[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":504},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f2P6NYNGNpBnJ7E2oDEE0_i11aFv2e_yBJ_ww9q1inSs":3},{"success":4,"update":5,"relatedUpdates":355},true,{"_id":6,"title":7,"slug":8,"excerpt":9,"contentText":10,"richContent":11,"featuredMedia":326,"firstPublishedDate":329,"lastPublishedDate":329,"hashtags":330,"tags":331,"url":348,"language":349,"memberId":350,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":352,"categoryIds":353,"relatedPostIds":354},"d393b4f8-459b-4247-be62-9f132b1dd845","Agriventures member spotlight: Smart Farm Robotix and the vision for the future of autonomous farming","agriventures-member-spotlight-smart-farm-robotix-and-the-vision-for-the-future-of-autonomous-farmin","How can artificial intelligence and robotics help farmers overcome one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges? In a recent interview with the Center for Data Innovation, Rossen Kolev discussed how Bulgarian agri-tech startup Smart Farm Robotix is developing autonomous robotic solutions designed to transform weed management for small and medium-sized farms. Tackling a major challenge in Agriculture Weed control remains one of the most labour-intensive and costly activities in agriculture,...","How can artificial intelligence and robotics help farmers overcome one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges? In a recent interview with the Center for Data Innovation, Rossen Kolev discussed how Bulgarian agri-tech startup Smart Farm Robotix is developing autonomous robotic solutions designed to transform weed management for small and medium-sized farms. Tackling a major challenge in Agriculture Weed control remains one of the most labour-intensive and costly activities in agriculture, particularly for organic producers who cannot rely on conventional herbicides. According to Kolev, many existing robotic solutions are either too expensive or designed for the large, flat fields common in Northern Europe, making them less suitable for the diverse terrain found across Southern and Eastern Europe. To address this gap, Smart Farm Robotix has developed an autonomous field robot that combines computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics to identify and remove weeds with high precision while operating in real farming conditions. AI and Robotics supporting sustainable farming The company’s approach focuses on reducing manual labour requirements while supporting more sustainable agricultural practices. By using AI-powered identification systems and autonomous navigation, the robot can distinguish weeds from crops and perform targeted interventions without relying on chemical herbicides. This technology has particular relevance for organic farming, aromatic and medicinal crops, and other production systems where weed management remains a significant operational challenge. A Growing Bulgarian Innovation Success Story Founded in Bulgaria, Smart Farm Robotix has become one of the region’s most promising agri-tech ventures, demonstrating how advanced technologies developed in Central and Eastern Europe can address global agricultural challenges. The company is focused on creating accessible and scalable robotic solutions that can support farmers facing labour shortages, rising costs, and increasing sustainability requirements. The interview highlights a broader trend across agriculture: the convergence of artificial intelligence, automation, and precision farming technologies that are helping producers improve efficiency while reducing environmental impact. Read the full Interview The complete interview with Rossen Kolev is available through the Center for Data Innovation. The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"nodes":12,"documentStyle":325},[13,27,37,51,67,77,91,96,108,118,132,142,156,166,176,208,213,225,238,253,272,277,288,299,305,320],{"type":14,"id":15,"nodes":16,"paragraphData":24},"PARAGRAPH","smfsz5287",[17],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":20,"textData":21},"TEXT","",[],{"text":22,"decorations":23},"How can artificial intelligence and robotics help farmers overcome one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges?",[],{"textStyle":25},{"textAlignment":26},"AUTO",{"type":14,"id":28,"nodes":29,"paragraphData":35},"r8mc95289",[30],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":31,"textData":32},[],{"text":33,"decorations":34},"In a recent interview with the Center for Data Innovation, Rossen Kolev discussed how Bulgarian agri-tech startup Smart Farm Robotix is developing autonomous robotic solutions designed to transform weed management for small and medium-sized farms.",[],{"textStyle":36},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":38,"id":39,"nodes":40,"imageData":41},"IMAGE","0b4g07933",[],{"containerData":42,"image":46},{"width":43,"alignment":45,"textWrap":4},{"size":44},"CONTENT","CENTER",{"src":47,"width":49,"height":50},{"id":48},"1cd362_3ea2e9cf7ae64e6e848b4d9fbb7bf01b~mv2.png",1170,780,{"type":52,"id":53,"nodes":54,"blockquoteData":66},"BLOCKQUOTE","msd5j5291",[55],{"type":14,"id":56,"nodes":57,"paragraphData":63},"t30ys5325",[58],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":59,"textData":60},[],{"text":61,"decorations":62},"Tackling a major challenge in Agriculture",[],{"textStyle":64,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},0,{"indentation":65},{"type":14,"id":68,"nodes":69,"paragraphData":75},"px1l05293",[70],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":71,"textData":72},[],{"text":73,"decorations":74},"Weed control remains one of the most labour-intensive and costly activities in agriculture, particularly for organic producers who cannot rely on conventional herbicides. According to Kolev, many existing robotic solutions are either too expensive or designed for the large, flat fields common in Northern Europe, making them less suitable for the diverse terrain found across Southern and Eastern Europe.",[],{"textStyle":76},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":52,"id":78,"nodes":79,"blockquoteData":90},"duc035295",[80],{"type":14,"id":81,"nodes":82,"paragraphData":88},"aqfc75438",[83],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":84,"textData":85},[],{"text":86,"decorations":87},"To address this gap, Smart Farm Robotix has developed an autonomous field robot that combines computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics to identify and remove weeds with high precision while operating in real farming conditions.",[],{"textStyle":89,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},{"indentation":65},{"type":14,"id":92,"nodes":93,"paragraphData":94},"hxum97896",[],{"textStyle":95,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":97,"id":98,"nodes":99,"headingData":105},"HEADING","8p3hs5297",[100],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":101,"textData":102},[],{"text":103,"decorations":104},"AI and Robotics supporting sustainable farming",[],{"level":106,"textStyle":107},2,{"textAlignment":26},{"type":14,"id":109,"nodes":110,"paragraphData":116},"wvxhp5299",[111],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":112,"textData":113},[],{"text":114,"decorations":115},"The company’s approach focuses on reducing manual labour requirements while supporting more sustainable agricultural practices. By using AI-powered identification systems and autonomous navigation, the robot can distinguish weeds from crops and perform targeted interventions without relying on chemical herbicides.",[],{"textStyle":117},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":52,"id":119,"nodes":120,"blockquoteData":131},"dxxht5301",[121],{"type":14,"id":122,"nodes":123,"paragraphData":129},"ib6pm5596",[124],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":125,"textData":126},[],{"text":127,"decorations":128},"This technology has particular relevance for organic farming, aromatic and medicinal crops, and other production systems where weed management remains a significant operational