Participants of the Agroecology-Transect project visited Bulgaria for a three-day workshop to share results

From 3-th to 6-th of June, STEP had the pleasure of hosting the fourth Workshop on Co-Innovation under the Agroecology-Transect project. Scientists and experts from 11 innovation centers under the project arrived in Sofia to exchange ideas, practices and results on the progress of the various working groups within the project. Long-term strategies for implementing agroecological transformations in response to the existing challenges (biodiversity loss, climate change and socio-economic sustainability) were presented.

On 04^th of June, project participants visited farmers in the municipality of Godech, where the main activity of the Bulgarian innovation center is concentrated. In the Petrohan region, the identification of indicator plant species was organized according to the methodology for implementing agri-environmental payments based on results for biodiversity conservation. Practices for identifying butterflies, which are one of the new indicators included in the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, were also demonstrated. Farmers Pavlin Antonov, Stefan Vlasakiev, Katina Dimitrova and Borislav Borisov shared their experience of the agro-environmental practices of extensive grazing they apply.

Among the beautiful nature of the Forest Houses complex, the experts tried traditional local specialties. Children's dance ensemble "Gaitan" from the "Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov - 1899" community center in the town of Godech showed traditional Bulgarian dance from the folklore of Western Stara Planina.