Forum for digital agriculture in Plovdiv

Forum “Digitalization and entrepreneurship in agriculture” will take place on April 25, 2024 at the Agricultural University-Plovdiv.

This event is an important moment in the cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and China and provides an opportunity for the media to look into the future of agriculture. The forum will give a platform to prominent scientists, entrepreneurs and experts from the agrarian sector.

Today, when sustainability and optimization of resources are key, innovations in agriculture offer solutions that can radically change the industry.

The event will highlight both established entrepreneurial approaches to digitization and profound technological innovations such as revolutionary new genomic technologies that promise to set new standards for efficiency and productivity in the sector.

The event will feature discussions with leading scientific experts from the region, innovators and entrepreneurs who represent the front line of technological advancement in agriculture.

Attention will be paid to the opportunities and challenges that hide modern achievements in areas such as blockchain technologies, the Internet of Things, genomic engineering, promising significant improvements in the quality and quantity of agricultural production.

The forum will offer a wide-ranging discussion that is of particular relevance to anyone dealing with issues of modern agriculture and its technological development. This is an opportunity for the media to explore and report how innovation can transform traditional practices and provide new perspectives on the future of agriculture.

Program:

9.30 Registration & Wwelcome coffee

10.00 Opening and greetings:

• Prof. Dr. Boryana Ivanova, Rector of the Agricultural University-Plovdiv
• Dr. Momchil Stanishev, Director of the National Center for Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria
• Mrs. Svetlana Boyanova – Head of AgroHub.BG, founder and head of the Institute for Agricultural Strategies and Innovations

10.15 Presentation of the Accelerator Program for start-ups in agriculture CEE-ChinaDr. Momchil Stanishev

10.25 Presentation of Academy of Entrepreneurship in Agriculture with prize fund (forthcoming editions), Dr. Momchil Stanishev

Q&A session

10.45 – 11.30 Crossroads: ICT and Agriculture

• Test before investing in the AgroHub.BG demo network
• Yana Georgieva, Partnerships Manager, ECIH AgroHub.BG
• Ivan Draganov, Marketing Manager, ECIH AgroHub.BG
• National demo center of AgroHub.BG – technologies for precision agriculture in action

• Prof. Dr. Daniela Ganeva, Director of the Institute of Vegetable Crops “Maritsa”
• Prof. Dr. Ivanka Tringovska, Deputy Director, Institute of Vegetable Crops “Maritsa”

• European Digital Innovation Hub “Thrace” as a tool to increase cyber security in agriculture

• Mr. Petar Kanchev, Head of “Training Programs” at ECIH Thrace

• European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) as a tool for application in agricultural and food value chains

• Associate Professor Dr. Petko Ruskov, CTO & Co-founder, The Edge: R&BD
• Eng. Petar Blagov, CEO and co-founder of FoodChain-Velosoft LTD

Q&A session

11.30 – 12.15 Deep technologies in agriculture – opportunities, risks, strengths and weaknesses; Dr. Christian Daskalov – moderator

• Prof. Stanimir Stoyanov, PU “P. Hilendarski”, IIKT – BAS
• Prof. Bozhin Bozhinov, Agricultural University
• Assoc. Prof. Samir Naimov, Department of “Molecular Biology” – PU “P. Hilendarski”
• Kiril Grigorov, deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian Cyber ​​Security Association

Q&A session

12.15 – 12.30 Discussion with Q&A

12.30 Working lunch & Networking