challenge.",[],{"textStyle":130,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},{"indentation":65},{"type":97,"id":133,"nodes":134,"headingData":140},"hdej85303",[135],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":136,"textData":137},[],{"text":138,"decorations":139},"A Growing Bulgarian Innovation Success Story",[],{"level":106,"textStyle":141},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":52,"id":143,"nodes":144,"blockquoteData":155},"e0vsn5305",[145],{"type":14,"id":146,"nodes":147,"paragraphData":153},"7ven75709",[148],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":149,"textData":150},[],{"text":151,"decorations":152},"Founded in Bulgaria, Smart Farm Robotix has become one of the region’s most promising agri-tech ventures, demonstrating how advanced technologies developed in Central and Eastern Europe can address global agricultural challenges. The company is focused on creating accessible and scalable robotic solutions that can support farmers facing labour shortages, rising costs, and increasing sustainability requirements.",[],{"textStyle":154,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},{"indentation":65},{"type":14,"id":157,"nodes":158,"paragraphData":164},"fo5gt5307",[159],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":160,"textData":161},[],{"text":162,"decorations":163},"The interview highlights a broader trend across agriculture: the convergence of artificial intelligence, automation, and precision farming technologies that are helping producers improve efficiency while reducing environmental impact.",[],{"textStyle":165},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":97,"id":167,"nodes":168,"headingData":174},"xesrd5309",[169],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":170,"textData":171},[],{"text":172,"decorations":173},"Read the full Interview",[],{"level":106,"textStyle":175},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":52,"id":177,"nodes":178,"blockquoteData":207},"xb3el5311",[179],{"type":14,"id":180,"nodes":181,"paragraphData":205},"c4qg05843",[182,187,200],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":183,"textData":184},[],{"text":185,"decorations":186},"The complete interview with Rossen Kolev is available through the ",[],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":188,"textData":189},[],{"text":190,"decorations":191},"Center for Data 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agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation.",[],{},{"level":235,"textStyle":236},6,{"textAlignment":237},"JUSTIFY",{"type":52,"id":239,"nodes":240,"style":251,"blockquoteData":252},"yvsa79151",[241],{"type":14,"id":242,"nodes":243,"paragraphData":249},"ltql614399",[244],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":245,"textData":246},[],{"text":247,"decorations":248},"Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization.",[],{"textStyle":250,"indentation":65},{"textAlignment":26},{},{"indentation":65},{"type":254,"id":255,"nodes":256,"buttonData":257},"BUTTON","v8jk817528",[],{"containerData":258,"type":193,"styles":263,"text":268,"link":269},{"width":259,"alignment":45,"spoiler":261,"height":262,"textWrap":4},{"size":260},"ORIGINAL",{},{},{"buttonSize":264,"background":265},"LARGE",{"type":266,"color":267},"COLOR","#366E85","Find hundreds of opportunities here",{"url":270,"target":197,"rel":271},"https:\u002F\u002Fagriventures.co\u002Fpricings",{"noreferrer":4},{"type":14,"id":273,"nodes":274,"paragraphData":275},"ke05m23499",[],{"textStyle":276},{"textAlignment":26},{"type":97,"id":278,"nodes":279,"style":285,"headingData":286},"s2vt39155",[280],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":281,"textData":282},[],{"text":283,"decorations":284},"By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.",[],{},{"level":235,"textStyle":287},{"textAlignment":237},{"type":97,"id":289,"nodes":290,"style":296,"headingData":297},"m0vme9159",[291],{"type":18,"id":19,"nodes":292,"textData":293},[],{"text":294,"decorations":295},"Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",[],{},{"level":235,"textStyle":298},{"textAlignment":237},{"type":14,"id":300,"nodes":301,"style":302,"paragraphData":303},"7p0ov14496",[],{},{"textStyle":304},{"textAlignment":237},{"type":254,"id":306,"nodes":307,"buttonData":308},"nx55n14622",[],{"containerData":309,"type":193,"styles":313,"text":316,"link":317},{"width":310,"alignment":45,"spoiler":311,"height":312,"textWrap":4},{"size":260},{},{},{"buttonSize":264,"background":314},{"type":266,"color":315},"#1E4659","Donate for our mission",{"url":318,"target":197,"rel":319},"https:\u002F\u002Fdonate.stripe.com\u002FcNiaEW0rHadWdEa0mS4wM01",{"noreferrer":4},{"type":14,"id":321,"nodes":322,"paragraphData":323},"s51zy14716",[],{"textStyle":324},{"textAlignment":26},{},{"image":327},{"url":328,"altText":7},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002Fnsplsh_574437426f7150726a5945~mv2.jpg\u002FMale%20mechanical%20engineer%20with%20sustainable%20agricultural%20robot%20in%20field.jpg#originWidth=5472&originHeight=3648","2026-06-26T09:32:59.850Z",[],[332,336,340,344],{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},"cbecd352-91ee-4a79-8d7a-4361217b7511","News","news",{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},"b759c01d-1f8c-4d93-993b-c82e8285d11d","Agriventures updates","agriventures-updates",{"_id":341,"label":342,"slug":343},"c91dd194-3b18-4a7a-90a6-50ead08c2a48","Digital Farming","digital-farming",{"_id":345,"label":346,"slug":347},"f9f2e1a0-44fd-4c5b-a217-b40339fe390e","Our Focus","our-focus","https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fagriventures-member-spotlight-smart-farm-robotix-and-the-vision-for-the-future-of-autonomous-farmin","en","ac0c59a4-e1e1-4399-9f88-500dac6c8de7",false,[],[],[],[356,379,402,422,446,475],{"_id":357,"title":358,"slug":359,"excerpt":360,"contentText":361,"featuredMedia":362,"firstPublishedDate":365,"lastPublishedDate":365,"hashtags":366,"tags":367,"url":375,"language":349,"memberId":350,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":376,"categoryIds":377,"relatedPostIds":378},"915db5f4-aea2-4304-8e7c-27e8167061c0","Agriventures member spotlight: The Good Club achieves a major milestone with its ESG impact reporting methodology ","agriventures-member-spotlight-the-good-club-achieves-a-major-milestone-with-its-esg-impact-reportin","We are proud to celebrate an important achievement by our member The Good Club, which has successfully validated the methodology behind its ESG Impact Reporting through an independent assessment by Bureau Veritas. This milestone marks an important step in transforming an innovative concept into a trusted solution that businesses can confidently adopt. From Innovation to Market-Ready Solution Building a new product requires more than a great idea. It takes continuous testing, validation,...","We are proud to celebrate an important achievement by our member The Good Club, which has successfully validated the methodology behind its ESG Impact Reporting through an independent assessment by Bureau Veritas. This milestone marks an important step in transforming an innovative concept into a trusted solution that businesses can confidently adopt. From Innovation to Market-Ready Solution Building a new product requires more than a great idea. It takes continuous testing, validation, collaboration with early adopters to create a solution that delivers real value. Following the successful validation of its methodology, The Good Club has now completed its first ESG Impact Report for a pilot company - demonstrating how employee benefit programmes can generate measurable environmental and social impact while supporting more sustainable purchasing decisions. Supporting local producers through better employee benefits The Good Club is rethinking employee benefits by connecting companies with carefully assessed local farmers and food producers. Through its platform, employees gain access to high-quality, locally produced food, while businesses strengthen their sustainability