry, tourism, and SMEs. Enhance viability through alternative crop production, livestock breeding, and promoting high-tech and innovative production. Emphasize the importance of developing tourism, SMEs, and a holistic view of rural region development.

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Sustainable Development Strategies for Rhodops Agriculture in Bulgaria

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  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. Agriculture Food industry Tourism SMEs Rhodops region – main industries for sustainable development

  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 -> 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 R&D 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 R&I 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 …

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