The focus-group discussion in Bulgaria was held on May 13, 2021 in Dobrich, Bulgaria, organized by the Association "Dobrudzha Agricultural and Business School“- the leading partner in the AGREEN project. This was the first public national event for the project and it was attended by 30 participants among which local farmers, entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector and their branch organizations; representatives of local public institutions, researchers, NGOs and other interested groups.

During the event, the developed by the researchers feasibility study of the state of art and potential of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for Bulgaria was presented and discussed with the stakeholders. The report was aimed at emphasizing the potential problems that could occur if the restructuring and modernization of the agricultural sector goes in that direction and determine how, after all significant factors are considered, this development should be pursued. The country-specific conditions of the operation of sustainable agriculture in the Bulgaria, potential obstacles, competition and the funding needed to get the business up and running were also highlighted. The identified during the study climate-smart agricultural practices from the regions of North-East and South East of Bulgaria drew the participating in the workshop practitioners’ and general public’s attention on the potential of CSA from a business point of view.

Further the discussion focused on the presented blueprint for a regional brand and a branding strategy for agricultural products originating in the Black Sea Basin and produced in a climate-smart way. An international experts’ working group drafted the strategy aiming at providing marketing tools for the biological and organic agricultural producers and their associations so that they receive better recognition on the local, national and if possible - international markets. The suggested approaches for attracting consumers, the marketing tools and messages identified by the experts, as well as the visual and graphic presentation of the brand were discussed with the participants in the workshop. Interesting comments and recommendations were given by the attendees, and they these will be taken into account by the working group while fine-tuning the branding strategy.

Finally, the workshop was closed by a presentation of the AGREEN Community of Practice (COP) as a network of like-minded professionals with versatile profiles who work on the different aspects of sustainable agriculture. An invitation to join the Community was addressed to the participants for enlargement and enriching the network with additional expertize coming from the local practitioners, entrepreneurs, researchers, policy-makers, etc. The organizers are grateful to the participants for the active participation, the meaningful suggestions and recommendations and for the positive feedback.

More information about the project is available on the project website: https://agreen-project.eu/bg.

For further information, please contact the AGREEN project’s team at:

3 Bulgaria str., Dobrich, BULGARIA

Tel.: +359 58 655 626    

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