performance and contribute to shorter, more resilient food supply chains. By supporting responsible producers and encouraging local purchasing, the platform helps generate positive impacts for businesses, consumers, and the agri-food ecosystem alike. At Agriventures, our mission is to help startups and innovative companies transform promising ideas into market-ready solutions that generate real impact across the agri-food sector. We are proud to have supported The Good Club in reaching this important milestone and look forward to seeing its platform continue connecting businesses with local producers, strengthening short food supply chains, and making healthy, sustainably produced food more accessible. Congratulations to the entire The Good Club team on this achievement—we wish you continued success as you scale your impact. \n The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":363},{"url":364,"altText":358},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F1cd362_5299ef621cfb4179b8fd889f4a95dce8~mv2.png\u002Fimage.png#originWidth=1280&originHeight=720","2026-06-26T09:33:52.982Z",[],[368,369,370,371],{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":345,"label":346,"slug":347},{"_id":372,"label":373,"slug":374},"35d9c4dd-a7c1-46c3-b814-5dfecce7c382","Women in Agrifood","women-in-agrifood","https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fagriventures-member-spotlight-the-good-club-achieves-a-major-milestone-with-its-esg-impact-reportin",[],[],[],{"_id":380,"title":381,"slug":382,"excerpt":383,"contentText":384,"featuredMedia":385,"firstPublishedDate":388,"lastPublishedDate":388,"hashtags":389,"tags":390,"url":398,"language":349,"memberId":350,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":399,"categoryIds":400,"relatedPostIds":401},"4041f0e2-4b25-43a7-9f81-4d2c38ea7a2d","Circular voices wraps up: Explore the farmer's stories on circularity, Toolkits and inspiration that continue beyond the project ","circular-voices-wraps-up-explore-the-farmer-s-stories-on-circularity-toolkits-and-inspiration-that","As June marks the official conclusion of the Circular Voices initiative, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this journey possible—from farmers and entrepreneurs to researchers, facilitators, and ecosystem partners across Bulgaria and Spain. While the project has reached its final chapter, its results are only beginning to create lasting impact. Capturing the voices behind circular agriculture Circular Voices was created to uncover, document, and amplify inspiring...","As June marks the official conclusion of the Circular Voices initiative, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this journey possible—from farmers and entrepreneurs to researchers, facilitators, and ecosystem partners across Bulgaria and Spain. While the project has reached its final chapter, its results are only beginning to create lasting impact. Capturing the voices behind circular agriculture Circular Voices was created to uncover, document, and amplify inspiring examples of circular agriculture and innovation. Rather than focusing solely on technologies, the project placed farmers and practitioners at the centre, showcasing the people, ideas, and practical solutions driving the transition towards more resilient food systems. Throughout the project, we explored real examples of circular practices, highlighted local innovations, and facilitated knowledge exchange between stakeholders working towards a more sustainable future for agriculture. Practical Resources Available for Everyone One of the project's key ambitions was to ensure that its knowledge remains openly accessible beyond its lifetime. Visitors to the Circular Voices website can now explore a growing collection of resources, including: Practical  Toolkit; Inspiring Farmer Stories from Bulgaria and Spain; Best practice examples and innovation case studies; Communication materials and project publications; Whether you are looking for practical inspiration, examples of circular business models, or tools to assess sustainable farming, these resources are freely available to anyone. Continuing the Conversation Circular Voices has shown that some of the most powerful innovations begin with collaboration, dialogue, and the willingness to share experiences. We hope the stories collected throughout the project will continue inspiring farmers, startups, researchers, and organisations to explore circular approaches that strengthen both agricultural resilience and rural communities. Explore the Project Results All project resources are available free of charge at: 👉 https:\u002F\u002Fcircular.agriventures.co\u002F The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":386},{"url":387,"altText":381},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F1cd362_14a058db7b034747b67aca19dba58833~mv2.jpg\u002F%D0%BA%D1%80%D1%8A%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8(42of216).jpg#originWidth=4500&originHeight=3000","2026-06-26T09:29:24.401Z",[],[391,392,396,397],{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},{"_id":393,"label":394,"slug":395},"7a0b69d8-2238-4b96-b124-894fb4fa6a61","Sustainable & Circular Agrifood","sustainable-circular-agrifood",{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":345,"label":346,"slug":347},"https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fcircular-voices-wraps-up-explore-the-farmer-s-stories-on-circularity-toolkits-and-inspiration-that",[],[],[],{"_id":403,"title":404,"slug":405,"excerpt":406,"contentText":407,"featuredMedia":408,"firstPublishedDate":411,"lastPublishedDate":411,"hashtags":412,"tags":413,"url":418,"language":349,"memberId":350,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":419,"categoryIds":420,"relatedPostIds":421},"8e2f7f20-07d9-432b-bb9c-93a9e6f373c0","Agriventures wins Gold at the Facilitation Impact Awards 2026 ","agriventures-wins-gold-at-the-facilitation-impact-awards-2026","We are delighted to announce that Agriventures has been awarded the Gold Award at the Facilitation Impact Awards (FIA) 2026 for its Circular Voices initiative—an international recognition presented by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) to projects that achieve exceptional impact through facilitative methodologies. This milestone is particularly significant as Circular Voices is the first Bulgarian initiative to receive this prestigious international recognition, selected...","We are delighted to announce that Agriventures has been awarded the Gold Award at the Facilitation Impact Awards (FIA) 2026 for its Circular Voices initiative—an international recognition presented by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) to projects that achieve exceptional impact through facilitative methodologies. This milestone is particularly significant as Circular Voices is the first Bulgarian initiative to receive this prestigious international recognition, selected among thousands of submissions from around the world. Recognising the Power of Collaboration Developed by Agriventures in partnership with U Grow Academy and supported by the Circular Food Systems Network, Circular Voices set out to discover, document, and amplify inspiring examples of circular agriculture and innovation across Bulgaria and Spain. Together with our Spanish partner ALBERIZAS CEUTA SL, led by Sonsoles Jiménez, we worked alongside farmers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to capture practical stories demonstrating how circular approaches can strengthen resilience, create new business opportunities, and inspire change across the agri-food sector. More Than a Project - A Process that creates impact The Facilitation Impact Awards recognise initiatives where facilitation becomes a driver of meaningful change. Throughout Circular Voices, we created spaces where farmers, researchers, businesses, and innovation actors could exchange experiences, learn from one another, and co-create knowledge. The resulting farmer stories, practical toolkits, and communication resources continue to inspire