site.btaBulgaria's Agriculture "Going Through Difficult Period"

Bulgaria's agriculture is going through a difficult period, with the 11th Agra, Vinaria and Foodtech exhibitions being a good prerequisite for establishing contacts with agricultural producers, said Agricultural Academy (AA) chair Dr. Stefan Gandev during the opening of the exhibitions at the Plovdiv International Fair Tuesday.

Gandev recalled that the AA was founded in 1961 and has created many varieties that have subsequently entered practice. It is these varieties that have formed the good taste of Bulgarians for quality production, he emphasized.

The academy consists of 25 institutes, four scientific centres and a state enterprise, Gandev noted, adding that the latter has 13 experimental stations. Currently, the AA is working on 201 projects, of which 92 are externally funded, including 57 projects which are funded by the European Union. The academy also publishes five scientific journals, one of which is in English, Gandev pointed out.

"Unfortunately, in recent years we have largely abdicated our relationship with producers," Gandev stated, adding that the AA is aware of this fact and currently the main goal of the academy is to reestablish good contact with them. The AA has therefore created scientific and production councils, which include producers from industry organizations, as well as leading scientists in the given field. Gandev noted that the main idea is to update the thematic plan of the academy, with specific tasks coming from these councils and, more precisely, from the producers themselves.