The second Dissemination event within the REGIONS 4FOOD project was organised by PRA and held in Pazardzhik on November 26th, 2021
Participants were representatives of the municipalities of Pazardzhik Region, regional public authorities in the field of agri-food, research and academic organizations, NGOs and agri-food business.
The event took place adjoined to a meeting of the Regional Development Council where four of the Plans for Integrated Development of the municipalities of Bratsigovo, Peshtera, Rakitovo and Septemvri were presented.
The project as a whole, as well as specific finalized activities were presented to the mayors of municipalities, chairmen of municipal councils and representatives of various institutions in PRA region. As the extended first phase of the project is now in completion, the aim was to discuss the validated Action Plan as well as the developed Strategic Recommendations for European policies aimed at digitalization of the agri-food sector.
The specific activities set out in the Plan as well as the progress of their implementation so far were discussed in detail. There are two main activities, the first being organizational and involves formation of a committee within the structure of the Regional Council for Development of Pazardzhik Region to act as a discussion space on digitalization particularly in the agricultural and food sectors.
The second activity is already underway and involves the setting up of a network of meteorological stations for the needs of small farmers. It is being implemented by the “Land Source of Income" Foundation, Plovdiv. Important for the progress of the project was the presentation of the commonly elaborated Strategic Recommendations for European Policies for the Digitization of the Agri-Food Sector developed by all project partners. The recommendations are the result of studies and analyzes on digitization conducted during the first phase of the project in all partner countries and exchanges carried out within the project. Regional stakeholder representatives reaffirmed the recommendations made, agreeing that most of them are completely in line with the findings of analyses of the agro-food sector in Bulgaria. The recommendations were finalized and adopted during a previous Interregional project seminar with political representatives, held on 19 October 2021 in Brussels. The document will be officially disseminated among relevant European and state institutions