organisations well beyond the project's duration. This award recognises not only the project's results, but also the collaborative process that made those results possible. A Shared achievement This recognition belongs to everyone who contributed to the journey. We sincerely thank our partners at U Grow Academy, especially Dilyana Dragomirova for her trust and partnership, and Ralitsa Lyubenova for designing and facilitating an outstanding collaborative process. We are equally grateful to the Circular Food Systems Network for recognising and supporting the initiative, to our partners at ALBERIZAS CEUTA SL, and to every farmer and innovator who generously shared their experiences. Finally, we thank the Agriventures team—Dilyana Kutsarova, Mariya Hristova, Ivaylo Yankov, and Roza Mitova—whose dedication made this achievement possible. Looking Ahead Winning the Gold Facilitation Impact Award reinforces Agriventures' mission to create meaningful impact through innovation, collaboration, and community building. As Circular Voices officially concludes, its legacy continues through the freely available farmer stories, practical toolkits, and knowledge resources available on the project website, inspiring the next generation of circular agriculture initiatives across Europe. This recognition motivates us to continue developing projects that bring people together, transform knowledge into action, and accelerate sustainable innovation throughout the agri-food sector. Explore the project results All project resources are available free of charge at: 👉 https:\u002F\u002Fcircular.agriventures.co\u002F The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":409},{"url":410,"altText":404},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F5fcabf_635a77336acc404da14d394a9124cc74~mv2.png\u002Fimage.png#originWidth=1276&originHeight=718","2026-06-26T09:28:18.953Z",[],[414,415,416,417],{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},{"_id":393,"label":394,"slug":395},{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":345,"label":346,"slug":347},"https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fagriventures-wins-gold-at-the-facilitation-impact-awards-2026",[],[],[],{"_id":423,"title":424,"slug":425,"excerpt":426,"contentText":427,"featuredMedia":428,"firstPublishedDate":431,"lastPublishedDate":431,"hashtags":432,"tags":433,"url":441,"language":349,"memberId":442,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":443,"categoryIds":444,"relatedPostIds":445},"6b54eabf-7dfe-4071-835a-a35cd28eaa9f","Agriventures Joins SYSARM: Helping Europe’s Farmers ","agriventures-joins-sysarm-helping-europe-s-farmers","Every farmer already knows how to manage risk day to day — weather, prices, supply chains, you name it. What most don’t have is a way to see how all of those risks connect, and how a decision made today can come back to bite (or help) them two seasons from now. That’s the gap SYSARM is here to close, and Agriventures has just signed on as a core partner to help make it happen. On 27–28 May, our team — represented by Ivaylo Yankov — joined partners from Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland in...","Every farmer already knows how to manage risk day to day — weather, prices, supply chains, you name it. What most don’t have is a way to see how all of those risks connect, and how a decision made today can come back to bite (or help) them two seasons from now. That’s the gap SYSARM is here to close, and Agriventures has just signed on as a core partner to help make it happen. On 27–28 May, our team — represented by Ivaylo Yankov — joined partners from Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland in Naples for the official launch of SYSARM, a new EU-funded project (Erasmus+ Forward-Looking, 30 months) aimed squarely at one big problem: most of Europe’s farmers have never had access to structured training in how to manage risk as a system, not just a series of one-off problems. Why this matters The numbers behind this project are honestly a bit startling. Across the EU, 72% of farm managers have no formal agricultural education at all — and in some countries that figure climbs above 94%. At the same time, the sector is ageing fast: more than half of farm managers in some countries are over 55, while fewer than 1 in 8 are under 40 across the EU. Put plainly, an entire generation is running increasingly complex farms on instinct and inherited know-how, with very few structured tools to fall back on when things go sideways. SYSARM’s response is refreshingly practical: build the tools that don’t exist yet, and make sure they actually reach the people who need them. What’s being built Over the next two and a half years, the consortium will roll out a free online course, an interactive farm simulator, and a set of bite-sized “micro-credentials” — short, recognised certifications that farmers and advisors can stack up without committing to a full degree. Think less “go back to university” and more “learn the thing you actually need, on your phone, in the time you have.” There’s also a serious-games element in the mix, developed with specialists from the Centre for Systems Solutions, designed to make tricky systems-thinking concepts feel more like a strategy game than a lecture — because let’s be honest, that’s how most people actually learn best. The project starts from a position of strength: it scored 88\u002F100 in the European Commission’s evaluation, with reviewers specifically praising the consortium’s mix of expertise and its alignment with the EU’s Green Deal and digital skills agenda. Where Agriventures comes in Agriventures isn’t just along for the ride — we’re co-leading the part of the project that turns good training into lasting impact. Drawing on our experience in agricultural law, finance, ESG and regenerative farming, our role is twofold: First, we’re building out Regional Learning Alliances — practical networks of training providers, farmer cooperatives and local authorities who will road-test everything SYSARM produces and make sure it actually fits real farms, not just theory. Second, we’re helping the consortium turn this momentum into at least eight new funding proposals (Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Interreg), so the impact doesn’t stop when this project ends — it becomes the seed for the next wave of opportunities. During the kick-off, Ivaylo also pushed the group on a question we think is critical: who exactly are we building this for? “Agri-food” covers everything from grain farms to dairies to fertiliser producers, and they don’t face the same risks. The consortium agreed — no more one-size-fits-all. The next phase of the project will sharpen exactly who SYSARM serves, country by country and sector by sector, before any tools get built. What’s next The team is now moving from planning into action: mapping regional skill gaps, defining target groups, and starting to shape the curriculum and digital tools. We’ll be sharing updates as the project progresses — including how local farmers, cooperatives and advisors can get involved early. If you’re part of an agricultural cooperative, training organisation or regional network and want to be part of this from the ground up, get in touch with the Agriventures team. This is exactly the kind of project that works best when it’s shaped by the people who’ll actually use it. The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":429},{"url":430,"altText":424},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F1cd362_a523bce74be54d1994777fb86657f261~mv2.jpeg#originWidth=1200&originHeight=1600","2026-06-14T21:08:54.023Z",[],[434,435,436,440],{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},{"_id":437,"label":438,"slug":439},"4df0061f-1f9e-4f0d-8498-4ac293a4fd16","Events","events",{"_id":393,"label":394,"slug":395},"https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fagriventures-joins-sysarm-helping-europe-s-farmers","1cd362a1-09ac-4de4-951b-bf76d96262ce",[],[],[],{"_id":447,"title":448,"slug":449,"excerpt":450,"contentText":451,"featuredMedia":452,"firstPublishedDate":455,"lastPublishedDate":455,"hashtags":456,"tags":457,"url":471,"language":349,"memberId":442,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":472,"categoryIds":473,"relatedPostIds":474},"cb184f06-d19b-49bd-b25b-31e2ad410c8a","From