Nikola Nikolov: “My objective as a farmer is the preservation and support of Bulgarian production and breeding through the implementation of innovative technologies”

Nikola Nikolov is a second-generation young farmer for whom everything is possible in the field. He strives to introduce innovations in his farm, where various crops are grown and a strict 4-year crop rotation is followed. He conducts field inspections with his own drone. He continues the family endeavor by relying on Bulgarian varieties of cereal and legume crops – common winter wheat “Gizda” and “Blan”, winter barley “Izgrev” and winter pea “Mir”. Rapeseed, sunflower, oats, chickpeas, vetch and rye are also grown.

His main goal is the preservation and support of Bulgarian production and breeding through the implementation of innovative technologies. The young farmer is guided by the conviction that the future of agriculture lies in the digitalization and automation of all processes along the chain, and therefore he relies on “Precision Agriculture” in his farm. According to him, this is a technology that allows producers to manage arable land adequately depending on spatially differentiated information. Precision agriculture has great potential for developing economic and environmental benefits, expressed in reducing the use of water, fertilizers, plant protection products, labor and equipment. The essence of the approach is to make the right management decisions in agriculture based on the variable characteristics of the field and to obtain maximum yields. He markets his production on local markets, in accordance with good commercial practices.

He conducts field inspections with his own drone

Nikola works successfully with the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources – Sadovo at the Agricultural Academy for the modernization of grain production, the introduction of innovative technologies, digitalization and data analysis with the aim of increasing the productivity of work processes.

The introduction of precision fertilization in the farm has led to a reduction of the fertilization rate by 25–50%. This is achieved through soil analyses, which specify the type of fertilizer and lead to balancing the chemical composition of the soil and further reducing costs. The expertise of Nikola Nikolov in the use of plant growth indices, satellite analysis of upcoming weather conditions, and forecasting optimal dates for plant protection allows the costs from sowing to harvest to be limited only to those necessary for the control and management of weeds, pests and diseases, and their reduction to 20% of the standard levels. Thanks to the introduced combined tillage operations, the use of modern machinery and the limitation of the number of operations, a reduction is also achieved in the largest cost item in agriculture, namely fuel – from 6–7 liters previously, currently only 4–5 liters per decare.

All these and many other advantages of modern precision agriculture, applied in the work of the young farmer from Aytos, also lead to environmental protection, restoration of nature and maintenance of soil quality.

Modern agriculture in Aytos

Nikola Nikolov has been an agricultural producer since 2016. He is the manager of Agrodar Bulgaria EOOD, a family company that started its activity in 2004. Twenty years ago the company started with 4,000 decares under lease, and today it reaches 8,800 decares of agricultural land in the land of the village of Sadievo, the town of Aytos, the villages of Pirne, Malka Polyana and Karanovo. Engineer Darina Tashkova is the company’s chief agronomist and is a registered seed producer. She has experience in elite financial structures and organizations. She holds a master’s degree in European Projects and Programmes from UNWE Sofia. The doyen of the family is Eng. Valentin Georgiev, who is also a graduate of the University of Ruse, specialty “Mechanization of Agriculture”. A tradition in the family farm is that over 80% of production is based on modern, sustainable, stable Bulgarian varieties of barley, wheat, oats and peas. Production of einkorn wheat and buckwheat is also maintained.

Neyko and Nikola Nikolov

At Agrodar Bulgaria they strive to optimize costs and be environmentally oriented in order to preserve soil fertility and protect nature. All this, of course, is possible with modern technologies for tillage and production, with innovative methods and cooperation with scientific institutions.
The enthusiasm for work of the young farmer, combined with his excellent communication skills, competence and organizational abilities, is reflected in the concrete results achieved with high added value.

PROFILE

Nikola Nikolov is a young farmer, 30 years of age. In 2012 he completed his secondary education at the Vocational High School of Mechatronics and Electronics in Burgas, specialty “Computer Networks”. In 2017 he graduated as a Bachelor in “Computer Systems and Technologies” at Ruse University “Angel Kanchev”, and two years later he obtained a Master’s degree in “Legal Regime of National Security”.

He specialized in “Oilseed Crops” in a 150-hour course. In 2024 he completed the Master’s programme “Digitalization and Management of Crop Production” at the Agricultural University.

Nikola Nikolov is a member of the Management Board of the Union of Grain Producers “Markeli” – Karnobat.

He is the holder of the “Young Farmer” award of the Eureka Foundation.

He attaches exceptional importance to high standards and ethical conduct in his profession. Only in this way does he receive the well-deserved recognition both from the people in his team and from his partners.

The secret of his success is his continuous drive for innovation. He is convinced that the future of agriculture lies in the optimization of costs for tillage and production, in highly qualified labor, in timely counteraction to emerging problems in the field, and in the preparation, management and analysis of data in order to manage a successful agricultural holding in the best possible way.