In the month the organization celebrates its 13th anniversary, Sasha Bezuhanova, founder of MOVE.BG, has given an interview to Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).
Did you know?
By 2022, the number of beekeepers in Bulgaria will decrease by 30%, according to a report by the European Commission (2019). Sergey Petrov, founder of the startup Pollenity, which is developing a tech system for the protection of bees.
What are the solutions?
MOVE.BG`s program “Urban Jungle” has published a special brochure presenting 7 Bulgarian entrepreneurs who develop innovative solutions to global environmental challenges from Bulgaria. The project is part of our initiative for a green restart of the Bulgarian economy after the coronavirus.
Today, we meet you with an innovative project through the eyes of its creator - the Sofia-based startup Pollenity which develops AI-based system for protection of bees. Sergey Petrov, the founder of the project, tells us more about Pollenity.
What are the main problems with protecting the bees?
Bees are the most effective reproductive mechanism in nature. About 70% of everything we put on the table depends on pollination. In the last 50 years, the population of our planet has more than doubled.
We all need food and this is leading to the concentration and modernization of the sector. This, unfortunately, has a detrimental effect on bees and other various pollinators, as monocultures are grown are treated with chemicals in a way incompatible with the sustainable life of bees.
What is the impact of this challenge in Bulgaria/Europe?
There are over 630,000 beekeepers in the European Union, taking care of just over 16 million bee colonies. In recent years, we have seen mortality in the range of 18-25% of bees each year. Beekeepers are creating new bee families to restore the losses, but they are failing to cope with the growing trend of increasing mortality rates.
A number of economic factors also contribute to the aggravation of the problem with the key role of low honey price.
What are the solutions?
A combination of technological methods, policies, and good economic practices. The beekeeping sector needs to catch up quickly with the other sub-sectors of agriculture. The lack of ubiquitous precise technologies in beekeeping prevents beekeepers from entering the 21st century, depriving them of the opportunity to plan and work strategically.
On political level, beekeepers do not have a strong lobby and often are neglected (unlike big farmers) which deprives them of access to adequate aid and modernization measures.
What does your product offer?
Our team is focused on creating a platform that will serve as a basis for developing good practices in the sector. We create devices that give beekeepers access to unprecedented information about their bees, so they are able to increase their productivity and have the freedom to plan operations using data.
In Bulgaria, we have created a platform for the adoption of hives - “True Honey”, where digital beekeepers can offer their products directly to consumers in a way that describes the problems of the sector and involves clients in the process of solving them.
What is your motivation to develop an innovative business with a social impact?
Our mission is to create sustainability in the beekeeping sector by promoting the importance of the problem and proposing technological methods to solve it. We believe that the human race is on the brink of a huge crisis in providing food for future generations, and our team of vigilant spirits is fully committed to the cause of protecting bees, biodiversity, and bee products.
Who are the other innovative Bulgarian entrepreneurs and why they have decided to develop green businesses? Download our free brochure "Green Innovators of Bulgaria" here.
For a green restart of the Bulgarian economy
It is time for a green restart of the Bulgarian economy and its transition from resource-intensive industries to green business models. Funds from the EU post-COVID-19 recovery mechanism - “Next Generation EU” as well as those from the Green Deal can help make this transition a successful journey. Therefore, MOVE.BG has initiated a coalition “For a Green Restart” that includes “Greenpeace-Bulgaria”, WWF Bulgaria, “Institute Circular Economy”, and MOVE.BG.
The coalition has brought together over 50 of Bulgaria's leading experts in the fields of green startups and innovation, climate, the circular economy, energy as well as biodiversity, and agriculture. They have generated more than 130 ideas for a green restart of the Bulgarian economy. Read the recommendations here.