Data to Impact: Innovation and Digitalisation Reshaping European Agriculture","from-data-to-impact-innovation-and-digitalisation-reshaping-european-agriculture","At Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia, four leading agrifood innovators tackled the hard questions about AI, biotechnology, EU funding gaps, and what it really takes to scale technology from lab to farm. European agriculture is under pressure from every direction — rising input costs, climate instability, tightening sustainability regulations, and a funding landscape that doesn't always match the pace of innovation. On June 4, 2026, at the main stage of Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia,...","At Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia, four leading agrifood innovators tackled the hard questions about AI, biotechnology, EU funding gaps, and what it really takes to scale technology from lab to farm. European agriculture is under pressure from every direction — rising input costs, climate instability, tightening sustainability regulations, and a funding landscape that doesn't always match the pace of innovation. On June 4, 2026, at the main stage of Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia, four practitioners sat down to discuss what's actually working, what isn't, and where the next five years will be decided. The panel — Innovation and Digitalisation in Agriculture: From Data to Impact — was co-organized by Agriventures in partnership with Green Transition Forum, and moderated by Mariya Hristova. What followed was one of the more grounded conversations the agrifood innovation space has seen on a public stage. Meet the Panelists Georgios Karakatsanis is Founder and Director of EVOTROPIA Ecological Finance Architectures, specialising in natural capital valuation, geoeconomic modelling, machine learning for symbiotic design, and the structuring of ecological finance instruments. He is also a PhD candidate at the National Technical University of Athens in Natural Capital Econometrics. Sonsoles Jiménez Pérez is Managing Director of Alberizas and holds a PhD in Economics and Business from the University of Málaga. With over 25 years of international experience leading and advising agrofood, circular economy and sustainable innovation projects across Europe and beyond, she is one of the most experienced voices in the room when it comes to translating strategy into real-world ecosystems. Ivan Dragoev is Founder and CEO of Ondo Solutions — an all-in-one smart farming system for precision irrigation, fertigation and climate control — and part of the Agrodigirise digital hub. He brings over 20 years of technology experience and a clear-eyed view of what adoption actually looks like at farm level. Veselina Stoyanova is Co-founder of Mealprot, a Bulgarian agrifood biotech startup building circular, frass-derived bio-inputs for soil and plant resilience. Mealprot's flagship product, Zemja Liquid, is designed to reduce dependency on synthetic chemicals by activating natural soil-plant-microbiome interactions. Is Europe's Innovation Ecosystem Really Shifting? Sonsoles Jiménez Pérez opened by challenging the room. We speak often about European innovation, but the question she posed was direct: is there a real shift in how the ecosystem supports agriculture and food systems — or just rhetoric? Her answer drew on the Spanish experience. Spain's agrofood innovation ecosystem didn't emerge overnight. It is the product of decades of consistent investment in university-industry collaboration, regional innovation clusters, and long-term policy continuity. The result is a sector that doesn't just produce research — it commercialises it. For Central and Eastern Europe, the lesson is uncomfortable: structural change takes longer than a funding cycle. The geopolitical pressure on European agriculture — with nitrogen fertilizer prices still approximately 30% above 2024 levels and EU grain production forecasts revised downward — makes the urgency of this shift impossible to ignore. Regenerative Farming, EU-MERCOSUR and the Role of Ambient Intelligence Georgios Karakatsanis brought a dimension to the conversation that rarely surfaces in agrifood discussions: the intersection of trade policy, ecological finance, and on-farm data intelligence. His presentation addressed the EU-MERCOSUR agreement's implications for regenerative farming in Europe and the large-scale deployment of Ambient Intelligence (AmbI) — a framework that moves beyond generic AI toward embedded, context-aware intelligence operating at the field level. Under the CRCF Regulation (EU\u002F2024\u002F3012), EU farmers are now required to develop Carbon Removal plans. The data Karakatsanis presented was striking: 87% of farmers ask how they can receive carbon credits, 72% ask how to maximise carbon removal, and yet very few have the tools to validate, measure or act on those questions. EVOTROPIA's response is a new tool built around what they call Qu.A.L.Ity Finance — a framework structured around Quantification, Additionality, Long-Term thinking, and Sustainability. The tool maps these principles across 500+ financial institutions and $170 trillion in capital aligned with the UNEP Finance Initiative. The capital exists. The translation infrastructure — connecting farmers to it — largely does not. The Hardest Gap in Agri-Tech: From Development to the Farm Gate Ivan Dragoev of Ondo Solutions delivered perhaps the most practically resonant point of the session: Europe is not bad at building agricultural technology. It is consistently bad at deploying it. The gap between TRL 7 (technology demonstrated in operational environment) and actual farm-level adoption is where a large proportion of European agri-tech innovations quietly fail. Not because they don't work — but because the ecosystem around commercialisation and adoption is underdeveloped. EU funding for agrifood entrepreneurship has improved significantly in recent years through programmes such as Horizon Europe, EIT Food and national innovation agencies. But the structure of that funding still skews heavily toward early-stage research (TRL 1–4). The scale-up phase — TRL 6 through to market — remains the most commercially risky and the least systematically supported part of the entire innovation chain. This is not a technology problem. It is a systems problem. And solving it requires deliberate investment in deployment ecosystems: farmer advisory networks, demonstration pilots, digital extension services and blended finance instruments that carry innovations through the commercial valley of death. Biotechnology as Present-Day Infrastructure Veselina Stoyanova pushed back gently on the tendency to frame biotechnology as a future solution. With rising fertilizer costs, increasing raw material pressure and the introduction of CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), the window for incremental adaptation is narrowing. Mealprot's work — transforming mealworm frass through biological and fermentation processes into field-ready bio-inputs — is one example of circular economy logic applied directly to a pressing agricultural problem. Their Zemja Liquid product works by activating natural soil-plant-microbiome interactions rather than relying on external chemical inputs. It is validated, field-tested, and designed to scale. The broader point she raised: the conversation around sustainable food systems is no longer hypothetical. The regulatory and market environment is already changing. Biotechnology-based solutions are available. The question is whether the innovation support infrastructure can keep pace with the urgency. The Real Bottleneck: Financing Across the Full TRL Journey A thread that connected all four speakers