Within the framework of the first-of-its-kind expert forum under the 24 Chasa and UBB for Sustainable Future project more than 60 representatives of the agricultural sector, the government administration, and the management of the biggest bank in Bulgaria discussed the challenges and opportunities for the sector, triggered by sustainable development. The participants involved Peter Roebben, Chief Executive Officer of UBB and Country Manager of KBC Group Bulgaria, Tanya Georgieva, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food and Venelina Gocheva, publisher of 24 Chasa.

The Chief Executive Officer of UBB and Country Manager of KBC Group Bulgaria – Peter Roebben - delineated the ever-growing importance and key significance of the responsible and sustainable business: „Availability of an ESG strategy is not just a way for a company to present itself in a positive light, but a sine qua non of future funding. When assessing a business, we want to understand the impact it exerts on the environment. KBC Group, of which UBB is part, being a leader in the financial industry and front-runner in financing the agri business, has a mission to support businesses in their transition to sustainable development. One of the Group’s main ambitions is to reduce the carbon footprint of our considerable and ever-growing credit exposure to the agricultural sector with 21% over the next 7 years. This will be achieved through increasing the sustainable funding for companies.“

Tanya Georgieva, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, emphasized on the partnership between financial institutions, science and technology companies. „The new common agricultural policy of the EU includes tools, supporting farmers for additional and build-upon commitments, related to the environment and bio diversity. Bulgaria’s strategic plan on agriculture envisages funds, linked to the transfer of knowledge and innovations from science to businesses. Apart from that, the Recovery and Sustainability Plan also provides farmers with an opportunity to use grant-based support for digital and green investments.", Ms. Georgieva stated.

The forum also showcased good practices, already being applied in Bulgaria, of tools for modernizing and digitalizing the production, as well as of funding opportunities.

Moderator of the first panel was one of the leading experts in Bulgaria on the ESG topic –Marina Stefanova, Associate Professor and Director of the Responsible and Sustainable Development Master’s Degree programme at Sofia University’s Faculty of Economics. Tsvetan Iliev – Procurator of Boni Holding – shared the company’s over 20-year experience, which through innovations in the technology, manner of feeding animals and equipping of farms managed to achieve higher production efficiency. The company also worked on the development of technology for more efficiently using animal manure into the soil, in replacement for artificial fertilizers. Another successful example was presented by the manager of Agro Bel 2001, Mr. Pavel Stoimenov. He stated that here in Bulgaria there was a problem because of the intensive agriculture practices, upon which the soil quality deteriorated. The introduced extensive technology of soil cultivation brought as a result healthier plants, reduced use of artificial fertilizers by 80%, improved soil composition.

UBB is ready to support businesses with specialized products. „We have already developed a product, which concerns installation of photovoltaic plants for own needs and offers lower percentage of own funds, longer repayment period and other preferential terms. We are ready to seek alternatives for using various programmes and guarantee instruments", said Mr. Yavor Rusenov, Head of Corporate Banking – Production, Agriculture and Trade Department at UBB.

Opportunities that can be extracted by businesses from new technologies upon the transformation was the topic of the second panel discussion, with moderator Mr. Tihomir Tonchev, Editor-in-Chief of Bulgarian Farmer newspaper. Ivo Kumanov – Manager of NIK Electronics, a company focused on cutting-edge technologies and precision farming – presented solutions, based on artificial intelligence and using drones and cameras for soil and crop treatment purposes in an environmentally friendly way. Another important part of the new requirements, related to sustainable development, was noted by Mr. Svilen Kostov – partner in the TECHNO FARM company. Digitalization and agriculture software products provide solutions for audit purposes, proving the manner of producing a given crop or product. The priority for the forthcoming years, stated by Mr. Kostov was ensuring an opportunity for collecting data in a single hub and the operation with those. Mr. Nikolay Stefchov, owner and manager of Agritop company, said that the animal-breeding sector in Bulgaria had still not reached high digitalization and automation rates. He stated as a good example the use of manure from animal-breeding farms into the circular economy.

Marinela Koeva, Marketing and Sustainable Development Manager at UBB, presented the Agri Emissions Calculator, developed jointly by the bank and the Bulgarian Institute of Agrarian Economy. "This calculator is very easy to use. After computing the results, a report will be generated with recommendations for activities that can be improved. This is a project of high significance, and its purpose is to exactly draw the public’s attention to the emissions’ impact on the environment", Ms. Koeva explained.

This forum, dedicated to the agricultural sector, kicks off a series of events, involving experts in various industries, with the aim to draw attention towards responsible and sustainable development. The purpose of the project, for which 24 Chasa and UBB joined efforts, is to prepare representatives of businesses for the forthcoming transformation towards sustainable future, as well as to showcase successful practices in Bulgarian enterprises for smart management and use of new technologies.