THE NECESSITY OF KNOWLEDGE, SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE BIO-ECONOMY IN BULGARIA

Abstract

The main challenge of the bioeconomy is to achieve economic growth, increase the competitiveness of the economy, balanced production and consumption of products, conservation of natural resources, improve the marketing of farms. The aims of this article is to analyze the knowledge needs for the bioeconomy in Bulgaria. We first present the socio-economic benefits of the bioeconomy, with a focus on agriculture as a leading sector, and then identify the basic needs. A three-step approach is applied to cover all stakeholders directly involved in bioeconomic knowledge acquisition: Education and awareness; Dialogue and consult; Co-creation of new knowledge based on cooperation and training. The results imply: identifying the knowledge and technological knowledge needs required for regional specialized bioeconomies; clarification of the knowledge delivery mechanism; knowledge transfer networks; assessment of knowledge in the bioeconomics. The need for bioeconomic knowledge would support a economic growth to more resource efficient use. Increasing the knowledge base and understanding of specific areas of the bio-economy will be based on obtaining more data, generating better information and systematic analysis.