was the financing gap — not the absence of capital in the European system, but its misdistribution across the innovation lifecycle. Early-stage agrifood startups can access grants, accelerators and seed investment. At the other end, mature technologies with proven commercial traction can attract venture capital and strategic investors. But the middle — the scale-up phase where a company has a working product but not yet a fully validated commercial model — is consistently underfunded. Addressing this requires: Patient capital instruments that match the longer commercial cycles of agricultural innovation Blended finance mechanisms combining public grants with private investment to de-risk scale-up Stronger linkages between technology parks, universities, farmers and investors across the full TRL spectrum Pan-European deployment ecosystems that don't leave adoption to chance This is the infrastructure gap that matters most for the next generation of agrifood innovators and entrepreneurs. Data, Ecosystems and What Happens When the Right People Are in the Room Data ran through the entire conversation — not as a buzzword, but as the actual raw material for better decision-making at farm level, policy level and investor level. The role of AI, IoT and precision agriculture is not to replace farmer judgment but to give it better inputs. The question is never whether data exists. It is whether it reaches the people who need it, in a format they can act on. Strong innovation ecosystems — the kind that Sonsoles described from Spain, or that Ivan is building around Ondo through the Agrodigirise hub — are not accidental. They are the product of deliberate collaboration between startups, universities, technology parks, researchers, investors and policymakers over sustained periods. By the end of the day at Green Transition Forum 6.0, something had already shifted. Conversations that began on stage had turned into real ones. New collaborations on EU initiatives were already forming in the margins of the event. That is what the right room does. What's Next The conversation continues on June 11, 2026 at Circular Voices — the next event in this series of discussions on sustainability, innovation and the future of European food systems. A personal note of thanks to Monika Stanisheva and the entire Green Transition Forum team for the partnership, the trust, and for building one of the most important platforms for this conversation in Southeast Europe. Keywords: agrifood innovation Europe, digitalisation in agriculture, EU funding agrifood startups, TRL scale-up agriculture, precision agriculture, biotechnology food systems, regenerative farming EU, CRCF regulation, Qu.A.L.Ity Finance, Green Transition Forum 2026, agri-tech investment, circular economy agriculture, CBAM agriculture, Ambient Intelligence farming The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":453},{"url":454,"altText":448},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F1cd362_3c103eaf0a85499eb5e252546ff32d41~mv2.jpg#originWidth=1024&originHeight=768","2026-06-08T18:06:53.970Z",[],[458,462,463,467,468,469,470],{"_id":459,"label":460,"slug":461},"8ef35eac-9923-473d-afc9-53827cc3ba7f","AgriFood & Biotech research","agrifood-biotech-research",{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":464,"label":465,"slug":466},"4e250c66-db11-4e96-ab32-2012cbfcf98b","Carbon farming","carbon-farming",{"_id":341,"label":342,"slug":343},{"_id":437,"label":438,"slug":439},{"_id":393,"label":394,"slug":395},{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},"https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Ffrom-data-to-impact-innovation-and-digitalisation-reshaping-european-agriculture",[],[],[],{"_id":476,"title":477,"slug":478,"excerpt":479,"contentText":480,"featuredMedia":481,"firstPublishedDate":484,"lastPublishedDate":484,"hashtags":485,"tags":486,"url":500,"language":349,"memberId":442,"pinned":351,"featured":351,"commentingEnabled":4,"translations":501,"categoryIds":502,"relatedPostIds":503},"1157ed70-59f4-49d6-8de1-ab206aa6cef0","Agriventures Awards: Recognising the Innovators Driving Sustainable Agriculture and Food in Bulgaria","agriventures-awards-recognising-the-innovators-driving-sustainable-agriculture-and-food-in-bulgaria","A New Recognition for a Sector in Transformation The agriculture and food sector is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history. Driven by the convergence of climate pressures, shifting consumer expectations, regulatory frameworks such as the European Green Deal, and an accelerating wave of technological innovation, the way food is grown, processed, and distributed is being fundamentally rethought. Yet the people and organisations at the forefront of this...","A New Recognition for a Sector in Transformation The agriculture and food sector is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history. Driven by the convergence of climate pressures, shifting consumer expectations, regulatory frameworks such as the European Green Deal, and an accelerating wave of technological innovation, the way food is grown, processed, and distributed is being fundamentally rethought. Yet the people and organisations at the forefront of this transformation — the farmers experimenting with regenerative practices, the startups developing precision agriculture tools, the food producers redesigning their supply chains around circularity — rarely receive the recognition their work deserves. Last week, that changed for a new cohort of Bulgarian agri-food innovators. The first edition of the Agriventures Awards was held as a centrepiece event of the Green Transition Forum — a four-day gathering dedicated to innovation, sustainability, and the future of key industries, bringing together leaders, institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors from Bulgaria and across Europe. Organised in partnership with Agriventures, the awards placed a deliberate and long-overdue spotlight on the agriculture and food sector: one of the key engines of the green transition, and one of the most underserved when it comes to institutional visibility and access to growth capital. This article presents the full results of the first Agriventures Awards, the stories behind each winner, and the broader context in which this initiative was created. About Agriventures: Connecting Innovation with Opportunity Agriventures is a cluster built around a clear mission: to support innovators in the agriculture and food sector by providing access to the resources, networks, and financing they need to grow. The cluster operates at the intersection of the farming community, the startup ecosystem, research institutions, and European funding frameworks — acting as a connective layer that many individual actors in the sector lack the capacity to build on their own. At the heart of this mission is agriventures.co — a platform designed to help farmers, agri-food startups, cooperatives, and food producers identify and access funding opportunities at a supranational level. Navigating the landscape of European programmes — from Horizon Europe and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to InvestEU and national co-financing instruments — is a complex undertaking that requires specialised knowledge. The agriventures.co platform addresses this gap directly, enabling users to match their project profiles against available funding streams and to take their first steps toward international-scale financing. The Agriventures Awards were conceived as an extension of this mission. If the platform provides the infrastructure for innovation to find funding, the awards provide the visibility for innovation to be recognised — by peers, by investors, and by the broader public. The Awards Format: Putting the Public at the Centre The Agriventures Awards were structured around a founding principle: that the agricultural and food community itself should have the primary voice in determining who its leaders are. Rather than relying exclusively on an expert jury operating behind