In Batumi, new ways are being developed to protect agriculture from climate change and dangerous pests.
The University of Batumi named after Shota Rostovli hosts the third international working meeting of the AGRICOP project, which brings together experts from the countries of the Black Sea region.
The main goal of the project is to help agriculture adapt to climate change and protect crops from invasive species, including pests that spread beyond their normal habitat.
Representatives of Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria participate in the work.
The meeting was opened by the Rector of the University Tate Aroshidze, the National Coordinator of AGRICOP, Professor Gogoli Dombedze, as well as representatives of Trabzon Commodity Exchange, May 19 University and the Agency for Economic Development in Varna.
What do they plan to implement?
As part of the project, experts are working on several areas:
CPDS monitoring stations - equipment for monitoring climate conditions and identifying agricultural pests.
The MAPPEST mobile application is a digital tool, the further development of which is discussed by the project participants.
Environmentally friendly methods for plant protection - mechanical and biotechnical methods for pest control to reduce dependence on chemicals.
During the two-day meeting, experts will evaluate the results already achieved, discuss the unification of the monitoring systems and agree on additional joint activities.
The AGRICOP project is funded within the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin international program.
The ultimate goal is to make agriculture in the Black Sea region more resistant to climate change, reduce crop loss and improve the quality of agricultural produce.