Rural Development 2019

The 9th International Scientific Conference “Rural Development 2019: Research and Innovation for Bioeconomy took place in Akademija, Kaunas district, Lithuania at the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, September 26-28, 2019.

The 9th International Scientific Conference “Rural Development 2019″ was the most effective biannual platform for international scientific interdisciplinary discussion on issues of rural development, innovations, bioeconomy development, biotechnology, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and climate change challenges. The Conference brought together scientists, practitioners, policy makers, private sector actors, NGOs, even young researchers and students. All the participants were awarded the possibility to express their attitudes towards the scientific issues related to rural development, especially in the focus of bioeconomy challenges.

The existing and rising challenges of bioeconomy were discussed in different Conference sections:

  • Agro-innovations and Food Technologies;
  • Biosystems Engineering and Environment Integrity;
  • Multifunctional Approach for Sustainable Use of Bio-Resources;
  • Social Research and Innovation in Bioeconomy for Sustainable Transformation and Wellbeing in Rural Areas.

The topic “Research and Innovation for Bioeconomy” chosen for the 9th International Scientific Conference sparked strong interest among the professional and scientific community and elicited great response to the call for papers. The Proceedings include 86 peer-reviewed papers and contributions from 283 authors. In total we received 106 submissions for the Conference.

We want to thank authors for the contributors and the reviewers who made this issue possible. We also thank the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture, Lithuanian Rural Development Network and Research Council of Lithuania for the generous financial support that made the Conference possible.