closed doors, the awards used a public voting mechanism as the core selection method, with the final results reflecting the collective judgment of an engaged and informed audience. This approach was deliberate. Public voting serves multiple functions simultaneously: it generates awareness around nominated organisations, creates a measurable signal of community support, and ensures that the awards reflect genuine resonance within the sector rather than institutional consensus alone. For smaller companies and individual farmers — who may lack the marketing budgets to achieve wide visibility — the nomination and voting process itself represents a form of recognition and market exposure. Seven categories were defined to reflect the full breadth of innovation happening across the agri-food value chain, from primary production to technology development, and from corporate ESG practice to individual entrepreneurship. The ceremony was hosted by Dilyаna, Project Manager at Agriventures, and the awards were presented by Agriventures team members before an audience of forum delegates on the final evening of the Green Transition Forum. The Winners Circular Economy in Agriculture, Food and Technology Winner: УОН ООД (WON Ltd.) The circular economy is one of the most cited frameworks in sustainability policy, but its practical implementation in the food sector remains far less advanced than the rhetoric surrounding it. WON Ltd. is one of the organisations working to change that in Bulgaria. WON has built and maintains a national system for the circular management of used cooking oil, covering the entire lifecycle of the resource: collection from generators in professional kitchens, outreach to households, logistics, and final processing and recovery into usable outputs including biodiesel. What makes WON's model particularly significant is its systemic scope — rather than addressing one part of the chain, the company has constructed an end-to-end infrastructure that transforms a widely distributed waste stream into a consistently managed resource. Used cooking oil is among the most problematic food-sector waste products in terms of environmental impact when improperly disposed of, and among the most valuable when correctly recovered. UON's work demonstrates that circular economy in food is not a theoretical exercise but an operational and commercially viable reality. ESG Company in Agriculture and Food Winner: Хот Фарм (Hot Farm) Environmental, social, and governance criteria are increasingly central to how investors, retailers, and institutional buyers evaluate agri-food businesses. For most companies in the sector, ESG is still an adaptation challenge — something to be retrofitted onto existing practices. For Hot Farm, it is the founding logic of the enterprise. Hot Farm is a family-owned farm located in Strashimirovo, Bulgaria, specialising in the cultivation of hot peppers and the production of a wide range of artisanal food products using regenerative agriculture methods. Regenerative agriculture — which focuses on rebuilding soil organic matter, restoring degraded soil biodiversity, and improving the water cycle — goes beyond the sustainability baseline of simply reducing harm. It is an active, restorative approach to land management that delivers measurable improvements in ecosystem health over time. Hot Farm's recognition in the ESG category reflects not only its environmental practices but also its approach to social and governance dimensions: the transparency of its supply chain, its relationships with partners and distributors, and the integrity of its brand communications. As consumer demand for traceable, values-aligned food products continues to grow across European markets, Hot Farm represents a model that is both commercially relevant and ecologically responsible.  Innovative Farmer: Livestock Winner: Мандра Печеница (Pechenitsa Dairy) Innovation in livestock farming is often discussed in terms of technology adoption — sensors, data platforms, automated feeding and health monitoring systems. Pechenitsa Dairy's approach to innovation operates on a different but equally important axis: the redesign of the production process itself through the implementation of a closed-loop cycle that integrates traditional dairy craftsmanship with modern quality management. The farm has developed a production model in which by-products and waste streams within the dairy process are recovered and reintegrated, reducing external inputs and improving overall resource efficiency. At the same time, the core dairy products are processed according to traditional methods that preserve taste profiles and artisanal characteristics valued by consumers seeking authenticity and provenance. This combination — closed-loop efficiency on the production side, craft quality on the product side — positions Pechenitsa Dairy as an example of how livestock and dairy innovation can be achieved without requiring large capital investment in digital infrastructure. The innovation here is principally one of process design and systems thinking, and it demonstrates that sustainable livestock farming is accessible to operations of varying scale. Innovative Farmer: Crop Farming Winner: Петьо Киров \u002F Лиман 8 (Petyo Kirov \u002F Liman 8) Petyo Kirov farms inherited agricultural land in Bulgaria with a clear and considered conviction: that a restorative approach to crop production is not only the ethically correct choice for his region, but the agronomically sound one. Through his company Liman 8, he has developed a regenerative production model oriented around rebuilding soil potential and restoring biodiversity across his fields. Regenerative crop farming involves a set of practices — cover cropping, reduced tillage, crop rotation, the integration of livestock where possible, and the elimination or significant reduction of synthetic inputs — that work together to rebuild the biological activity and physical structure of agricultural soils. The benefits accrue over multiple seasons and years, meaning that regenerative farmers are making long-term investments in land productivity that sacrifice some short-term yield optimisation in exchange for substantially greater resilience and fertility over time. Petyo Kirov's work is particularly significant in the context of Bulgarian agriculture, where decades of intensive conventional farming have left many soils depleted and structurally degraded. The success of Liman 8 as a commercially viable regenerative operation provides an important proof point for other farmers in the region considering a transition, and his public recognition through the Agriventures Awards helps make that proof point visible. Technology Innovator in Agriculture and Food Winners (ex aequo): Ондо (Ondo) and Pollenity The technology innovator category produced an exceptional outcome: two companies receiving an identical number of public votes, resulting in a shared award. Both represent distinct and highly relevant threads of agri-tech development. Ondo develops intelligent farm management solutions centred on automated irrigation, precision fertilisation, and microclimate control. Using a combination of sensors deployed across field and greenhouse environments, real-time data collection, and software-driven automation, Ondo enables farmers to make resource allocation decisions — water, nutrients, energy — based on accurate, current conditions rather than scheduled routines or estimation. The practical outcomes include significant reductions in water and fertiliser usage, improved crop quality and consistency, and reduced labour requirements for routine monitoring tasks. As water scarcity becomes an increasingly acute constraint on agricultural production across Southern and Eastern Europe, Ondo's technology addresses a challenge that will only grow in urgency. Pollenity is a Bulgarian agri-tech company working at the intersection of precision technology and ecosystem services, specifically the monitoring and protection of bee colonies. Pollenity develops hardware and software tools that allow beekeepers to continuously monitor the health, weight, temperature, and acoustic profile of their hives remotely, detecting early signs of disease, swarming, or colony stress before they result in significant losses. Beyond the direct value to beekeeping operations, Pollenity's work contributes to the broader challenge of pollinator protection — a critical concern for agricultural productivity given that a substantial proportion of global food production depends on insect pollination. Their mission explicitly connects technological innovation with biodiversity outcomes, making Pollenity an important actor in the conversation about how agri-tech can serve ecosystem health rather than simply optimising yield.  