Digitalization in Bulgarian Agriculture: Challenges of Implementation

Paper's objective and research backgroundThe digitization of the agricultural sector in Bulgaria is a key stage in the transition to sustainable agriculture and create new opportunities for growth and development.The digitalization of agriculture includes a wide range of technological innovations and applications aimed at improving production processes, resource management and increasing productivity.This leads to the achievement of an efficient, competitive and environmentally friendly agricultural sector.The aim of the paper is to examine the challenges of the implementation of new technologies and to reveal to what extent Bulgarian agriculture is taking advantage of their opportunities.Data/Methods A three-stage approach is used to accomplish the aim of the paper.The first part of the publication presents basic theories related to digitization in the agricultural sector.The second part of the paper includes the methodology used and the choice of method, which is a case study.Three cases were investigated.The level of digitization and the challenges for the implementation of new technologies in three farms from the main subsectors typical for the Bulgarian agriculture have been studied.The selection of agricultural subsectors is based on the economic volume of production and within the scope of the study fall farms growing wheat, dairy cattle and vineyards.The developed methodology of the research case studies, looking for answers connected, as with financial framework of the implementation of digital services, but also with their impact on the activities of the farms from the point of view of the need for personnel, risk management etc. ResultsThe third part of the paper includes the research results, findings and conclusions.The conclusions drawn reveal the problems in the implementation of innovations and digitization of agriculture in Bulgaria, and proposals for their overcoming.The recommendations are related to improving the awareness of agricultural producers about digital technologies and solutions, opportunities for finding sources for financing new technologies, increasing the qualification of the staff when using them, etc.In addition, the proposals and recommendations could be used as a basis for developing guidelines for improving process of the digitalization in agriculture.