Organizers: Agricultural Academy и Field Wounds Association
When? February 20, 2026 (Friday), from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Where? Plovdiv Fair, International Agricultural Exhibition AGRA, conference room, pavilion 7
The forum will present research and results of scientists and agricultural producers on authentic, forgotten and local Bulgarian varieties of seeds and planting material. The emphasis will be on the discussion on the construction of national network with centers in individual regions for the preservation and development of traditional varieties.
The results of the discussion will be summarized in a statement, which will be distributed on specialized websites and will be presented to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF). The forum will be filmed and broadcast in separate video recordings on the website of www.polerani.bio.
Program:
Registration: 9:00 a.m.
9:30 – Prof. Dr. Stefan Gandev, Chairman of the Agricultural Academy Opening of the forum
Panel 1
- 9:40 – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Malchev, Institute of Fruit Growing, Plovdiv „Innovations and traditions in the preservation of old and local varieties“
- 9:55 – Svetoslav Todorov, PoleRani Association „Preservation of old fruit tree varieties from the Pre-Balkans“
- 10:10 – Todor Kostadinov „Preservation of authentic and very old grape varieties from the Berkovo region“
- 10:25 – Dr. Mavrovski "The Eastern Balkan Pig: Conservation and Development of the Breed"„
Panel 2
- 10:45 – Vanya Kotseva, Director of the National Agricultural Museum "History of Vegetable Production in the 19th and 20th Centuries in Bulgaria"„
- 11:00 – Dr. Eng. Svetla Nikolova „PoleRani – the Bulgarian network for the protection of local varieties and breeds“ Achievements so far and planned actions
- 11:20 – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ognyan Boyukliev, III – BAS „Old varieties in the prospects for the development of Bulgarian agriculture“
- 11:40 – Discussion Panel 1
- 12:15 – Discussion Panel 2 – Building a National Network for the Conservation of Local, Heritage Varieties
13:00 – End of lectures, discussion and forum
Posters in the lobby in front of the hall (you can put them in Gallery or Bullet List with icons):
- A brief historical look at vegetable production in Bulgaria until the mid-20th century – Poster of the National Agricultural Museum
- The experience of networks for the protection of agro-biodiversity in Europe – PoleRani Association, member of the European network Let's Liberate Diversity
- Martin Stoilov, PhD student at the University of Plovdiv – „The Bark Tree in Bulgaria“
- Institute of Fruit Growing, Plovdiv – „Old local varieties – let’s save and preserve them“
13:00 – Catering with products from Bulgarian producers
Welcome to the forum – register on site from 9:00 a.m.!
Here you can learn more about AGRA 2026 forum