Woman Innovator in Agriculture and Food Winner: Славена Родинова (Slavena Rodinova), Hot Farm Slavena Rodinova serves as CEO of Hot Farm and is the strategic and commercial driving force behind the development of the family's enterprise in Strashimirovo. In her role, she is directly responsible for sales strategy, marketing, brand development, and partner and distribution relationships — the external-facing functions that determine whether a farm with strong production capabilities can translate that quality into sustainable market presence. What makes Slavena's leadership particularly notable is the integration of commercial acumen with a deep commitment to the values that define Hot Farm's positioning: regenerative agriculture, artisanal quality, and transparent brand communication. Building a recognisable and credible brand in the food sector requires consistency not only in product quality but in story — in the way a company communicates who it is, what it stands for, and why it matters. Slavena has led that process for Hot Farm with visible results. Her recognition in the Women Innovator category reflects both individual achievement and a broader pattern worth acknowledging: women entrepreneurs in agriculture frequently operate in an environment that provides them with fewer institutional pathways, less access to peer networks, and lower baseline visibility than their male counterparts. Initiatives that explicitly recognise women leaders in the sector contribute to changing that dynamic — and to encouraging the next generation of women in agriculture to pursue leadership roles with the same ambition. Bio-Based Products, Bioeconomy and Longevity Winner: Българска Стевия ЕООД (Bulgarian Stevia Ltd.) The bioeconomy — defined broadly as the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products, and bioenergy — is one of the strategic frameworks at the heart of the European Union's sustainability agenda. Bulgarian Stevia Ltd. operates at a compelling intersection within this space: the cultivation of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni and the production of natural, zero-glycaemic-index sweeteners derived from it. Stevia is a plant native to South America whose leaves contain compounds — steviol glycosides — that are intensely sweet but have no effect on blood glucose levels, making them of significant interest for populations managing diabetes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome, as well as for food manufacturers reformulating products to reduce sugar content. The global market for natural sweeteners is growing rapidly, driven by regulatory pressure on added sugars and consumer demand for clean-label food products. Bulgarian Stevia's decision to cultivate stevia in Bulgaria and to develop a domestic processing and production capability positions the country within a high-value, science-backed agricultural category that has historically been dominated by producers in Asia and South America. The company's work is simultaneously an agricultural innovation, a bioeconomy contribution, and a demonstration that Bulgarian farming can compete in niche, premium international markets given the right combination of agronomic expertise, product development, and market access. The Broader Significance: Visibility, Funding, and the Infrastructure for Scale Recognising individual innovators and organisations is necessary but not sufficient. The most important question that follows any award ceremony is: what happens next? How do the winners, and the finalists, and the broader community of agri-food innovators in Bulgaria translate visibility into resources, partnerships, and growth? This is precisely the gap that Agriventures is built to address. The agriventures.co platform provides a structured pathway from innovation to funding — mapping the profiles of agri-food projects and businesses against the landscape of European and international financing instruments, and providing the guidance needed to navigate application processes that are often technically demanding and resource-intensive for smaller organisations. The winners of the first Agriventures Awards represent the quality of innovation that already exists in the Bulgarian agri-food sector. Pollenity and Ondo are developing technologies with clear potential for European and global market expansion. Hot Farm has built a brand with the authenticity and values alignment that premium food markets reward. Bulgarian Stevia is entering a growing global category with a locally produced, competitively positioned product. UON is operating infrastructure that could serve as a model for circular economy implementation in other markets. The challenge for all of them — as for most innovative SMEs in the sector — is not a shortage of ambition or capability, but access to the capital and networks needed to scale. Agriventures exists to help close that gap. Acknowledgements The first Agriventures Awards would not have been possible without the partnership and generosity of the Green Transition Forum team, who provided both the platform and the audience that a debut initiative of this kind requires. The forum's commitment to bringing together innovators, investors, and institutional actors from across Bulgaria and Europe created exactly the context in which the awards could carry weight. Equal thanks are due to every individual who participated in the public voting process. The quality and breadth of participation was a meaningful signal of the appetite within the sector for a dedicated recognition initiative — and a strong foundation on which to build future editions. About Agriventures Agriventures is a cluster with a mission to support innovators in the agriculture and food sector. Through community building, events, and the agriventures.co platform — dedicated to helping agri-food businesses discover and access supranational funding opportunities — Agriventures works to ensure that the best ideas in Bulgarian and European agriculture have the resources and visibility they need to create lasting impact. Farmers, startups, food producers, and agri-tech companies looking to explore European and international funding opportunities are invited to visit agriventures.co. The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation. Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization. By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems. Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.",{"image":482},{"url":483,"altText":477},"wix:image:\u002F\u002Fv1\u002F1cd362_257c3c47e6324bcc8594b4cea65f2ac9~mv2.jpg#originWidth=1024&originHeight=768","2026-06-08T10:56:13.708Z",[],[487,488,489,490,491,492,496,497,498,499],{"_id":459,"label":460,"slug":461},{"_id":337,"label":338,"slug":339},{"_id":464,"label":465,"slug":466},{"_id":341,"label":342,"slug":343},{"_id":437,"label":438,"slug":439},{"_id":493,"label":494,"slug":495},"212442a5-47ee-4926-903e-19975fab7f02","Innovative Food","innovative-food",{"_id":333,"label":334,"slug":335},{"_id":345,"label":346,"slug":347},{"_id":393,"label":394,"slug":395},{"_id":372,"label":373,"slug":374},"https:\u002F\u002Fxpsc9qx4zmq8jvdz5c8j.agriventures.co\u002Fpost\u002Fagriventures-awards-recognising-the-innovators-driving-sustainable-agriculture-and-food-in-bulgaria",[],[],[],1782466922728]